Michael Hartmere’s practice areas include complex commercial litigation, class action defense and intellectual property litigation. He represents clients in litigation arising from disputes among commercial parties to complicated business transactions, as well as defending class actions involving advertising, marketing and consumer protection issues.
Mr. Hartmere has extensive experience in federal and state courts, in arbitration and mediation proceedings, and in favorably resolving disputes without resort to litigation. He has “first-chaired” a jury trial in state court and “second-chaired” bench and jury trials in various federal and state courts.
Prior to joining Venable, Mr. Hartmere clerked for the Honorable Kevin Thomas Duffy of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. He was also a litigation associate at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP.
Significant Matters
In a putative class action proceeding, Mr. Hartmere is part of a nationwide team of Venable litigators that recently secured dismissals, with prejudice, for several manufacturers and retailers of dietary supplements, and certain of their officers and executives, who were accused of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, and numerous consumer protection and false advertising statutes.
Mr. Hartmere represents the senior lender and various other defendants in a complex breach of contract action arising from the largest single real estate transaction in U.S. history.
He currently represents a manufacturer of cosmetics products, and a manufacturer and distributor of nutritional supplements, in separate trademark infringement actions.
Mr. Hartmere represents the exclusive U.S. licensee of assorted consumer products in multiple anti-counterfeiting actions pending in federal courts across the country.
He is currently defending a major producer of poultry products in two putative consumer class action lawsuits alleging deceptive and unfair trade practices.
Recently defended a foreign provider of web-based services in a trademark infringement action that resulted in the dismissal of all claims and an award of attorneys’ fees to the client.
Mr. Hartmere recently defended a college and several of its administrators in a federal action alleging misconduct in the college’s athletics department.
He has also represented a consumer products corporation and several of its officers in a multidistrict litigation involving deceptive trade and marketing practices claims; a domestic coal company and a French cosmetics distributor in separate complex breach of contract matters; and the nation’s largest non-profit credit counseling company in a class action suit involving claims of violations of a consumer protection statute.
