Neal Marder focuses on class and mass actions, bet-the-company litigation, and complex business and commercial litigation.
Mr. Marder maintains a diverse civil litigation practice and handles disputes in federal and state courts across the country representing corporate directors and officers, as well as public and private companies in matters involving complex business disputes and consumer torts, securities fraud, white collar, Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), intellectual property, antitrust, unfair competition, and breach of fiduciary duty claims in mergers and acquisitions transactions. He has also conducted internal investigations for clients under investigation by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Mr. Marder has a lengthy track record of successful trial experience. In May 2015, he obtained a unanimous $42.5 million jury verdict on behalf of a California-based distributor of home comfort products in a federal court lawsuit against one of the largest manufacturers of air conditioners and household appliances in the world and its wholly owned subsidiary. After a nearly three-week trial, the jury found that the defendants intentionally interfered with the clients’ contractual relations and prospective economic advantage, and awarded $12.5 million in compensatory damages and $30 million in punitive damages. The win led the “Top Plaintiff Cases” section of the Daily Journal’s “Verdicts & Settlements” report, ranked 45 on the “Top 100 Verdicts of 2015,” and was listed as top verdict in Business Law in The Recorder’s California’s Million Dollar Verdicts.
In December 2015, Mr. Marder defeated plaintiffs’ motion for class certification in a high-profile action against an Internet-based nutritional supplement merchandising and sales company, and several current and former officers and directors. Plaintiffs alleged primarily that the client was an “endless chain” or pyramid scheme that made false and misleading statements about its products. A certified class would have numbered tens of thousands of individuals, with alleged damages exceeding $150 million. After defeating class certification, plaintiffs’ class counsel withdrew from the case, and plaintiffs then agreed to stipulate to voluntarily dismiss the case, with prejudice, in its entirety, resulting in a complete victory for the client.
