Bob Horowitz focuses his practice primarily on the defense of claims brought under federal and state securities laws and consumer protection statutes, and on general commercial litigation. Bob also has substantial experience in prosecuting and defending trademark, trade dress, design patent and licensing claims, mostly in the footwear and fashion industry, and in representing franchisors in disputes with franchisees.
Bob is Co-Chair of the firm's Securities Litigation Practice. His securities practice involves the defense of underwriters, issuers, directors, and officers in securities class actions and in SEC investigations and enforcement actions. Among his successful representations are a defense judgment after trial in an SEC action alleging insider trading against a money manager, summary judgment on the eve of trial dismissing a securities class action against a medical insurance company, dismissal of putative class action against the majority shareholder of a Russian oil company, and an award of sanctions under the PSLRA (reimbursement of all defense costs) in conjunction with a dismissal of a putative class action against an issuer and its officers and directors.
Bob’s consumer practice focuses on the defense of companies accused of violating consumer protection statutes in class actions and regulatory proceedings. In a multidistrict litigation that has been widely cited to support dismissal of claims by consumers who allege that webpage offers are deceptive, Bob obtained dismissal of a putative class action as a matter of law based on the court’s finding that consumers are charged with knowledge they would glean from reading the disclosures, whether or not they read them, and in this case a reasonable consumer who read the disclosures would have understood them.
