Wendy Bloom
is a litigation partner with experience in a wide variety of litigation matters in state and federal courts and in arbitrations and mediations. She applies her litigation and negotiation skills to many substantive areas including antitrust, class actions, employment law, environmental, commercial disputes, intellectual property, multidistrict litigation, non-competition law, and securities. She represents clients in diverse industries including accounting, airlines, agricultural, energy, financial services, pharmaceutical, and real estate.
Representative Matters
Antitrust & Competition: Lead lawyer for BP America in various federal and state investigations into gasoline refining, marketing, and pricing practices. Counsel for Amoco Corporation in obtaining antitrust regulatory approval of the BP Amoco merger. Successfully defended BP p.l.c. in FTC's federal court challenge to BP's acquisition of Atlantic Richfield Company. Member of winning trial teams for Abbott Laboratories in a restraint of trade case brought by a competitor in California federal court and in a consumer class action in Kansas state court alleging price fixing and deceptive marketing practices, both relating to marketing infant formula. Counsel for Monsanto in a breach of contract case after its acquisition of a cotton seed company was not consummated due to a failure to obtain antitrust regulatory approval.
Class Action: Lead lawyer for Amoco Oil Company at class certification hearing in which Florida state court dismissed class allegations in suit alleging violation of state statutes governing petroleum product marketing and unfair trade practices. Lead lawyer for Clark Enterprises, a real estate and construction conglomerate, at class certification hearing in which Illinois federal court dismissed class claims in fraud and breach of fiduciary duty suit. Counsel for BP and its predecessors in nationwide class action involving crude oil royalty payments brought by U.S. Department of Justice and various state agencies. Prevailed on summary judgment for Amoco in class action suit alleging violation of California's unfair practices statute.
Employment Law: Counsel for PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in purported class action alleging Title VII gender discrimination claims. Counsel for Morgan Stanley in an EEOC suit and in several individual suits all asserting Title VII gender discrimination claims. Successfully resolved several threatened discrimination class actions for clients.
Litigation: Trial lawyer for JMB Realty Corporation in successful arbitration to terminate premier hotelier from a long-term management contract. Represented Clark Realty Capital, L.L.C. and Boston Financial, Inc. in litigation involving the sale of a Chicago high rise. Counsel to financial services industry client in a dispute over misappropriation of proprietary computer software. Secured dismissal under forum non conveniens principles in a wrongful death action filed by parents alleging e. coli poisoning of their child at a McDonald's restaurant in Europe. Obtained TROs and preliminary injunctions for Razor USA, distributor of "Razor" scooters, in patent and trademark infringement actions to bar the sale of infringing scooters. Represented BP America in a threatened action challenging assignment of retail station leases operated by dealers to a jobber. Represented Citcorp North America Inc. in a landlord dispute over building naming rights. Counsel to clients in disputes involving non-compete agreements.
Securities & Shareholder Litigation: Represented Motorola in securities fraud lawsuit and succeeded in precluding the proportional trading model of plaintiffs' damages expert - a precedent insurers estimated would save the insurance industry millions of dollars in settlements of unrelated cases. Successfully resolved a case in Louisiana federal court for H.I.G. Capital Management, Inc. involving valuation of stock appreciation rights. Prevailed on summary judgment for The Vickers Trust in a dispute involving interpretation of a stock option and registration rights agreement filed in federal court in Kansas.
Toxic Torts/Environmental: Represent BP America in over seventy suits by municipal water authorities against the oil industry alleging groundwater contamination from MTBE in gasoline. Counsel for Hughes Aircraft Company in Arizona state court for hundreds of claims alleging injuries from groundwater contamination. Counsel for Amoco in insurance coverage action against its insurers for RCRA/CERCLA clean-up costs at 26 sites.
