Idaho Supreme Court Victory

May 2012

Hawley Troxell partner, Steven Schossberger, successfully represented his client in the summary dismissal of the contactor’s lien claim in the district court. The Idaho Supreme Court affirmed the district court, and established under the Idaho Contractor Registration Act that a limited liability company acting as the contractor must register even if a member of the LLC has personally registered.

Jury Trial Success for Advantage Sales and Marketing Holdings, LLC

December 2011

After the plaintiff chose to terminate his employment with Advantage Sales and Marketing, the company exercised its right to buy back the plaintiff’s equity. The plaintiff contended that he did not have to comply with the Call Notice, that the Board of Directors had not acted in good faith in determining the Call Price for his equity, and that the company had not acted in good faith in responding to his requests for documents. Advantage asserted a counter lawsuit against the plaintiff seeking that the Court order him to surrender his certificates of equity ownership. Hawley Troxell partner Steven Schossberger conducted a six day jury trial involving eight lay witnesses and three expert business valuation experts. At the conclusion, the jury returned a verdict in favor of Advantage on all claims asserted by the plaintiff for approximately $1.2 million, and the Court will order Advantage’s request for specific performance against the plaintiff.

Advantage’s CEO, Sonny King, said, “Mr. Schossberger did a superb job on this case, and compliments go out to the Hawley Troxell team on its excellent legal representation of Advantage.”

Hawley Troxell Assists TriGeo with Successful Liquidity Event

July 2011

Members of Hawley Troxell’s corporate finance group represented TriGeo Network Security, Inc., based in Post Falls, Idaho, in a cash merger with Solar Winds, Inc. (NYSE: SWI) in a transaction valued at approximately $40 million. The transaction was announced by Solar Winds on June 23, 2011, and closed on July 1, 2011. Led by Business Department Chair Nick Miller, the Hawley Troxell team included corporate attorneys Brian Larsen and Nick Taylor, IP attorney Brad Frazer, and benefits attorney Bret Brusacker. Hawley Troxell congratulates TriGeo on its well-deserved success.

 TriGeo CEO Michelle Dickman said, “When SolarWinds came to us with the idea of an acquisition, I knew that I would need a law firm with the range of skills to help us with the complexities of the transaction. Nick, Brian, and the team worked tirelessly to make sure that TriGeo Network Security, Inc. and its investors had the best representation possible. I had complete confidence that they could get the job done.”

The Banking Industry

May 2011

Involving a foreclosure sale, the purchaser had filed a lawsuit and a motion for preliminary injunction with the intention being to stop the sale. An intensive two-week period ensued involving our Hawley Troxell banking team, discovery, and several hundred pages of documents. The Court ruled in the client’s favor. Hawley Troxell attorneys settled the foreclosure action on extremely favorable terms that went beyond the client’s initial expectations.

Government

May 2011

Appeals are as hard-fought as initial cases. The Court issued a unanimous decision granting the appeal of Hawley Troxell’s government client and setting aside an order that encroached upon the powers of the client with respect to regulation and allocation of costs.

The Financial Services Industry

May 2011
Relating to the validity, priority, and amounts, the Court found for Hawley Troxell’s client, a multi-national financial services company, on all issues related to a seven-figure lien against a pedestrian village.

Anti-Trust Case

June 2010

The plaintiff’s tying claim alleged that realty companies blocked the purchase of subdivision lots in the Treasure Valley unless the companies were paid a commission on the build-out price of the lots. Developers in marketing subdivisions during the real estate growth period in the Treasure Valley had frequently used this particular marketing strategy.

The Ninth Circuit affirmed the grant of summary judgment to Hawley Troxell’s real estate client in a multi-million dollar anti-trust tying class action. The opinion held that tying claims are impermissible when there is “zero foreclosure” of competition in the market for the tied product, as there was in this case, because no buyers of the tying product wanted to purchase the tied product at all.