Unfair Business Practices

Legitimate business competition is tough enough, but when competition crosses the line and becomes unlawful, a company’s very survival can be at stake. This is when Williams Mullen’s unfair business practices lawyers can make the difference. Our Unfair Business Practices team consists of seasoned litigation attorneys who understand bet-the-company litigation as well as other critical litigation matters. Our well-rounded team includes lawyers with significant experience in complex business litigation, intellectual property, wrongful interference with contract, breach of employee proprietary information agreements, employment, government and white-collar investigations and e-discovery. Given the breadth of our lawyers’ experience, we can quickly assemble a dedicated team to strategically respond to crises confronting our clients.

In any such unfair business practices case, each passing day can imperil your operations. Our litigation strategies focus on quick-strike actions that can change the existing dynamics between the parties and stop the unfair competition.

Our Unfair Business Practices team focuses on the following types of cases:

• Unlawful Business Practices Arising from Business-to-Business Competition
• Wrongful Interference with Business Involving Former Employees
• Corporate and Partnership Disputes

Legitimate business competition is tough enough, but when competition crosses the line and becomes unlawful, a company’s very survival can be at stake. This is when Williams Mullen’s unfair business practices lawyers can make the difference. Our Unfair Business Practices team consists of seasoned litigation attorneys who understand bet-the-company litigation as well as other critical litigation matters. Our well-rounded team includes lawyers with significant experience in complex business litigation, intellectual property, wrongful interference with contract, breach of employee proprietary information agreements, employment, government and white-collar investigations and e-discovery. Given the breadth of our lawyers’ experience, we can quickly assemble a dedicated team to strategically respond to crises confronting our clients. 

In any such unfair business practices case, each passing day can imperil your operations. Our litigation strategies focus on quick-strike actions that can change the existing dynamics between the parties and stop the unfair competition.

Our Unfair Business Practices team focuses on the following types of cases:

• Unlawful Business Practices Arising from Business-to-Business Competition
  Our unfair business practices lawyers have extensive experience defending as well as prosecuting allegations of unfair business practices arising in business-to-business competition, such as when a company wrongfully interferes with another company’s contracts, misappropriates proprietary information, improperly raids a competitor of key employees, or engages in fraudulent or deceitful conduct.
  
  
• Wrongful Interference with Business Involving Former Employees
  Unfair business practices claims may surface when groups of employees leave an employer to either join or form a competing business, often taking the prior employer’s proprietary information, customers and customer lists in violation of the employees’ contractual agreements and/or their fiduciary duties.
  
  
• Corporate and Partnership Disputes
  Intra-corporate disputes may also give rise to unfair business practice claims when corporate control is at issue. In these situations, shareholders, partners and other principals often have competing interests. Disputes can arise over fiduciary duties, corporate control, buy-outs and, in extreme cases, dissolution of a corporation or partnership.
  
  

Creative Strategies for Managing Unfair Business Practices Cases
We understand that unfair business disputes can imperil a client’s business or business ownership. That is why our experienced team is committed to quickly developing the strategies and legal theories to manage the case as a crisis response. And, we look for creative, outcome-driven strategies. For example, our team has moved for injunctive relief in numerous cases to stop unfair business practices. We also know how to find the critical electronic evidence, which is often hidden, develop patterns of conduct from that evidence, and have moved for sanctions when data has been improperly deleted.

Representative Unfair Business Practices Cases
The unfair business practices cases our team has handled include:

• Represented plaintiff mortgage company in case against nine former employees and competitor for breach of fiduciary duty and violation of the Virginia Business Conspiracy Act. 
  
  
• Represented a real estate development company that developed drug stores for a national chain. Brought fraud and unfair and deceptive trade practice claims in federal court for $35 million relating to cancellations of leases and development deals involving over 20 sites in two states. 
  
  
• Defended international manufacturer from claims including breach of contract, fraud, misappropriation of trade secrets, and violation of North Carolina Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act. Filed counterclaim for $30 million due from distributor.
  
  
• In a corporate shareholder dispute, filed suit on behalf of a majority shareholder, claiming that he had been barred from the corporate offices, restricted from access to computer records, removed from signature authority on bank accounts and terminated as a director and officer by the minority shareholders. 
  
  
• Represented plaintiff accounting firm against former officers, directors and employees as well as a rival accounting firm for breach of fiduciary duty, tortious interference with contract and violation of the Virginia Business Conspiracy Act. 
  
  
• Represented a company that purchased a radio station in an action seeking an injunction preventing the prior owner from using a substantially similar format on any radio station in the local radio market. 
  
  
• Represented minority shareholder in litigation seeking to dissolve real estate corporation due to majority shareholder’s oppressive conduct. 
  
  
• Defended a petroleum supply company that had hired several employees of the competitor. The competitor brought a suit alleging violations of the Virginia Computer Crimes Act, the Virginia Business Conspiracy Act, and the Virginia Uniform Trade Secrets Act. The competitor sought over $10 million in damages as well as various forms of injunctive relief. 
  
  
• Represented an internet commerce company in an action against two former employees who had started a rival business using misappropriated technology. 
  
  
• Represented plaintiff medical supply company in a case against four former employees and a competitor for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, tortious interference, statutory and common law conspiracy, and defamation. 
  
  
• Represented medical management company in prosecuting a case against four former nurse case managers who had resigned en masse to start a competing business. 
  
  
• Defended a serious games and simulation learning business from claims of former executive for severance, slander, tortious interference, blacklisting and unfair trade practices. 
  
  
• Represented a computer software company in a suit filed against two former employees and a competitor for violation of the Virginia Trade Secrets Act, the Virginia Computer Crimes Act and the Virginia Business Conspiracy Act. 
  
  
• Represented publically traded company against prior owners of purchased company in suit seeking indemnification under stock purchase agreement for fraudulent representations of financial status. 
  
  
• Represented prior owner of company against purchaser of that company in dispute involving entitlement to "earn out" payments and counter allegations of fraud. 
  
  
• Represented majority owner of company against claims of fraud and breach of fiduciary duty asserted by former minority shareholders resulting from majority owner's purchase of minority shareholders' interest in company.