Nicholas P. Crowell

Representative engagements include:

• Purple Innovation, Inc. and an independent special committee of its board of directors in expedited litigation in the Delaware Court of Chancery brought by the company’s largest stockholder in connection with takeover defenses and a proxy context.
• Fujifilm Holdings Corp. in successfully appealing preliminary injunction orders previously entered in connection with a merger transaction with Xerox Corp., obtaining dismissal of all claims brought by Xerox’s largest shareholders, and prosecuting a lawsuit against Xerox seeking more than US$1 billion for breaching its obligations in connection with that transaction.
• Santander Securities and its affiliates in obtaining the dismissal (and precedential First Circuit affirmance) of a putative class action brought in the District of Puerto Rico and arising from the Puerto Rican fiscal crisis.
• Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. (now known as J.P. Morgan Securities LLC) in a trial victory involving a US$200 million-plus claim brought by the Chapter 7 trustee of failed mortgage lender HomeBanc Corp.
• BlackRock, Inc., Magnetar Capital, Genworth Life and Annuity Insurance Co., PCA Life Assurance Co. Ltd., and Unicredit Bank AG in adversary actions in the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy proceeding concerning the termination of credit default swap transactions.
• The independent directors of Kenneth Cole Productions, Inc. in a class action alleging breaches of fiduciary duty in connection with a going-private transaction.
• Standard Chartered Bank in In re Foreign Exchange Benchmark Rates Antitrust Litigation involving putative class action conspiracy claims under the Sherman Act and the Commodity Exchange Act.
• Norinchukin Bank in In re LIBOR-based Financial Instruments Litig., multidistrict litigation involving direct and putative class claims under the Sherman Act, the Commodity Exchange Act, and RICO. 
• AIG Inc. and its affiliates in a multimillion-dollar bad faith litigation brought against it by the nation’s second largest waste management company.
• Magna International Inc. and its officers in a putative class action alleging violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. 
• Merrill Lynch & Co. and Wachovia Bank in a putative class action asserting claims under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Securities Act of 1933 in connection with the public filings of AIG Inc. 
• Wells Fargo Bank in an adversary proceeding concerning total return swap agreements. 
• Merrill Lynch & Co. in multiple FINRA arbitrations in connection with options and derivative products. 
• Citigroup and its affiliates in a “mass action” alleging securities fraud and common law claims in connection with the plaintiffs’ investments in a technology company. 
• Numerous broker-dealers and individuals in connection with FINRA and Chicago Board Options Exchange arbitration proceedings, including more than 10 successful defenses at trial. 
• AIG Inc. and its affiliates in dozens of court cases and arbitration proceedings arising from disputes concerning loss-sensitive insurance contracts. 

Nick has an active pro bono practice. He has been recognized for his victory for Children’s Magical Garden (CMG), a decades-old community garden in lower Manhattan, in its ongoing legal battle to obtain title to its property. In 2014, CMG filed an adverse possession claim against developers that had filed plans to build a six-story, multimillion-dollar residential project on the site. In 2015, the New York Supreme Court (a trial court of general jurisdiction) denied motions to dismiss the lawsuit. In 2017, the Appellate Division issued a 23-page opinion affirming that decision.