Gerard D. Kelly

COMMERCIAL, REGULATORY AND GENERAL LITIGATION

Gerard’s litigation practice encompasses a wide variety of matters, including commercial, securities and probate and trust disputes. This experience is reflected in the following representative engagements:

• litigation in Illinois state court regarding adverse action by a regulator, in which the regulator, represented by the Illinois Attorney General’s office, issued an order preventing Sidley’s client from operating, which order was challenged in court and removed in connection with the resolution of that litigation
• an appeal in Iowa state court from adverse action by a regulator, represented by the Iowa Attorney General’s office, in which the adverse regulatory action was stayed/enjoined for over two years while the litigation proceeded and in which rulings against Sidley’s client were vacated after a further appeal to the Iowa Supreme Court
• a reinsurance dispute in which Sidley’s client, the ceding insurer, first obtained emergency relief in the form of an order for pre-hearing security and then obtained an arbitration award of over $130 million against the reinsurer, which was then confirmed in federal court
• a breach of fiduciary duty action in Illinois state court brought by Sidley’s client, an operator of assisted living facilities, against its former CEO, in which Gerard, as lead trial counsel, won a jury verdict in Sidley’s client’s favor
• the representation of eight Sidley clients in eight parallel cases in Illinois state court brought by a purported “whistleblower” concerning the payment of Illinois state taxes in connection with internet sales
• serving as co-lead counsel for one of the primary defendants in a series of putative class actions alleging violations of the Sherman Act filed in federal courts in over 15 states across the country, in which Sidley’s client ultimately prevailed at either the trial or appellate court levels
• a shareholder derivative action in Tennessee federal court brought against Sidley’s clients, the directors of a Fortune 100 transportation company, which was dismissed
• a putative shareholder class action in Tennessee state court against a major financial services and electronic funds transfer firm, which was dismissed
• a shareholder derivative action in Tennessee federal court brought against Sidley’s clients, a major financial services and electronic funds transfer firm and its directors, which was dismissed, with the dismissal subsequently affirmed by the Sixth Circuit
• an action in Illinois federal court concerning damage to property transshipped through a warehouse containing possible contamination
• a breach of contract and tortious interference action in Pennsylvania state court concerning problems in the production and issuance of ATM cards
• an action for breach of a partnership agreement in Oregon federal court in which the court entered summary judgment and awarded attorneys’ fees in favor of Sidley’s client, which was affirmed by the Ninth Circuit
• an action for breach of contract in Illinois federal court concerning a claim for a finder’s fee by a business broker in connection with a corporate merger
• an action for alleged breach of promise by a decedent to make a bequest brought in Illinois state court against Sidley’s client, the corporate executor
• an action for breach of fiduciary duty and removal of trustee brought in Illinois state court against Sidley’s client, the trustee of a trust with substantial real estate holdings
• a will contest and construction action brought in Illinois state court against Sidley’s client, the corporate executor, challenging the decedent’s bequest of substantially all of her assets to charity, in which the Illinois state court entered judgment in favor of Sidley’s client and the Illinois appellate court affirmed
• a will contest brought in Illinois state court by Sidley’s clients, the children of the decedent, against the decedent’s second wife, in which the court found the will to be invalid and entered judgment in the children’s favor
• a will and trust contest brought in Illinois state court against Sidley’s client, the corporate executor/trustee, by the decedent’s adopted son challenging the decedent’s bequest of substantially all of his assets to charity, which the court dismissed, with the Illinois appellate court affirming the dismissal
• a declaratory judgment action brought in Illinois state court by Sidley’s client, the corporate trustee, concerning the validity of subsequent estate planning documents allegedly executed by the decedent

REAL ESTATE LITIGATION

Gerard has broad experience representing and advising Sidley’s clients in a wide variety of real estate disputes. This experience is reflected in the following representative engagements:

• two matters involving guarantors of defaulted real estate loans who attempted to shield their assets using asset protection trusts in which Sidley’s client was able to freeze assets in Switzerland on the basis of judgments obtained in Florida state courts
• a breach of contract and professional negligence action in Michigan federal court concerning the installation of telecommunications lines and equipment under the auspices of the USDA’s Rural Utilities Service
• a breach of lease action in Maryland federal court in which Sidley obtained a preliminary injunction barring the threatened demolition of a cogeneration plant
• coordinated receivership and foreclosure actions in Florida state court concerning gaming facilities, in which Sidley’s client ultimately obtained ownership of the facilities
• an action in Illinois state court for breach of a lease buy-out agreement and guaranty relating to a major retail property
• an action in Indiana federal court to enforce real estate loan guaranties and to void fraudulent transfers, included related state-court foreclosure actions and federal bankruptcy actions
• an action in Colorado state court for receivership and foreclosure of a hotel and resort property
• an action in Florida federal court to enforce real estate loan guaranties and to void fraudulent transfers to asset protection trusts set up by the guarantors
• an action attempting to enforce a letter of intent as a binding contract in which Sidley’s client obtained dismissal by an Illinois state court that was affirmed on appeal
• an action in Illinois federal court against Sidley’s client to recover over $40 million embezzled from an escrow account by a third party in which Gerard, as lead trial counsel, won a jury verdict and summary judgment in Sidley’s client’s favor
• an action in Illinois federal court involving alleged contamination at a former industrial facility in which summary judgment was entered in favor of Sidley’s clients, which was affirmed by the Seventh Circuit
• a construction case filed by Sidley’s client, the owner of a 40-story apartment tower, against the general contractor and the architect for various construction defects
• an action in Wisconsin federal court concerning the enforceability of an indemnification agreement for environmental liabilities, in which the Seventh Circuit reversed the lower court and ruled in favor of Sidley’s client
• a lease construction action in Illinois state court concerning Sidley’s client’s corporate headquarters, in which judgment was entered in favor of Sidley’s client and was affirmed on appeal
• an action to enforce a contractor’s bid on an infrastructure project delayed by regulatory challenges

CONSUMER CLASS ACTIONS

Gerard has extensive experience successfully defending Sidley’s clients in consumer class actions filed in federal and state courts across the country. This experience is reflected in the following representative engagements:

• a title insurance consumer class action in Arizona state court, in which class certification was denied and the denial was affirmed on appeal 
• a title insurance class action in Kentucky federal court, in which class certification was denied
• a title insurance consumer class action in Texas state court, in which class certification was reversed by the Texas appellate court
• a consumer class action pertaining to mortgage lending practices in Florida federal court, which was dismissed
• a title insurance consumer class action in Guam federal court, in which summary judgment was entered in favor of Sidley’s client and the appeal therefrom was dismissed by the Ninth Circuit
• a consumer class action pertaining to mortgage lending practices in Michigan federal court, which was dismissed
• a title insurance consumer class action in Maryland federal court, which was dismissed, and in which the appeal therefrom was dismissed by the Fourth Circuit
• a life insurance consumer class action in California federal court
• a title insurance consumer class action in Ohio federal court in which the court decertified the putative class and entered summary judgment in favor of Sidley’s client
• a title insurance consumer class action in Texas federal court, in which the Fifth Circuit reversed a Texas federal court’s certification of a putative class
• a consumer class action in Tennessee federal court against a major financial services and electronic funds transfer firm which was dismissed by the court, with an award of attorneys’ fees in favor of Sidley’s client
• a consumer class action in Tennessee state court against a major financial services and electronic funds transfer firm, in which the court rejected a challenge to the class settlement