Representative Cases

Chimicles & Tikellis LLP represented unitholders of Capital Source, L.P. and Capital Source II, L.P., two Delaware limited partnerships, in an action against the general partners and certain affiliates, seeking a liquidation of the partnerships and damages. The general partners and certain of their affiliates sought the consent of the unitholders to merge the partnerships into a newly-formed limited partnership which the general partners and their affiliates intended to continue to operate under liberalized governance provisions.

The Firm was lead trial counsel in this settled action filed in 2004 asserting federal securities law claims under the 1933 Securities Act involving a $3.0 Billion real estate investment trust.  The Litigation was settled in 2006 by: (1) the establishment of a $35,000,000 Cash Settlement Fund; and, (2) by CNL entering into revised agreements in connection with a proposed Merger between CNL and its affiliate which Plaintiffs estimate red

CNL Income Funds Limited Partnerships (n/k/a FF-TSY Holding Company II, LLC)

On August 9, 2004, a $1.63 Billion three-way merger was proposed among CNL Restaurant Properties, Inc. (“CNL Restaurants”), U.S. Restaurant Properties, Inc. (“USRP”) and CNL Income Fund, Ltd. I-XVIII (collectively, the “CNL Income Funds”) and was the subject of a final proxy statement that was filed with the SEC on January 3, 2005.

Sanders v. Wang, No. 16640 (Delaware Court of Chancery), was a derivative suit brought on behalf of Computer Associates International, Inc. The suit alleged that the board exceeded its authority under a Key Employee Stock Ownership Plan by awarding 9.5 million excess shares to the participants. The efforts of Chimicles & Tikellis LLP resulted in the return from the defendants of over $50 million in stock issued in violation of the Company’s plan. This represented a recovery of substantially all of the relief sought by Plaintiffs.

Chimicles & Tikellis LLP serves as liaison counsel for this securities action brought in 2003 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on behalf of a certified class of purchasers of DVI Securities between August 10, 1999 and August 13, 2003.  The Defendants include former officers and directors of DVI, its former auditor Deloitte & Touche LLP, its underwriter Merrill Lynch & Co., members of the Pritzker family who allegedly exercised control over DVI as the largest shareholder of DVI common stock, and DVI's legal counsel Clifford Chance.

• Consolidated Amended Fund Derivative Complaint Exhibit A
• Consolidated Amended Fund Derivative Complaint Exhibit B

• Consolidated Amended Fund Derivative Complaint

Chimicles & Tikellis LLP is assisting Lead Fund Derivative Counsel in prosecuting claims on behalf of the Alger family of funds (the “Funds”), operated by Fred Alger Management, Inc.

C&T served as co-counsel in this action on behalf of investors, and C&T Partner, Robert Kriner was on the trial team, in this Action which was tried in the Delaware Court of Chancery.  This trial resulted in a judgment in favor of the limited partners who asserted that dilution and a cash out of their investments at a book value of $4.20 per Unit was unfair and in violation of the Partnership Agreement and the General Partner’s fiduciary duties.

Chimicles & Tikellis LLP represented stockholders of Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc. (HET) in an action that challenging the proposed acquisition of Harrah’s by a buyout group lead by its chairman and CEO, Gary Loveman. Gary Loveman's group announced a $81 per share merger proposal on October 2, 2006.

C&T was Co-lead counsel in these actions brought on behalf of the public stockholders of Chiron Corporation challenging the buyout of Chiron by its 42% parent, Novartis AG. Novartis initially proposed a buyout at $40 per share and thereafter entered into a merger agreement to acquire Chiron for $45 per share. C&T and its co-counsel moved preliminarily to enjoin the merger pending a proper process to maximize value and full disclosure to the stockholders.

C&T serves as liaison counsel for this securities action brought in 2003 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on behalf of a now certified class of purchasers of DVI Securities (who purchased between August 10, 1999 and August 13, 2003) for violations of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder.  In November, 2006, the Court approved a settlement as to certain entity defendants for a total Partial Settlement of $2,885,000.  In August, 2007, the Lead Plaintiffs entered i

On behalf of City of St Clair Shores General ERS and a proposed class of Inland Western shareholders, on November 1, 2007, C&T filed a federal securities class action complaint alleging violations of the federal securities laws and breaches of fiduciary duty by defendant Inland Western and certain of its current and former directors, officers and affiliates, and its financial advisor, by virtue of their devising and soliciting the shareholders’ approval of a merger of defendants’ affiliate with Inland Western for $375 million worth of the Company's stock.&nbs

As Lead Counsel in this stockholder derivative action, C&T challenged the actions of the officers, directors and advisors of McKesson and HBOC in proceeding with the merger of the two companies when their managements were allegedly aware of material accounting improprieties at HBOC.  In addition, C&T also brought (under Section 220 of the Delaware Code) a books and records case to discover information about the underlying events.

Chimicles & Tikellis LLP served as co-liaison counsel and participated extensively in the representation of the public shareholders of Paramount Communications Inc. in the hostile battle between Viacom Inc. and QVC Network for control of Paramount. The shareholder plaintiffs and QVC were successful in persuading the Delaware Court of Chancery to enjoin the merger agreement between Paramount and Viacom on grounds that the agreement, including the lockup provision, unfairly impeded a proper process to maximize shareholder value in the sale and control of Paramount.

100% Recovery for Investors and the First Plaintiffs’ Jury Verdict Awarding Damages After the Passage of the PSLRA.

C&T achieved national recognition for obtaining, in a federal securities litigation, the first successful plaintiffs’ verdict under the PSLRA

On behalf of Washtenaw County ERS and a proposed class of Wells REIT shareholders, C&T filed in 2007 a federal securities class action lawsuit against certain current and former officers, directors and affiliates of Wells charging them with violations of the federal securities laws by virtue of their of their devising and soliciting the shareholders’ approval via a Proxy of a merger of an affiliate of company insiders with Wells for $175 million worth of the Company’s stock (“Internalization”).

• Consolidated Amended Fund Derivative Complaint

Chimicles & Tikellis LLP is assisting Lead Fund Derivative Counsel in prosecuting claims on behalf of the INVESCO family of funds (the “Funds”), operated by London-based AMVESCAP PLC (“AMVESCAP”) (NYSE: AVZ) and its subsidiary INVESCO Funds Group, Inc.

Chimicles & Tikellis LLP represents stockholders of Kinder Morgan, Inc. (KMI) in actions that initially challenged the proposed acquisition of Kinder Morgan by a buyout group lead by its largest stockholder and Chairman, Richard Kinder. The KMI Buyout is one of the largest management-led buyouts in corporate history. Richard Kinder's group announced a $100 per share merger proposal on May 28, 2006.

Representing the Montgomery County Employees’ Retirement System, C&T filed on December 28, 2007 a shareholder derivative action alleging breaches of fiduciary duties, waste of corporate assets, gross mismanagement, insider trading and unjust enrichment by current and former Citigroup officers and directors related to Citigroup’s subprime mortgage business which led to the Company reporting billions of dollars in losses in 2007.

DE Court of Chancery.

Chimicles & Tikellis LLP announces that a derivative lawsuit has been filed on behalf of the Nations family of funds (the “Funds”), operated by Bank of America Corp., Banc of America Capital Management LLC, Nations Fund Trust, and their affiliates and subsidiaries, seeking to pursue remedies under common law and the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.

Chimicles & Tikellis LLP served as co-lead counsel in this securities class action filed on behalf of the limited partners in Phoenix Leasing Cash Distribution Funds, in the Superior Court of the state of California, Marin County. The action alleged waste of corporate assets, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and fraudulent sales and marketing by the General Partners of the Funds and other defendants. On February 19, 2002 the Superior Court approved the settlement of this action for $11.7 million.

• Consolidated Amended Fund Derivative Complaint Exhibit A
• Consolidated Amended Fund Derivative Complaint Exhibit B

• Consolidated Amended Fund Derivative Complaint

Chimicles & Tikellis LLP is assisting Lead Fund Derivative Counsel in prosecuting claims on behalf of the PIMCO family of funds (the “Funds”), based on allegations of “market timing” and/or “late trading” in the Funds.

• Consolidated Amended Fund Derivative Complaint

Chimicles & Tikellis LLP is assisting Lead Fund Derivative Counsel in prosecuting claims on behalf of the Putnam family of funds (the “Funds”), owned and/or operated by Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc., Putnam Investments Trust, Putnam Investment Management LLC, Putnam Investment Funds, and the

District Court's Rulings on Post-Trial Motions, Dated April 3, 2003

Order Denying Defs Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law

Order Denying In Part and Granting In Part Plaintiffs' Motion for Equitable Relief

August 13, 2004: Report to Court
March 15, 2004: Order -Dispute Resolution
February 17, 2004: Status Report Dispute Resolution
February 16, 2004: Memo-Motion Dispute Resolution

• Consolidated Amended Fund Derivative Complaint Exhibit A
• Consolidated Amended Fund Derivative Complaint Exhibit B

Chimicles & Tikellis LLP filed two class action lawsuits on behalf of shareholders of Wells Real Estate Investment Trust, Inc., now known as Piedmont Office Realty Trust:

Chimicles & Tikellis LLP is investigating a potential class action lawsuit on behalf of consumers that renewed their memberships with the American Automobile Association (“AAA”). AAA is an organization that sells memberships to motorists across the United States. The AAA membership subscription typically lasts for a period of 12 months.

Chimicles & Tikellis is investigating a potential class action lawsuit against airlines that fail to refund baggage fees after a flight is canceled. It has been reported that some airlines may have a policy of offering refunds for the ticket price of canceled flights, but not for the fees to check luggage. Baggage fees can be $20 per bag or more.

If you have paid a baggage fee on a flight that was canceled and have not received a refund from the airline, please contact the attorneys below.

Chimicles & Tikellis has filed a class action lawsuit in the Southern District of New York against The Bank of New York Mellon Corp. ("BNY") related to two massive security breaches at the company. BNY processes payments and other transactions on behalf of its corporate clients, and provides stock transfer, employee plan administration, and related services for issuers of securities.

Chimicles & Tikellis, along with is co-counsel, has filed a lawsuit against BMW of North America LLC ("BMW") in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey to remedy alleged violations of law in connection with BMW Model E46 vehicles which contain sound insulation that was manufactured with excessive amounts of solvent.  Over time, the insulation manufactured with excessive solvent breaks down, causing an offensive odor which has been described as smelling similar to a solvent or wax crayon.  The smell typically originates around the t

Chimicles & Tikellis LLP has filed class action complaints in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the District of New Jersey against CertainTeed Corporation alleging that CertainTeed markets and sells shingles which were defectively designed and manufactured such that they prematurely and unreasonably deteriorate by blistering, crumbling, curling, cracking, pitting, balding, and leaking.  The class action complaints were filed on behalf of individuals and entities that have owned, own, or acquired homes or other through the present on which CertainTeed shingles are or have bee

Chimicles & Tikellis LLP, along with its co-counsel, has filed a proposed class action lawsuit in federal court in Dallas against Comerica Bank. The lawsuit seeks class action status on behalf of consumers who have been assessed multiple overdraft fees.

Chimicles & Tikellis is investigating a potential class action lawsuit on behalf of purchasers of credit life insurance, credit disability insurance, and other types of credit insurance policies. Credit insurance policies are designed to protect entities that finance automobile purchases (i.e., automobile dealers, banks, and finance companies) in the event that the person taking a loan out for the automobile becomes disabled or is otherwise unable to satisfy the loan.

Chimicles & Tikellis is investigating a potential class action lawsuit against Fly Clear and Verified Identity Pass, Inc. on behalf of consumers that have purchased “Clear Card” services from Fly Clear. Clear Card is a service sold to travelers that expedites the security screening process at airports, and costs approximately $199 per year. Clear Card was in use at airports such as Albany, Denver, San Francisco, and Orlando International Airport. According to its website, Fly Clear has ceased its operations as of June 22, 2009, and its Clear Lanes are no longer available.

Chimicles & Tikellis, along with its co-counsel, has filed a lawsuit against Gaiam, Inc. (“Gaiam”) in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado. Gaiam sells a variety of products, including aluminum and stainless steel reusable water bottles. According to the complaint, Gaiam had, until recently, marketed its water bottles as being “BPA free.” BPA, which is short for bisphenol A, is a substance commonly used in plastic water bottles, and has been linked to potential health problems.

Chimicles & Tikellis, along with its co-counsel, has filed a lawsuit against Gaiam, Inc. (“Gaiam”) in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado. Gaiam sells a variety of products, including aluminum and stainless steel reusable water bottles. According to the complaint, Gaiam had, until recently, marketed its water bottles as being “BPA free.” BPA, which is short for bisphenol A, is a substance commonly used in plastic water bottles, and has been linked to potential health problems.

Chimicles & Tikellis is investigating a potential class action lawsuit against companies that sell gift cards that have a surcharge or dormancy fee associated with them. Specifically, certain gift card sponsors deduct a fee from the balance of the card if it is not used within a certain period of time; other gift cards expire altogether if they are not used within a period of time. C&T is investigating whether these practices violate certain consumer protection statutes.

Chimicles & Tikellis has been appointed to serve as interim co-lead counsel on behalf of a proposed class of banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions affected by the data breach at Heartland Payment Systems, Inc. (“HPS”) . On September 23, 2009, a consolidated amended complaint was filed against HPS.  The consolidated amended complaint was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, where the cases against HPS brought by financial institutions have been transferred for consolidated or coordinated pre-trial proceedings.

Chimicles & Tikellis filed a class action lawsuit against Infiniti (Nissan North America) for selling FX35 and FX45 model vehicles to consumers with dashboards prone to bubbling on the surface.  It is believed that these Infinitis were outfitted with an insufficient and/or defective solvent used to adhere the dashboard cover material to the dash structure.  Over time, this solvent has been known to release thereby allowing the dashboard cover material to bubble on the surface.  This defect may cost consumers approximately $1200 for a das

On May 6, 2008, Chimicles & Tikellis LLP, along with co-counsel, filed a consolidated class action complaint in the District Court for the District of New Jersey against LG Electronics USA, Inc. ("LG") on behalf of consumers who purchased allegedly defective front load washing machines manufactured or sold by LG (the "Washing Machines").

Chimicles & Tikellis, along with its co-counsel, has filed a proposed class action lawsuit on behalf of consumers in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey against Funai Corporation, Inc. and Philips Electronics North America, Inc. (together, “Defendants”). The complaint alleges that the Defendants manufacture and sell Magnavox televisions which suffer from a defect that causes them to prematurely fail and become inoperable.

Chimicles & Tikellis is investigating a potential class action lawsuit against National City for the assessment of certain late fees and the refusal to accept partial payments relating to mortgages. Specifically, assume a borrower owes a monthly mortgage payment in January but fails to make such payment. If he or she makes a timely payment for February and all successive months, National City is suspected of applying the timely February payment to January and assessing a late fee for both January and February.

Chimicles & Tikellis is investigating whether UnitedHealth, Aetna, WellPoint, Humana, and/or BlueCross/Blue Shield systematically under-pay and under-reimburse consumers for out-of-network medical charges. It has been reported that UnitedHealth relies on "independent research" in setting its reimbursement rates for out-of-network charges, but actually uses a research firm that it owns (called Ingenix) to set these rates.

Chimicles & Tikellis is investigating a potential class action lawsuit on behalf of consumers that have purchased LCD televisions manufactured by Samsung. Specifically, C&T is investigating whether certain Samsung LCD televisions have a defect that causes them to fail within only a few years of operation.

If you have purchased a Samsung plasma television and experienced this problem, please contact the attorneys below.

Chimicles & Tikellis has filed a putative class action lawsuit against Sovereign Bank in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. The complaint alleges that Sovereign Bank has a systematic practice of re-ordering electronic debit transactions from the highest dollar amount to the lowest dollar amount for the purpose of maximizing the amount of overdraft charges assessed by the bank. According to the complaint, this systematic re-ordering of these debit transactions has no relation to the date or time that the transactions were actually initiated by the customer.

Full Recovery Settlement of T-Mobile Overcharging Case

Chimicles & Tikellis LLP has filed several class actions alleging that various title insurance companies overcharge their Pennsylvania customers for title insurance in connection with mortgage refinancings. In each of these cases, the Chimicles firm has either defeated defendant’s motions to dismiss or granted certification of a class. For example, in Alberton v. Commonwealth Land Title Company, No. 06-3755 (E.D. Pa.), the Court granted Plaintiff’s motion for class certification in a decision dated January 31, 2008.

Chimicles & Tikellis has filed a putative class action lawsuit against US Bank, NA (“US Bank”) in the United States District Court for the District of Oregon. The complaint alleges that US Bank has a systematic practice of re-ordering electronic debit transactions from the highest dollar amount to the lowest dollar amount for the purpose of maximizing the amount of overdraft charges assessed by the bank.

Chimicles & Tikellis has filed a proposed class action lawsuit against Volvo Cars of North America, LLC and Volvo Car Corporation (together, “Volvo”) in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. According to the complaint, Volvo’s SUV XC90 T6 model years 2003 to 2005 are predisposed to transmission slippage, premature clutch wear, overheating, and other problems that ultimately result in serious and expensive damage to the vehicles’ transmission.

Chimicles & Tikellis is investigating a potential class action lawsuit against Wells Fargo and other banks related to insufficient funds/overdraft fees. Specifically, C&T is investigating whether Wells Fargo and other banks automatically re-sequence electronic debit transactions from highest to lowest dollar amounts instead of posting them in the order in which they occurred. This alleged practice drives customers’ checking accounts into a negative balance as quickly as possible, and results in duplicative overdraft charges.

Chimicles & Tikellis LLP, along with its co-counsel, has filed an antitrust price-fixing class action lawsuit in the District Court for the District of New Jersey against Nestle S.A., Nestle USA, Cadbury Schweppes plc, Cadbury Schweppes Americas, Cadbury Adams USA LLC, Mars Inc., Masterfoods USA, and the Hershey Company.

Chimicles & Tikellis, along with its co-counsel, has filed an antitrust lawsuit against the manufacturers of hermetically sealed refrigerant compressor products listed below (the “Defendants”). A hermetically sealed refrigerant compressor product, which is a device that creates cold air, is defined in the complaint to include refrigerant compressors themselves, as well as products containing refrigerant compressors. The refrigerant compressor products industry is a multi-billion dollar industry.

Chimicles & Tikellis LLP, along with its co-counsel, filed this price fixing class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut against several leading automobile filter manufacturers, including Champion, Purolator, Honeywell, Wix Filtration Products, Cummins, Baldwin Filters, Bosch, Mann + Hummel, Arvinmeritor, and United Components (collectively, the “Defendants”).

Chimicles & Tikellis LLP filed a class action complaint on behalf of a class of individuals and entities who, from January 1, 1999 to the present (the "Class Period"), purchased fasteners and zippers directly from William Prym GmbH & Co., KG; Prym Consumer USA, Inc.; Prym Fashion, Inc.; YKK Corporation; YKK Corporation of America, Inc.; YKK (U.S.A.), Inc.; YKK Snap Fasteners America, Inc.; Coats plc; Coats North America de Republica Dominicana, Inc.; and/or Scovill Fasteners, Inc. (collectively, “Defendants”).

On March 24, 2008, Chimicles & Tikellis LLP, along with its co-counsel, filed a consolidated class action complaint in the Southern District of Florida on behalf of a class of individuals and entities who, from January 1999 to the present (the "Class Period"), purchased marine hoses and related products directly from Trelleborg Industrie S.A.; Parker ITR srl; Manuli Rubber Industries SpA; Manuli Oil & Marine (U.S.A.), Inc.; Bridgestone Corporation; Bridgestone Industrial Products America, Inc.; Dunlop Oil & Marine Ltd.; Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd.; and/or Parker-Hannifin

On March 27, 2008, Chimicles & Tikellis LLP filed a class action complaint against the following manufacturers and distributors of packaged ice products: Reddy Ice Holdings, Artic Glacier, and Home City Ice Company (collectively, the “Ice Companies”).  The action was filed on behalf of a class of individuals and entities who, during January 1, 2002 through the present, directly purchased packaged ice products from one of the Ice Companies.  The complaint alleges that  the Ice Companies engaged in anticompetitive conduct including allocating markets and conspir

Chimicles & Tikellis LLP, along with its co-counsel, has reached a proposed settlement valued up to $2.5 million on behalf of certain individuals who were admitted to the Lancaster County Prison, and who were strip searched during the intake process. Specifically, the settlement class includes the following individuals:

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Chimicles & Tikellis is investigating claims on behalf of employees who have not received overtime compensation after working in excess of 40 hours during a one-week period. C&T is also investigating claims on behalf of employees who have been required to perform work tasks “off the clock,” before and after their scheduled shifts and/or and during breaks, but who have not been compensated for this time.

If you believe you are entitled to compensation for overtime or for being forced to work off-the-clock, please contact the attorneys below.

Chimicles & Tikellis is investigating a potential class action lawsuit on behalf of franchisees against franchisors. Specifically, C&T is investigating reports that some franchisors may have made misrepresentations that were designed to induce franchisees to enter into franchise agreements. C&T is also investigating reports that certain franchisors may have violated their franchise agreement by raising rent, selling products within a geographic region in violation of an exclusivity provision, or otherwise improperly changing the terms in the contract.

Chimicles & Tikellis LLP, along with its co-counsel, scored a major victory in a decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (the “D.C. Circuit”) that was released on August 7, 2009. C&T, which is a member of the court-appointed Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee, represents a proposed nationwide class of taxpayers who paid a telephone excise tax to their telephone providers, which then remitted it to the Internal Revenue Service (“I.R.S.”).

On January 9, 2009, Chimicles & Tikellis, along with its co-counsel, filed an action against the federal government in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. The complaint filed by C&T alleges that the government improperly collected the Communications Excise Tax, a 3% excise tax levied on certain long distance telephone services.