Experience

Mr. Baugher has more than 40 years of commercial litigation and arbitration experience. His cases have spanned industries and claims—contracts, antitrust, securities, corporate control and intra-corporate disputes, real estate, construction, intellectual property, trade secrets, trademarks, employee confidentiality and non-competition agreements, banking, finance, class actions, professional liability—and accompanying considerations of discovery, causation, reliance, damages, accounting, interim measures, procedure, evidence, proof, credibility, and experts.

Mr. Baugher has won a multimillion dollar securities arbitration, a multimillion dollar contractual indemnification suit, a million dollar jury verdict in a business acquisition dispute, a multimillion dollar trial against the U.S. Government, and a trial in Delaware Chancery Court. Representing a Texas bank in New York federal court, Mr. Baugher obtained a $53 million judgment against Iraq’s primary commercial bank and subsequently pursued the Central Bank of Iraq for further relief through successful Second Circuit appeals. Other notable cases include:

International Commercial Disputes
Cross-border business disputes frequently arise in today’s global economy. Mr. Baugher has helped resolve these disagreements both in courts and in arbitrations.

Representations as Counsel in Court

Won settlement on eve of federal trial, recovering funds advanced by Russian airline for unconsummated deal to lease three Boeing 727 airplanes.
Won dismissal of federal securities suit against offshore Caribbean bank client.
Successful contract and loan guaranty appeal for successor national bank; federal Court of Appeals affirmed client’s post-judgment discovery and upheld jurisdiction over state-owned Iraq bank despite claim of sovereign immunity.
Defended Mexican corn milling company in multidistrict consumer class action suits on genetically-modified corn products; federal court subsequently approved favorable settlement of consumer cases.
Won reversal for clients in federal Court of Appeals, permitting enforcement in Alabama of a large Greek judgment under 1951 Friendship, Commerce and Navigation Treaty.
Obtained production of documents in U.S. for use in pending foreign legal proceedings (e.g., in Netherlands) under Judicial Code, 28 U.S.C. § 1782.

Representations as Arbitration Counsel

Counsel to U.S. based company seeking relief from an adverse ICDR award under UK Arbitration Act for large off-shore construction project.
Enforced ICC Arbitration Award in federal court for financial management consultant, collecting entire award with interest and attorneys’ fees.

Arbitrator in International Controversies

Sole arbitrator in ad hoc international arbitration brought by U.S. manufacturer against Italian parent of Mexican component supplier determining responsibility for costs of major appliance recall ordered by Consumer Product Safety Commission, involving motions on parent-subsidiary liability, extensive expert engineering and statistical testimony, and legal briefing, concluded with substantial written opinion and award.

Representations as Litigation Counsel in Court
Mr. Baugher’s court cases include many significant representations:

Defense of a pharmaceutical company in City of Chicago federal court suit alleging drug marketing campaigns were unfair practices and violated municipal false claims ordinance.
Obtained dismissal of collected federal class action complaints against national bookseller arising from multi-state security breach.
Won million dollar damage award for manufacturer in three week state court trial for breach of contract and insurance coverage.
Won summary judgment on multiparty insurance coverage environmental suits and countersuits, sustaining judgment in Illinois Appellate Court.
Won dismissal of suit against national law firm on trust and estate issues and sustained victory in Illinois Appellate Court
Won summary judgment in patent infringement suit providing “prior art” that invalidated touch screen navigation system patent, affirmed by the Federal Circuit.
Won favorable settlement of trademark infringement suit on eve of federal trial; won parallel Delaware trial on advancement of legal fees to company director.
Won summary judgment terminating federal case alleging fraud and breach of contract against distributor of aluminum coils.
Won reversal of summary judgment in federal Court of Appeals remanding case for trial on behalf of sales representative denied commissions by manufacturer of automotive products; suit favorably settled before trial.
Successfully settled breach of contract and fiduciary duty suit by Chicago condominium sales agent and developer against managing member and lender ally.
Won dismissal of competing federal insurance coverage suit under abstention doctrine.
Forced plaintiff to dismiss for no dollars federal suit for fraud, copyright infringement, breach of contract, and misappropriation of trade secrets, and obtained insurance reimbursement for bio-cleanup company’s cost of defense.
Won trial and multimillion damage award proving that U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development breached its housing subsidy contract with owner of large Chicago apartment tower.
Substantially narrowed, then successfully settled nationwide class action suit brought in California against leading provider of career education, concluding four years of litigation.
Defended New York investment fund against federal court claim it had misappropriated national financial services company’s equity ratings model, settling case shortly before trial.
Defeated plaintiffs’ state court attempt to certify a multistate class of students supposedly misinformed about school’s programs; suit subsequently dismissed for nominal consideration.
Through federal injunctive actions enforced noncompete and confidentiality agreements against stockbrokers seeking to move customers to new firms and obtained damages.
Won successive partial summary judgments and state court trial for manufacturer against third-party defendant for indemnification and attorneys’ fees totaling nearly $4 million arising out of product liability near fatality.
Won state court jury verdict and judgment award for $1 million in breach of contract suit stemming from sale of business; collected attorneys’ fees from losing party.
Won federal court judgment for commercial nursery on lease dispute over annexation, site and architectural plans, and sublease option; successfully counterclaimed then settled state court litigation in mediation follow-on.
Prosecuted infringement suit on client’s computer program patents for tax refund anticipation loans, obtaining license fee settlements from all defendants.
Persuaded Illinois Commerce Commission to condition SBC and Ameritech merger on establishment of $7.5 million community technology fund.
Won federal court judgment for client national bank, dismissing RICO suit and accompanying state and common law claims.
Won federal Court of Appeals decision in favor of national law firm client, affirming dismissal of suit for alleged violation of federal statutes and common law duties.
Won $1.6 million federal court judgment for telephone company on interconnection fees owed by AT&T, notwithstanding defense of FCC primary jurisdiction.
Obtained federal Court of Appeals reversal for client of preliminary injunction for trademark and trade dress infringement pertaining to well-known consumer product.
Won Illinois Appellate Court reversal for client seeking to enforce noncompetition agreement obtaining injunction against departing ophthalmologist.
Won injunction under federal securities law halting hostile takeover of an Illinois manufacturer.

Representative Matters as Arbitration Counsel
Mr. Baugher has represented clients in numerous arbitrations, including:

Won multimillion FINRA arbitration award for international furniture company against money center bank for misrepresentations in sale of auction rate securities.
Limited claims at arbitration trial under contractual indemnification for alleged environmental contamination at Superfund site.
Won AAA arbitration award to recover on cancelled purchase orders for joint venture developing a new technology printer.

Representative Matters as Arbitrator
During the last several years, Mr. Baugher has served as an arbitrator and rendered reasoned awards in major commercial arbitrations. Among these are:

AAA intra-corporate dispute for breach of fiduciary duty, appointment of receiver, dissolution of company, auction of successful fuel hauling business, with extensive witness hearings and parallel state court proceedings definitively concluded in a succession of interim and final awards.
AAA arbitrator conducting week-long evidentiary hearing and issuing extended written decision and award in professional liability claim brought against law firm arising out of enforceability of non-competition agreement between hedge fund company and departing officer and director.
AAA concurrent but separate claims brought against pharmacies under varying state and federal statutes pertaining to pricing and disclosures on prescriptions; multiple hearings narrowed issues and ultimately led to consistent awards concluding multiple procedurally complex disputes.
AAA arbitrator conducting evidentiary hearing and rendering an award on damages in a breach of contract, intellectual property contest, with detailed dispute on accounting and damages, issuing reasoned award.
Arbitrator in expedited ad hoc arbitration among parties to the reorganization of a national insurance company narrowing issues then before the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
AAA arbitrator in contract and licensing dispute, settled by parties following pre-hearing conference exchanging views on issues, laying out schedule, and highlighting matters requiring decision.
Chair of NASD and National Futures Association arbitrations on alleged churning and other securities disputes.