Business and Commercial Litigation

Expertise backed by experience in the following areas:

• Non-Competes

  Non-Competes

  Companies work hard to develop, refine and protect their trade secrets.  In this era of corporate espionage, disgruntled employees, and hacking, smart companies pro-actively implement a quality trade secrecy program.  Indeed, if a company does not take reasonable efforts to protect its trade secrets, by law, it can lose them.

  We partner with companies to educate them with easy to use policies and procedures to ensure that their trade secrets are protected and their trade secrecy program will be well-received by a court when their trade secrets are at issue.  We review an employer’s policies and procedures and provide check lists, IT safeguards and other time-tested methods to protect their trade secrets.

  When necessary, we are ready to pounce on any former employee or competitor with a TRO to stop the theft, misappropriation use and/or distribution of our client’s trade secrets and confidential proprietary business methods.  Back in the 1980’s Rogge Dunn began enforcing non-competes and protecting trade secrets by filing TROs across the country for Outback Steakhouse, and later for ACE Insurance, Unified Investigations & Sciences, and DuraServe.

• Liquidity Events

  Liquidity Events

  A liquidity event is one of the most exciting and important events in an entrepreneur’s business life.  Every employee who is eligible for stock, RSUs, stock options, “phantom stock” and the like, should plan for a liquidity event.

  All too often, founders are abused by an acquiring entity, private equity/VC investors and even their own partners, members or shareholders.  The original agreements establishing an entity may be ambiguous, all of which can lead to an expensive legal battle.

  The Rogge Dunn Group has wide ranging experience helping entrepreneurs and founders on the front end to ensure they do not lose the equity they work so hard to create and build.

  We help entrepreneurs all along the way as they build their companies and prepare for a liquidity event.  And, when necessary, we aggressively enforce their rights and protect their interests.  We are able to guide most of our entrepreneur/founder clients through liquidity events without incident or rancor, and achieve a win/win result.

  David Gross was Vice-President of Human Resources and Associate General Counsel for U.S. Home Systems, Inc, which had 1,100 employees and operations in 45 locations in 27 states.  David was in-house counsel when Home Depot acquired U.S. Home Systems.  David continued to work for U.S. Home Systems/Home Depot after the acquisition.

  David’s experience gives him a business person’s perspective of mergers, acquisitions, and transition issues.

  A sample of some of the founders/owners we have helped with liquidity events and/or sale of equity interests include: Buster Corley, co-founder of Dave & Busters;  George Jones, co-founder and former Chairman and CEO of Texas Capital Bancshares; Angela Calvert, former owner and Member, ALM First Financial Advisors, LLC ; Matt McIntyre, founder and former CEO of Puritan Financial; Phil Douglas, former Chairman and CEO, New Life Corp. Management Services; Marty Garvey, co-founder of Jake’s Hamburgers; and Rafael Dobrynski, CEO, Enfinity America Corp.

• Partnership Disputes

  Partnership Disputes

  Claims by shareholders and partners in complex, high stakes litigation often arises internally within privately held businesses. The Firm’s plaintiff clients include minority shareholders (both individuals and groups) and limited partners who assert claims based on minority shareholder oppression and breach of fiduciary duty against majority owners in control of corporate entities and partnerships.

  The Firm also represents and protects the rights of majority and controlling shareholders, corporate officers, directors, managers and general partners against claims by those holding minority interests and other issues inherent in a “business divorce.”

• Change-In-Control

  Change-In-Control

  We have advised C-level executives in  mergers, change-in-control and “poison pill” battles involving  Baker Hughes, Chevron, Dresser, FedEx, Frozen Food Express, GE Energy, Halliburton, Kinkos,  Pizza Inn, Sperry-Sun Drilling, SunEdison, Unocal, the Williams Companies and other companies.

• Real Estate

  Real Estate

  Our Firm has had the privilege of working with some of the most successful and professional real estate entrepreneurs and companies anywhere.  Our clients include CBRE,  Bill Cawley,  Tony Dona (formerly CEO of Trammel Crow Family Trust), Thackeray Partners, CASE Commercial  Real Estate and other real estate firms, entrepreneurs and REITs.

  We handle anything from contractual disputes, claims against appraisers, finder’s fees, disagreements over “promotes,” commission disputes, “trailing commissions” involving brokers who leave/get fired, partnership fights, TREC violations,  and all types of employment issues.

  Real estate concerns have also hired Dunn to investigate corporate governance and other sensitive matters. One of Dunn’s investigations was cited by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit as a basis for our client (CBRE) obtaining a summary judgment where it was being sued for more than $3 million.  Sandstad v. CB Richard Ellis, 309 F.3^rd 893 (5^th Cir. 2002).

  Rogge Dunn Group hosted the D CEO Real Estate Annual Release party at the firm’s Downtown Dallas office in January 2019. See the article from D CEO Magazine here.

  Results for Real Estate Clients

  Real Estate Testimonials

• Sarbanes-Oxley/Corporate Governance

  Sarbanes-Oxley/Corporate Governance

  Our attorneys have been handling whistleblower cases since the 1980’s,  including refusal to perform a legal act under the Sabine Pilot doctrine, Qui Tam, and  whistleblowing protected under various state and federal statutes.  We also assist clients who wish to report an employer or company to the IRS, the Department of Labor, the SEC or other regulatory bodies and receive  a “bounty” for reporting fraud.

  Companies have hired us to investigate corporate governance and other sensitive matters.  One of Dunn’s investigations was cited by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit as a basis for our client (CBRE) obtaining a summary judgment where it was being sued for more than $3 million.  Sandstad v. CB Richard Ellis, 309 F.3^rd 893 (5^thCir. 2002).

• Medical Practice Disputes

  Medical Practice Disputes

  We represent doctors and practice groups in a variety of partnership and other business disputes.  We have helped with everything from doctors’ disputes over hospital privileges and profit sharing to interns and residents who received a bad performance appraisals.  We are familiar with the unique and intricate provisions of statutes governing non-compete and non-solicits applicable to medical professionals and have litigated this issue across the state.

  General Counsels and in-house counsels at some of the largest medical providers in the country who were previously adverse to us,  later hired us when they had their own personal legal issues with their healthcare employer. We have taken on some of the biggest healthcare conglomerates for our clients, and successfully achieved our clients’ goals.

• Class Actions

  Class Actions

  Our attorneys have handled a number of class actions, mass actions and MDL lawsuits for Fortune 500 companies, individual employees and consumers. Those losses have involved everything from asbestos claims, sales tax, job classifications, overtime and other wage and hour issues.

  Results in Class Action Cases

• Shareholder and Partnership Oppression

  Shareholder and Partnership Oppression

  Partners and majority shareholders own certain fiduciary or other duties to other partners, shareholders and members.  Those in control cannot use a corporate entity as their personal piggy bank or usurp business opportunities.

  When persons or entities with a controlling interest in an organization play favorites and fire certain officers or reduce their salaries, withhold distributions, inflate expenses or take other actions that are unfair or unjust, they may be liable for breach of fiduciary duty or shareholder/partnership oppression.

  Founders, entrepreneurs and equity owners hire us when their rights have been violated.  In addition, companies and majority shareholders hire us to defend them when they are sued for breach of fiduciary duty or oppression.  Our experience on both sides of this issue enables us to see all angles, which makes us particularly effective at resolving these disputes.  And, when necessary, taking them all the way to a jury trial or arbitration award.

  For more information on this issue see Rogge’s interview with Forbes Radio regarding Shareholder Oppression.

• Business Disparagement

  Business Disparagement

  In this instant messaging world,  where tweets can go viral in a matter of seconds, companies are at risk for business disparagement from disgruntled employees, unhappy customers, or unscrupulous competitors.

  Working with top PR firms, we help companies and individuals protect their reputations, manage reputational risk, and assist with risk management efforts in the event of a PR or legal crisis.

  Companies and individuals have hired us to determine the identity of anonymous posters, so action can be taken to stop false and misleading posts.  We have also filed suit for companies and individuals against those responsible for defamation and/or business disparagement.  We are ready to act promptly so our clients, not their opposition, can control the narrative to best ensure that our clients’  reputations are protected.

  Our results include a $120,000 settlement for defamation for a radio personality in the financial industry (Client’s net $58,902); and getting a New York law firm to remove defamatory statements about a financial advisor.

• Breach of Contract and Licensing Disputes

  Breach of Contract and Licensing Disputes

  The Firm handles  business litigation disputes including breach of contract, manufacturing and production agreements, executive employment agreements, confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements, corporate and partnership agreements, investment contracts and brokerage agreements, licensing contracts, insurance agreements, sales contracts, independent contractor issues, franchisor/franchisee matters and retail sales contracts.

• Tortious Interference

  Tortious Interference

  Occasionally a competitor will start hiring away a company’s top talent.  These are called “corporate raiding” or “brain drain” cases.  Even when an employer does not have its employees sign non-compete agreements the law affords protection, if another company improperly competes or tortiously interferes with an employee’s relationship with their employer.   A company can even file a tortious interference lawsuit when a competitor interferes with an at-will employee.

  Our Firm has helped businesses file lawsuits for tortious interference and we have also been hired to defend companies who are being sued for tortious interference.  Our extensive background with employment, non-compete and injunctive relief issues comes in handy in tortious interference cases.

Experienced Business Lawyers: We Understand Executives and Business Owners

Successfully resolving business disputes is not merely knowing how to negotiate or win at trial.  It requires appreciating how businesses operate and executives think. Dunn is an Adjunct Professor in the SMU Executive EMBA program. Dunn’s 20+ years of teaching, including listening to and exchanging business solutions with successful entrepreneurs enables him to reach business-smart solutions.

Business & Commercial Litigation News

Business & Commercial Litigation Results

Disclaimer: Results obtained depend on the facts of each case. Past achievements are no guarantee of future results.

Our Corporate Clients