Edward P. Boyle

Representative Matters

Commercial Litigation

• Representing a hotel management company in a lawsuit against a former executive and his new competing business, claiming they violated state trade secret protection laws and committed tortious interference by stealing confidential information from our client and then using it to lure away existing business relationships (Texas District Court, Collin County)
• Representing Maine lobster fishing and retail businesses in a defamation action against the publisher of the “Seafood Watch” program, based on the program’s false assertions that “scientific data” shows that Maine lobsters are caught in a manner that threatens the lives and health of North Atlantic right whales (District of Maine)
• Defending the co-owner of a litigation funding vehicle in U.S. proceedings seeking discovery in connection with a German lawsuit (District of Delaware)
• Represented a television viewership data and measurement company in litigation against a digital advertising network that had acted as the client's former exclusive sales agent; defeated the ad network’s applications for a temporary restraining order (TRO) and a preliminary injunction that sought to interfere with the client's exclusive access to certain smart TV viewership data (New York State Court, New York County, Commercial Division)
• Represented a French aerospace company in a lawsuit against the seller of an airline parts assembly plant in Florida, claiming seller breached contractual representations by failing to turn over control of software critical to the plant’s operations and failing to pay nearly $20 million in aged vendor invoices prior to closing. Case settled shortly after filing of complaint and motion for preliminary injunction (New York Supreme Court, New York County, Commercial Division)
• Represented the estate of American artist Robert Indiana (best known for his LOVE design) in federal lawsuits and arbitration, in disputes concerning Indiana's artistic legacy and the rights to produce and sell his valuable works (Southern District of New York; American Arbitration Association)
• Represented a major global financial institution in lawsuits to enforce its rights to indemnification of millions of dollars paid under settlements of RMBS lawsuits (New York Supreme Court, New York County, Commercial Division)
• Represented a business technology solutions company against claims that company breached earnout provisions in an asset purchase agreement in connection with the acquisition of a boutique consulting business (New Jersey Superior Court)
• Won dismissal with prejudice of claims that a business technology company breached contractual earnout provisions in connection with its acquisition of a healthcare technology business (District of Delaware)
• Represented an international hotel brand in a lawsuit concerning its termination of a hotel restaurant lease during the COVID-19 pandemic (New York Supreme Court, New York County, Commercial Division)
• Won an arbitration award in a dispute between major New York real estate developers that own adjoining properties in a tax lot on Manhattan's Upper West Side, concerning residential development rights worth $100 million (American Arbitration Association)
• Won dismissal of claims by the New Mexico attorney general against a digital advertising company that the company was obtaining and using minors' personal data in violation of federal and state law (District of New Mexico)
• Represented a major public utility in appellate proceedings concerning landowner liability to a contractor's employee (New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department)
• Won more than $30 million on summary judgment for a global investment bank in an action to recover unpaid distributions from a liquidation trust (New York Supreme Court, New York County, Commercial Division)
• Won dismissal of a $60 million breach of contract lawsuit against a major investment bank, arising from its decision to cancel financing commitments under a co-investment agreement (Delaware Superior Court)
• Obtained a settlement worth $31 million for a global hotel management company in litigation concerning its management of an iconic Miami Beach hotel (New York Supreme Court, New York County, Commercial Division)
• Won summary judgment for a major payment processor, prevailing on arguments that the client's set-off rights to a stream of payments from a defunct credit card portfolio were superior to a hedge fund's perfected security interest in the payment stream (New York Supreme Court, New York County, Commercial Division); affirmed on appeal (Appellate Division, First Department)
• Represented a major investment bank against a hedge fund in litigation arising from the warehouse financing of a planned collateralized loan obligation offering that was canceled when the market cratered (New York Supreme Court, New York County, Commercial Division)
• Conducted confidential internal investigations for financial services and advertising clients on a variety of issues involving federal and state laws
• Obtained favorable resolution of numerous disputes without litigation for clients in the financial services, technology consulting, advertising, retail, professional services, consumer products, media, and entertainment fields
• Prior to joining Venable, won arbitration for an accounting firm against former partners and their new employer (American Arbitration Association); worked on case teams that defended an auction house chair against criminal antitrust charges (Southern District of New York); successfully pursued product defamation claims on behalf of a car manufacturer against Consumers Union (Central District of California); won an arbitration on behalf of a broker-dealer against clearing counterparty (New York Stock Exchange); and won a jury trial for a self-made real estate tycoon who was ousted from his family business (D.C. Superior Court)

Class Action Defense

• Defending a healthcare business technology and outsourcing vendor and one of its customers in multidistrict litigation (MDL) and state court litigation arising from hackers’ exploitation of a zero-day vulnerability in “MOVEit” file transfer software (District of Massachusetts; New York State Supreme Court, New York County)
• Defended an app publisher against threatened claims arising from allegations that the app gathered and transmitted information regarding the app users' video-watching behaviors, in violation of the federal Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA); matter resolved successfully prior to filing of litigation
• Represented digital advertising companies in putative privacy class actions, alleging that the clients obtained and used personal data concerning minors, in violation of the federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and state laws (Northern District of California)
• Represented a national consumer products company in a putative consumer class action challenging the "natural" label on client's laundry detergent products (Eastern District of New York)
• Won dismissal of a consumer class action against a national grocery store chain, which challenged "humanely raised" and "humane environment" labels on client's house brand chicken products (Ohio Court of Common Pleas). The court held that all of plaintiff's claims were preempted by federal law. Dismissal was affirmed on appeal (Ohio Court of Appeals)
• On behalf of an Internet advertiser, won dismissal of a putative class action that alleged the client's use of third-party "cookies" violated the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, Wiretapping Act, and Electronic Stored Communications Act (District of Delaware). Affirmed on appeal (Third Circuit)
• Defended a major poultry producer and a national supermarket chain against putative consumer class action lawsuits challenging "humane" designations on poultry product labels (District of New Jersey; Middle District of Florida; Central District of California)
• Defended a consumer products company, its corporate parent, and its two founders against 16 putative class actions filed around the country, challenging the accuracy of the client's marketing claims concerning the efficacy and ingredients of its weight-loss products (MDL proceeding, District of Massachusetts)
• Obtained final court approval of a non-cash settlement of a putative class action against a major national footwear company, alleging the company's text messaging program with its customers violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (Northern District of California)
• Defeated class certification in an action against a nonprofit credit counseling company alleging violation of a Georgia consumer protection statute (Northern District of Georgia)
• Successfully negotiated numerous pre-litigation resolutions of threatened consumer claims against clients in food, consumer products, Internet advertising, and retail industries

Arbitrator

• Served as co-arbitrator in a dispute between a New York hotel owner and a hotel operator concerning termination of a management agreement during the COVID-19 pandemic and related post-termination intellectual property rights; final award issued September 2022 and confirmed October 2022 (Ace Group International, LLC v. 225 Bowery LLC, No. 653631/2022 (N.Y. Supr. Comm. Div.) (Oct. 21, 2022))

Mediator

• Serves on a U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York panel of court-appointed mediators; successfully mediated settlements in dozens of employment, commercial, and civil rights lawsuits (2011 – present)
• Served as private mediator in a wage dispute involving job classifications and (2023)
• Served as a private mediator in a dispute involving claims of breach of agreement to develop non-fungible tokens (NFTs) based on entertainment content; successfully mediated resolution (2021)
• Served as a private mediator in a dispute between a retailer and a reseller involving allegations of theft and unlawful restraint; successfully mediated resolution (2018)

Education

• J.D. Vanderbilt University Law School 1993
• • Editor in chief, Vanderbilt Law Review, 1992 – 1993
• B.A. Duke University 1989
• • Editorial page editor, The Chronicle, 1987 – 1988
  • Columnist, 1987 – 1989

Bar Admissions

• New York

Court Admissions

• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Clerk Experience

• The Honorable Joseph M. McLaughlin U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit 1993 - 1995

Professional Memberships and Activities

• Member, Association of the Bar of the City of New York
• Adjunct associate professor of law, Fordham University Law School, 2000 – 2002

• Legal 500, Dispute Resolution – Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Action: Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices – Defense, 2018
• Chambers USA, Litigation: General Commercial, New York, 2012 – 2024
• Super Lawyers, Business Litigation, New York Metro, 2007 – 2018, 2020 – 2023
• BTI Consulting Group, Client Service All-Star, 2020, 2023

Pro Bono

• Volunteer mediator, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, 2011 – present
• Board member, YMCA of Rye, New York, 2020 – present