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Since 1993, FG&I has represented a class of doctors as plaintiffs against United Health Care of Ohio and numerous other defendants, seeking return of monies withheld and misappropriated by the defendants. Two years ago, a portion of the case settled; while the settlement agreement is confidential, the Dayton Daily News reported that the settlement was for $9 million. On March 13, 1998, Judge Patrick Foley of the Court of Common Pleas of Montgomery County, Ohio, ruled in favor of FG&I's clients, the plaintiff class, after a two-week trial of the remainder of the case, and awarded $8.5 million, with a decision to come next month on other issues including pre-judgment interest. The case involved theories including breach of contract, and presentation to the court at trial of financial analyses and economic testimony.

On March 26, 1998, the U.S. District Court in Dayton granted summary judgment for our client, The Iams Company ("Iams"), in a complex antitrust case relating to the mid-year termination of a distributorship agreement. Iams manufactures dog and cat food, and it was sued by a distributor in California for anticompetitive conduct. FG&I filed for Iams a declaratory judgment action in Dayton under a forum selection clause in its agreement, and the distributor counterclaimed for multiple violations of the Sherman Act, breach of contract and various torts. Iams moved for summary judgment, arguing that the terms of the contract barred some claims, that unilateral action was not a violation of the Sherman Act, and that there had been no interference with contract. Iams also moved to strike an affidavit submitted in opposition to the motion for summary judgment, on the ground that it was inconsistent with previous deposition testimony.

This favorable summary judgment decision is a good example of our firm's representation of clients with complex business cases involving the interplay of federal statutes, contracts and business torts. The case is also procedurally interesting because there is a parallel case in California involving the same parties. Iams has moved for a temporary restraining order in the U.S. District Court in Dayton to stop the California case from proceeding. The District Court in Dayton may enjoin the parties in that proceeding, to the extent certain claims are similar.

On March 26, 1998, Jeff Ireland participated as a member of the faculty at the Ohio CLE Institute on the subject of  "Business Torts From A to Z." Mr. Ireland's presentation focused on "Interference Theories," and he covered tortious interference with contract, tortious interference with prospective economic advantage as well as issues relating to common law and statutory defamation in Ohio. His presentation also addressed common issues relating to temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunction practice and discovery.