Thomas J. McCormack

Partner

Practice Description

Representative Matters

• In re Tribune Company, Mr. McCormack was trial counsel to the Unsecured Creditors Committee in seeking confirmation of a contested reorganization plan for a media company that filed for bankruptcy owing over $13 billion. After a two week trial, the court found the settlement which formed the basis of the plan to be reasonable and appropriate. 
• In re Yukos Oil Company Ltd., Mr. McCormack was trial counsel to the receiver of Yukos Oil (appointed by the Russian Courts) in securing U.S. injunctive relief precluding Yukos’s management from selling a $1.6 billion Lithuanian oil refinery.
• In Public Utilities Commission of California v. Sellers of Long Term Contracts, Mr. McCormack was trial counsel to Allegheny Energy in successfully defeating California’s highly publicized claims to abrogate over $12 billion of electricity supply contracts.
• Mr. McCormack has represented numerous financial institutions, including Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch and JPMorgan Chase, in a variety of litigation matters involving, among other things, failed tender offers, syndication disputes, loan defaults and "lender liability” claims.
• In Purdue Pharma L.P. v. Johnson & Johnson, Mr. McCormack was trial counsel to Purdue in pursuing claims against Johnson & Johnson arising out of its breaches of a joint drug development and marketing agreement. The case settled favorably mid trial.
• Mr. McCormack has represented various officers and directors of publicly traded companies in class actions and derivative suits, defending allegations of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duties and related claims, in state and federal courts around the country.
• In Zinc Corporation of America v. Mitsui Mining & Smelting Co., Ltd., a case arising out of a manufacturing joint venture, Mr. McCormack obtained a judgment, after 23 days of hearings, dismissing all of ZCA’s breach of fiduciary duty claims and awarding Mitsui sole ownership of the joint venture and an additional $15 million on its counterclaims.
• In re Bennett Funding Group, Inc. Securities Litigation, Mr. McCormack defended a major insurance brokerage firm in a series of class action and securities fraud claims filed in the wake of the collapse of an equipment leasing company accused of selling nearly $1 billion of sham securities.
• In Moore Corp. Ltd. v. Wallace Computer Services, Inc., Mr. McCormack was trial counsel to Moore in a Delaware federal court action seeking to compel Wallace to accept Moore’s $1.3 billion hostile tender offer. 
• In American Steel Products Corp. v. The Penn Central Corp., Mr. McCormack was trial counsel to American Steel in successfully pursuing securities fraud claims against Penn Central in a case arising out of a failed leveraged buy-out for a steel mill.

Reported Decisions

Some of the significant reported decisions in cases in which Mr. McCormack has been involved in recent years include:

• San Juan Cable LLC v. Puerto Rico Telephone Company, Inc., 612 F.3d 25 (1st Cir. 2010) (in a case of first impression, holding that Section 541(b)(1) of the Cable Act does not provide a private right of action to a party seeking to enforce its provisions against a competitor).
• In re Isolagen Inc. Securities and Derivative Litigation, 279 Fed. Appx. 133 (3d Cir. 2008) (dismissing as premature plaintiff's appeal of the dismissal of a shareholder derivative suit where subsequent proceedings arising out of a related securities class action were contemplated).
• T & E Pastorino Nursery v. Duke Energy Trading & Mktg., LLC, 123 Fed. Appx. 813 (9th Cir. 2005) (affirming the dismissal, on grounds of pre-emption and the filed rate doctrine, of several putative class action suits challenging the terms of numerous multi-billion dollar energy supply agreements). 
• Hallwood Realty Partners, L.P. v. Gotham Partners, L.P., 286 F.3d 613 (2d Cir. 2002) (in a case of first impression, holding that Section 13(d) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 does not provide a money damages remedy to an issuer of securities). 
• Orthocraft, Inc. v. Sprint Spectrum L.P., 2002 WL 3160477 (E.D.N.Y., Nov. 16, 2002) (denying motion to amend complaint seeking to differentiate a new class of cell phone service subscribers from a class previously denied certification). 
• In re Estate of Hofmann, 287 A.D.2d 119, 733 N.Y.S.2d 168 (A.D. 1st Dep’t. 2001) (reversing lower court’s denial of a motion to dismiss and dismissing claims collaterally estopped by a prior litigation).
• In re Tobacco/Governmental Health Care Costs Litigation, 83 F. Supp. 2d 125, (D.D.C. 1999), aff’d, 249 F.3d 1068 (D.C. Cir. 2001), cert. denied, 534 U.S. 994 (2001) (dismissing claims made by the Republic of Guatemala for the recovery of health care costs purportedly incurred by its citizens). 

Honors

Mr. McCormack is recognized as a leading litigation practitioner in:

• Chambers USA 
• Benchmark Litigation 
• New York Super Lawyers 

Activities and Affiliations

• Court-Appointed Mediator, Commercial Division, New York Supreme Court, New York County, 1997 to date
• Member: American Bar Association; International Bar Association; Federal Bar Council

Publications

Speeches and Events