Litigation In 2024, Hughes Hubbard achieved victory for clients across a wide range of industries, including multiple victories for a foreign government in a $2.1 billion tax refund fraud jury trial and winning a dismissal in a case surrounding the ownership of a Van Gogh painting.
Victories for SKAT in $2.1 Billion Tax Fraud Litigation
In February and November, the firm secured important pre-trial rulings for the Danish tax agency SKAT, and achieved a settlement with one of the defendants accused of helping its clients claim fraudulent tax refunds in an overall $2.1 billion tax fraud scheme, to prepare for the first bellwether case in the multidistrict litigation. In that first trial – which began on Jan. 7, 2025, and lasted five weeks – the firm secured a sweeping victory on behalf of SKAT, with the jury awarding the agency ~$500 million in damages. The victory was reported on by Bloomberg, Law360, Yahoo Finance and International Tax Review.
Dismissal of Lawsuit Over Van Gogh Sunflowers Painting
Hughes Hubbard advised leading Japanese insurer Sompo Holdings, the owner of one of Vincent van Gogh’s iconic Sunflowers paintings, and its affiliates in winning dismissal with prejudice of an action to recover the painting (valued at $250 million) plus $1.5 billion in damages.
Faced With Constitutional Challenge, SEC Drops Case
Hughes Hubbard challenged the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on the constitutionality of its case against firm client Alan J. Markowitz, an engagement partner at audit firm Marcum. Hughes Hubbard’s challenge was crafted along the same lines as the arguments in a similar case, SEC v. Jarkesy, which at the time was being appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. When the court decided against the SEC in Jarkesy, the agency also dismissed its case against Markowitz as well.
Victory in District Court in Constitutional Challenge to Corporate Transparency Act
The firm won an important victory for the National Small Business Association in its challenge to the constitutionality of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) when a judge in the U.S. District Court in Huntsville, AL, ruled the CTA is not within the powers granted to Congress in the U.S. Constitution. Following this victory, the government appealed the ruling to the Eleventh Circuit. Follow on cases are pending throughout the country, and the Treasury Department has announced plans to narrow its regulation to limit enforcement of the statute.
Important Win for Brightwood Capital in Banner Ridge Partners Lawsuit
The firm won a major motion for private investment fund Brightwood Capital, defeating an application for a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit brought by specialist credit investor Banner Ridge Partners over a roughly $253 million continuation-fund deal.
Representation of a New Player in the Credit Market
The firm defended UK-based Corinthia Global Management, a new player in the $1.7 trillion private credit space, in a lawsuit arising from its hiring of members of the private credit team at rival Barings LLC.
Aso O. Tavitian Foundation Gifts 331 Works of Art to the Clark Art Institute
Hughes Hubbard advised the Aso O. Tavitian Foundation on its gift to the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute of an extraordinary collection of 331 works of art. The gift also included more than $45 million to build a new wing for the collection, and to fund a new curator’s position.
Defense of Deutsche Bahn
Hughes Hubbard, working closely with German law firm Hengeler Mueller, is advising and representing the U.S. subsidiary of the German state-owned railway company, Deutsche Bahn, on potential liabilities arising from former subsidiaries that distributed asbestos and talc products.
Victory for the Estate of James Clayton Larmett in Suit Brought by Former Doorman
The firm won an important ruling for the Estate of James Clayton Larmett in a suit brought in Manhattan by Larmett's former doorman Jose Rafael Padilla alleging Larmett promised Padilla a third of his estate.
Major Motion in Freedom of Information Act Pro Bono Case
Hughes Hubbard won an important motion in an ongoing case in which the firm, working with the Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice, is representing Sam Biddle, a journalist seeking information under the Freedom of Information Act from the Department of Defense (DOD) regarding Google’s involvement in certain DOD projects.
Dismissal for Sotheby’s Stemming from Sale of Picasso Painting
The firm successfully represented Sotheby's in a case brought by Maria Iride Crippa, an Italian citizen living in Switzerland, on claims arising from Sotheby's 2021 sale of Pablo Picasso's painting “Le Peintre."