A counsel in the Litigation Department, Robert O'Loughlin has experience in a broad range of civil litigation in both state and federal courts, with a focus on antitrust and M&A litigation, as well as bankruptcy, securities, and breach of contract actions, among other commercial disputes.
His significant antitrust representations include:
- Intuitive Surgical, Inc. in multiple antitrust matters, including securing a complete defense victory at trial in a high-stakes antitrust suit brought by a competitor alleging unlawful tying and exclusive dealing.
- Berkshire Hathaway Energy in defense of an antitrust class action alleging that several real estate brokerages conspired to require home sellers to pay inflated commission to buyer brokers.
- Mastercard in an antitrust action brought by OV Loop, a mobile wallet startup, alleging that Mastercard refused to grant OV Loop access to MDES (Mastercard’s tokenization service), which OV Loop claims is an essential facility.
- Continental Grain, a global investor, owner and operator of food and agribusiness companies, in antitrust merger clearance related to its $4.5 billion acquisition, alongside global food corporation Cargill, of Sanderson Farms Inc.
- Mastercard in complex multidistrict litigation involving millions of U.S. merchants and multiple actions challenging the “interchange” fees associated with payment card transactions, as well as certain network rules governing merchants’ acceptance of payment cards.
His significant M&A litigation representations include:
- 3G Capital in litigation related to its approximately $9 billion acquisition of Skechers U.S.A.
- Momentive Performance Materials and its former directors in complex stockholder appraisal and breach of fiduciary duties litigation arising out of the sale of the company.
- Former Directors and Officers of Bioverativ Inc. in Delaware Chancery litigation concerning the sale of Bioverativ to Sanofi for $11.6 billion.
- A leading telecommunications service provider in the favorable settlement, on the eve of trial, of an expedited material adverse event litigation in the Delaware Chancery Court arising from the client’s termination of a merger agreement.
- Multiple clients in connection with stockholder disclosure claims and Section 220 demands relating to M&A transactions.
His significant other commercial representations include:
- An ad hoc group of senior secured creditors of Oro Negro, a Mexican offshore drilling company, in litigation in Florida and New York state courts against former managers of the company.
- Successfully defeating claims asserted against Citigroup in a FINRA arbitration brought by a former employee following his termination.
- PJT Partners, Inc. in litigation in New York state court, resulting from a fraud committed by a rogue employee, which resulted in a favorable settlement.
- Pilot Travel Centers in the favorable resolution on the eve of trial of a breach of contract and fiduciary duty action filed in the Delaware Court of Chancery concerning accounting methods and put right valuations.
- A group of Serta Simmons lenders excluded from a 2020 debt restructuring deal in a bankruptcy court trial and on appeal to the Fifth Circuit in breach of contract litigation regarding the company’s 2020 “uptier” transaction with a subset of favored lenders.
- Goldman Sachs in a securities fraud case relating to large bond offerings in Southeast Asia.
- 16 underwriters, led by Citigroup, Credit Suisse, and Goldman Sachs, in the defense of Securities Act claims arising from the initial public offering of the oil drilling company Jagged Peak in Colorado state court.
- 17 financial institutions in a securities class action against generic drug maker Valeant Pharmaceuticals, for which the financial institutions were initial purchasers of $15 billion of senior notes issued in Rule 144A private placements as well as underwriters of a secondary offering of common stock.
- Multiple financial institutions in connection with anti-money laundering compliance issues and regulatory investigations.
Robert also has an active pro bono practice that includes both impact litigation and direct services work focusing on civil rights matters. He has won multiple trials as lead counsel, and notably was named an American Lawyer “Litigator of the Week” runner-up (2021) for winning a significant judgment after a bench trial on behalf of a client alleging excessive use of force by a police officer. Through his pro bono work, he has argued appeals in the Second Circuit and has filed amicus briefs in multiple federal and state appellate courts.
In law school, Robert was a Notes Editor of the Michigan Law Review.
