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Gavin J. Rooney

Partner
Chair, Business & Class Action Litigation

Roseland
T: +1 973.597.2472 / +1 212.419.5853 F: +1 973.597.2473 grooney@lowenstein.com
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Gavin J. Rooney represents corporate and institutional clients in complex commercial litigation, including merger and acquisition and shareholder disputes, securities litigation, class actions, product liability matters, and affirmative claims by companies seeking to recover business losses.  He has tried actions and arbitrations in forums across the United States and argued appeals in Delaware, California, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York, as well as before several federal circuit courts of appeal. His experience includes significant disputes involving private equity and investment funds, pharmaceutical and life sciences companies, utilities, telecommunications companies, and other corporate clients. Gavin chairs Lowenstein Sandler’s Business Litigation and Class Action practices and is recognized by Chambers USA for Litigation: General Commercial and Securities in New Jersey.

Gavin represents companies and boards of directors in disputes involving breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, consumer fraud, and RICO claims, among other business disputes. His matters have involved controlling-shareholder acquisition transactions, pharmaceutical development and distribution agreements, and product liability and mass tort claims.

Gavin has tried cases in the Delaware Court of Chancery and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey and handled appeals before the Delaware Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, and other state and federal appellate courts. He also represents clients in commercial arbitration, including JAMS and AAA proceedings.

Gavin’s interest in military history informs his approach to litigation. He surveys the state of play, assembles facts, determines tactics, and deploys a strategy aligned with his clients' business objectives. That approach also shapes how he manages complex matters and coordinates large litigation teams while remaining the central point of contact for his clients.

Gavin co-authored New Jersey Business Disputes, published by LexisNexis, a comprehensive treatise that examines the legal framework, key claims, and litigation strategies governing business disputes in New Jersey courts.

  • Tried and won a breach of fiduciary duty claim brought by common stockholders in the Delaware Court of Chancery against a board of directors for approving the corporation’s acquisition by the controlling shareholder, and secured a ruling that the common stock was worth $0 under an “entire fairness” standard of review. Successfully defended that ruling in oral argument before the Delaware Supreme Court.
  • Tried and won a 33-day trial before the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey, winning an $8 million damages award and dismissal of the defendant’s counterclaims, in a dispute arising out of the breach of a collaboration agreement for the development and sale of generic pharmaceuticals.
  • Leveraged a client’s corporate structure to fashion a successful dispositive motion strategy allowing the client to escape over 100 product-liability lawsuits alleging that plaintiffs contracted cancer from asbestos contamination in talc.
  • Prosecuted claims by a pharmaceutical distributor arising from losses incurred when purchasing the rights to distribute generic pharmaceuticals that resulted in a substantial recovery for the client.
  • Won several AAA arbitrations for a telecommunications carrier seeking millions of dollars in damages on various tort claims.
  • Represented the State of New Jersey as special outside counsel in the State’s lawsuit against Volkswagen, Audi, and Porsche for their role in a massive consumer fraud scandal known as “Dieselgate.” Successfully negotiated a settlement of all claims for a total of $69 million for New Jersey.
  • Defeated certification of a class of ratepayers suing a Massachusetts electric utility for damages caused by widespread and lengthy blackouts following a major winter storm. Successfully defended that result on appeal to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, which resulted in one of the key Supreme Judicial Court opinions addressing the standards for class certification in Massachusetts.
  • Led the defense of Bristol-Myers Squibb against several hundred toxic tort lawsuits designated as a "mass tort" by the New Jersey Supreme Court, with parallel cases pending in the District of New Jersey.
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Education

  • Columbia University School of Law (J.D. 1992), Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar

    State University of New York at Binghamton (B.A. 1989), with honors, Phi Beta Kappa

Affiliations

  • New Jersey State Bar Association
    • Class Action Committee
  • New Jersey Law Reform Association
    • Legal Advisory Board
  • Association of the Federal Bar of the State of New Jersey

Admissions

  • New Jersey
  • New York

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