Mr. Albert has been involved in numerous high-stakes cases, in both state and federal court, involving claims of director and officer liability (and related D&O insurance coverage issues), at both the state, multi-state and federal levels. These cases - which Mr. Albert has handled both on behalf of shareholders and secured and unsecured creditors on the plaintiffs' side, and on behalf of senior officers and directors accused of negligence, breach of fiduciary duties, fraud, and other claims on the defense side - have comprised the full gamut of typical D&O claims as well as related employment and severance claims.

On the defense side, for example, just some of the notable representations that Mr. Albert has successfully handled - which involved collectively billions of dollars in claimed liability -- include the following:

• Representing the senior officers and directors of a Fortune Fifty company (BergenBrunswig Corp., now known as AmeriSourceBergen), Mr. Albert successfully positioned the negotiations with the primary and excess insurance carriers, through the threat of bad faith insurance litigation, so as to achieve more than $50 million in insurance funding to resolve several state and federal court securities lawsuits against the insureds. Mr. Albert also obtained significant defense funding from the insurance companies, reducing the company's out-of-pocket exposure in the litigation to an immaterial sum of money. The officers and directors paid nothing and received full and complete releases from all liability without any admission of wrongdoing on their part.


• Representing the senior officers and directors of a film subsidiary of a major NYSE-traded holding company, Mr. Albert succeeded in having the director's and officer's liability insurance carrier reverse its coverage denial decision, obtaining significant defense funding leading to a complete dismissal of the shareholders' claims against the insureds on a motion to dismiss for failure to prosecute the litigation in a timely manner.


• Represented the senior officers and directors of a mid-sized privately held corporation, Mr. Albert instigated insurance bad faith litigation in federal court against the company's director's and officer's liability insurance carrier, resulting in both the payment of defense fees and costs, and the funding of a comprehensive settlement of all claims against the insureds, in a confidential, significant seven-figure amount, including a complete disclaimer of any wrongdoing on the part of the insureds.


• Representing one of the largest publicly-traded residential real estate development corporations in the United States and its senior officers and directors, using, among other skills, a well-supported analysis of the potential for liability above the coverage limits in the applicable insurance policies, both primary and excess, and the absence of credible coverage defenses, Mr. Albert played a key role in obtaining more than $30 million from the primary and excess insurance carriers, in addition to several millions of dollars in defense fees and cost reimbursements. These efforts allowed the funding of a comprehensive settlement of multiple consolidated construction defect lawsuits across multiple jurisdictions, through the creation of a captive warranty and insurance subsidiary to evaluate and pay homeowner claims.


• Represented the CEO, shareholder and director of a mid-sized private insurance and investment advisory company in a series of consolidated and coordinated securities fraud, fiduciary breach and unfair competition lawsuits pending in state court. Also successfully represented the clients in an administrative mandamus proceeding that achieved the reconsideration of a summary license revocation order by the California Insurance Commissioner.


• Represented the former officers and directors of two bankrupt corporations in a RICO lawsuit brought a large institutional investor in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. Successfully moved to transfer the action to the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California on bankruptcy "related to" grounds, and obtained a nuisance value settlement, after filing a motion to dismiss the RICO claims, with no contribution by the defendants, but instead paid entirely by their Directors and Officers liability insurance carrier, together with a public recantation by the plaintiff of any wrongdoing by the defendants.


• Defended the senior officers and directors of a video and film distribution and production company and its successor company in several consolidated and coordinated federal class action cases alleging violations of federal and state securities laws and common law fraud, arising from alleged accounting irregularities in connection with certain acquisitions and divestitures of subsidiary entities. Briefed and argued successful motions to dismiss the actions for failure to prosecute and for failure to state a claim on res judicata grounds, which resulted in the complete dismissal of all of the actions, with prejudice.


• Defended officers and directors of major film company in a class action suit in New York alleging misallocation of the proceeds from the sale and licensing of video packages distributed internationally. Prepared the appellate brief challenging an adverse state court ruling. Devised the successful strategy of requesting that the prior bankruptcy case of Vestron be reopened to obtain an injunction by the Bankruptcy Court to stay the state court class action proceeding.


• Represented the foreign officers and directors of a corporate trading company in a fraud and breach of contract lawsuit against an off-shore bank for failure to honor letters of credit with respect to the importation of tooling machinery from China. As the "first chair" trial attorney, obtained $750,000 verdict against the bank and its directors, exclusive of interest and fees.


• Represented officers and directors of paper importer in federal lawsuit involving Brazilian paper manufacturer and United States purchaser alleging that tons of tissue paper imported from Brazil were defective. Handled all discovery and depositions with local and foreign witnesses. Obtained favorable settlement on steeply-discounted terms on the eve of trial. Defeated alter ego and enterprise liability claims.

On the plaintiffs' side, Mr. Albert has achieved positive results in numerous cases totaling over one hundred million dollars in recoveries for his clients. An illustrative sample of these and similar cases include the following:

• As national class counsel, Mr. Albert conducted the discovery, obtained the experts, and drafted the motions necessary to certify a 50 million person national class action against State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company for breach of contract, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and unfair competition, alleging that the directors and officers were not entitled to the protection of the business judgment rule - at the time one of the largest certified classes in history.


• In a national class action seeking to recover damages for deceptive advertising, breach of contract and consumer fraud, Mr. Albert had primary responsibility for the successful briefing of critical motions to remand the case to state court under ERISA, for class certification, for approval of class notice, opposing class objectors, requiring class objectors to post bonds, for final approval of a national class settlement, and related relief. The settlement resulted in more than $90 million in settlement funds.


• In a predatory lending and elder abuse action against a prominent mortgage lending firm, Mr. Albert - using alter ego theories to "pierce the corporate veil" as against the officers, directors and sole shareholders of the corporation - was able to achieve a very favorable settlement after defeating a motion to expunge a lis pendens placed by the mortgage company against the plaintiff's property.