James P. Chou

Select representations include: 

• Limited partners in an individual and derivative action against an investment fund’s general partner and its principals. The client asserted fraud and contract-based claims relating to misrepresentations concerning an investment opportunity involving a $5.6 billion portfolio of risky, underperforming residential mortgage-backed securities held by three CDO trusts.
• Private equity investors in a suit against the former manager of a real estate investment fund for breaches of contractual and fiduciary duties and fraud in connection with excessive and concocted management fees.
• The managing member of a real estate limited liability company in a breach of fiduciary duty action initiated by minority members in a dispute over the sale of a 5th Avenue building and a questionable complex, multi-step 1031 exchange through newly formed exchange LLCs.
• Former CEO of a publicly traded retail company in a breach of fiduciary action against former officers and directors in connection with the company’s $1 billion share buyback program.
• Founder and former CEO of a multi-billion dollar virtual telehealth company in connection with Delaware books and records demand in preparation for Delaware Chancery Court litigation involving claims of improper corporate governance, ultra vires conduct, breaches of fiduciary duty, and unlawful discrimination. 
• A web-based fintech company in a bet-the-company litigation initiated by a global financial and information services company asserting misappropriation of trade secrets and breach of restrictive covenants by former employees.
• A multi-generational family-owned importer and distributor of specialty alcohol beverage products in a trade secrets and corporate espionage case against the U.S. subsidiary of a foreign multinational specialty foods and beverage conglomerate.
• A global tire manufacturer against its insurance carrier in a factually complex dispute over the failure to cover a loss under an all-risk ocean cargo policy.
   

Select representations include:

• The indenture trustee of junior secured notes of a residential mortgage loan originator and servicer in an adversary proceeding concerning, among other things, the scope of all-assets security interests under the relevant Notes Security Agreements.
• Creditors committee of an operator of oil tankers and oil tug barges in a post-emergence dispute over the availability of interest on overdue interest under the relevant bond indenture and secured note.
• The claims agent of reorganized. a semiconductor company in an adversary proceeding brought by its former Japanese subsidiary asserting a $1 billion claim for contractual rejection damages.
• Investment fund-petitioning creditors in defending against a civil RICO action brought by the former CEO of a Virgin Islands telecom company and its affiliated debtors.
• A high-profile jewelry professional in an adversary proceeding brought by the liquidating trustee of Firestar Diamond asserting civil RICO claims and causes of action for fraudulent conveyance in connection with an alleged multinational fraudulent conspiracy against a foreign national bank and other creditors, pending in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
• The litigation designees of a national retail debtor to investigate and potentially bring state law fraudulent conveyance claims against public shareholders.
• The principal of a high-tech company in connection with a multi-faceted workout of its debt structure, which involved an assignment for the benefit of creditors, an accompanying sale of assets to the firm’s private equity investor, and subsequent litigation against certain chapter 7 petitioning creditors.