Case Results

in Denver, Colorado

Business/Antitrust

PLAINTIFF

Altresco v. CMS Generation Co.
Represented an independent power developer in a breach of contract action against CMS Generation Company involving the demise of a power plant project on the Island of Luzon in the Philippines.  Following a three-week arbitration in Hong Kong, the arbitrator awarded the developer damages and attorney fees.

Leatherman v. Hanifen Imhoff
Obtained arbitration award on behalf of former employees/shareholders of a brokerage firm for breach of fiduciary duties.

Berco v. Amerada Hess
Represented an independent oil and gas producer in the Williston Basin of North Dakota alleging violations of Section 2 of the Sherman Act and Section 7 of the Clayton Act based on the acquisition and closure of one of two natural gas processing plants in the relevant market.  Obtained a settlement that involved entry into long-term processing contracts on terms reflecting a competitive market.

Kosmedix v. Allergan
Represented a small cosmetics company in pursuing trademark infringement claims against a multi-national cosmetics company and obtained a favorable settlement.

Mintz v. Caviness, et al.
Represented a group of medical providers in pursuing claims for payment for medical services and defending against claims for breach of contract, fraud and violations of the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act.  Following a one-week trial, the court awarded the providers payment for their services and rejected all claims for damages asserted against them.

Triad Holdings v. Fogler, et al.
Successfully represented client in action to enforce guarantees of commercial leases, including pursuing claims for the fraudulent transfer of funds to offshore trusts in the West Indies and the Cook Islands.

Western Fire Truck, Inc. v. Emergency One
Obtained jury verdict in favor of a fire and rescue equipment dealer against a fire and rescue equipment manufacturer and dealer’s former employee on claims involving intentional interference with a contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and civil conspiracy.

Starz Encore Group v. AT&T Broadband, et al.
Represented premium entertainment programmer in contract dispute with cable television providers involving failure to comply with financial terms of affiliation agreement, resulting in settlement.

Starz v. Buena Vista Television, Inc.
Represented premium entertainment programmer in contract dispute with content provider alleging breach of the parties’ license agreement and copyright violations. 

DEFENSE

Black Hawk, et al. v. Central City, et al.
Defended the City of Black Hawk in a multi-million dollar antitrust case filed against the city and its casinos by Central City and its casinos alleging conspiracy to block access road to Central City.  Hill & Robbins was the lead defense counsel in a successful motion to dismiss, including successful defense on appeal to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Lake Loveland Ambulatory Surgery Center v. Banner Health, et al.
Defended physicians health organization in antitrust case filed by a surgery center alleging conspiracy to prevent independent surgery center from entering the market.  Resulted in a settlement involving no monetary payout.

Lee v. Banner Health, et al.
Represented surgical practice and individual surgeons in lawsuit filed by another surgeon against a hospital and physicians related to peer review activity, including antitrust allegations.  Defeated request for preliminary injunction in Federal Court, and obtained dismissal of case in state court.

Learning Curve, Inc. v. Starz Media
Defended a distributor of Thomas & Friends DVDs in dispute involving non-payment of invoices for toys, including counterclaims related to the sale and recall of lead-contaminated wooden trains. 

Representative Clients:  Starz, Inc., Mile High Medical Group, Mountain Shadows Medical Association

Class actions

SECURITIES CLASS ACTIONS

Gottlieb v. Miniscribe
Obtained settlement for investors in MiniScribe Corporation, a computer disk manufacturer.  The litigation involved the company’s accountants as well as the company officers who were responsible for misstating the company’s earnings to the public. 

City Partnership v. Jones Intercable
Obtained settlement on behalf of limited partners in a cable television venture in a derivative suit against the limited partnership involving the sale of cable systems.

City Partnership v. TCI 5
Obtained settlement for limited partners who invested in a cable television venture.

Sins v. Janus
Obtained settlement on behalf of class of mutual fund holders on claims under the Investment Company Act of 1940 alleging excessive fees.

In re Ribozyme
Obtained settlement on behalf of class of investors in a pharmaceutical research company on claims that the company issued false and misleading statements regarding the success of its products in violation of the securities laws.

Red Alert Income Partners Securities Litigation
Obtained settlement for limited partners who invested in a home security monitoring company.

PENSION CLASS ACTIONS

Aull v. Cavalcade
Settlement of class action under the Federal ERISA statute on behalf of employees against the Furrs Cafeteria pension plan for reduction in pension lump sum pay-out calculations to older workers caused by change from a traditional pension plan to a cash-balance plan.

Cooper v. IBM
Settlement of class action under the Federal ERISA statute on behalf of IBM employees against the IBM pension plan for reduction in lump sum pay-out calculations as well as reduction in earned pension amounts for older workers when the company converted from a traditional pension calculation formula to a cash balance plan.

Eaton v. Onan
Settlement of a class action under the Federal ERISA statute on behalf of employees of an automobile equipment manufacturer for reduction in pension lump sum pay-out calculations to older workers caused by change from a traditional pension plan to a cash-balance plan.

CONSUMER CLASS ACTIONS

Vastano v. AT&T
Reached settlement on behalf of class of AT&T cell phone customers damaged by improper billing.

Campbell v. The Chemins Company
Represented class of consumers in alleging violations of truth in labeling laws for protein supplements.  Obtained a settlement in which consumers were refunded 100% of their purchase price. 

Uninsured/Underinsured Auto Insurance cases
Hill & Robbins, P.C. is currently representing plaintiffs in class actions filed on behalf of Colorado insurance consumers against 27 different insurance carriers. The plaintiffs in these cases allege that the insurance companies violated Colorado law when they failed to disclose important information about the scope of the uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage being provided under their policies. As a result, policy holders paid UM/UIM premiums on multiple vehicles without understanding that the premium on additional vehicles provided no additional insurance coverage for the policy holders or their residents relatives.

17 of the insurance companies have settled.  Two of the cases are currently before the Colorado Court of Appeals, on appeals from class certification rulings issued by the trial court. Two cases are pending in federal court in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado. The rest of the cases are pending in Boulder District Court before the Honorable Judge D.D. Mallard.

Air Communications v. EchoStar
Hill & Robbins, P.C. represented plaintiff in a class action filed on behalf of EchoStar retailers who suffered damages when EchoStar forced the retailers to accept contracts which reduced their profits. After extensive discovery and complex pre-trial proceedings, the case was settled favorably on behalf of the class.

Natural Resources

Lowry Landfill
Represented municipal waste generators as members of a steering committee that conducted a remedial investigation of one of Colorado’s largest Superfund hazardous waste sites.  Negotiated and reached a global settlement among owners, operators and other generators that included a remedial plan accepted by the EPA.

American Water Development Inc. v. City of Alamosa
Represented Rio Grande Water Conservation District in defeat of American Water Development’s application for a water right to develop ground water under the northern end of the San Luis Valley, Colorado, which they intended to export for use outside of the San Luis Valley.

Kansas v. Colorado
Representation of the State of Colorado since 1985 as special counsel in litigation in the United States Supreme Court with the State of Kansas over allocation of the Arkansas River under the Arkansas River Compact.  The decree is currently in progress.

Thiebaut and Sierra Club v. Colorado Springs
Represented municipal-owned utility company in citizens’ suit brought under the Clean Water Act in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado, including two-week trial (awaiting decision from Court). 

Representative clients:  State of Colorado, Rio Grande Water Conservation District, Republican River Water Conservation District, Southwestern Water Conservation District, Colorado Springs Utilities, Willows Water District, Littleton/Englewood Wastewater Treatment Plant, City of Englewood, City of Johnstown, City of Evans, Eldorado Springs Water Company, Anheuser-Busch,  Riverside Irrigation District and Reservoir Company, City of Fort Morgan, Town of Silverthorne, Town of Parachute, Lower Platte & Beaver Canal Company

Pro Bono

Colorado Common Cause – Amendment 15 litigation
Pro bono representation of Colorado Common Cause in federal litigation over a state constitutional amendment setting campaign contribution limits.  Participated in trial as amicus curiae.

Bryant v. US West
Successfully represented individual whose local telephone service was terminated for failure to pay for long distance service, after local and long distance services were separated.  Resulted in reported opinion in Colorado Supreme Court on standing and on the ability of the Public Utilities Commission to award attorneys’ fees.