UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

1.  Multivision Northwest v. Jerrold Electronics, 356 F.Supp. 207, 13 UCC Rep. Serv. 1013 (1972), U.S.D.C., N.D. Ga. Defendant’s verdict. Product liability. Commercial claim for defective capacitors employed in a cable television transmission system. Mutivision, a new company, was faced with the difficulty of establishing damages and proximate cause. As to damages, the use of revenue regression growth curves in a start-up company so as to avoid the legal prohibition against speculative damages for businesses that do not have an earning history was accepted by the court. Relief was denied by the court due to proximate cause issues related to deficiencies and negligence of Multivision’s own engineers in timely recognition of the causes of its problems in transmitting TV signals.

2. Hamilton Bank & Trust Company v. T. Wendell Holliday, et al., 469 F.Supp. 1229, Blue Sky L. Rep., p. 71,521, Fed. Sec. L. Rep., p. 96,953 (1979). Representation of defendants Brennen, Garner and Sweetin. Motion for summary judgment granted in part, denied in part. This case arose out of the failure of Hamilton Bank & Trust Company. Defendants Brennen, Garner and Sweetin were officers of a wholly owned subsidiary doing business as Hamilton Factors which was involved in commercial finance (factoring) of accounts receivable. On motion for summary judgment, Brennen, Garner and Sweetin prevailed on the issue that commercial factoring of receivables did not constitute dealing in “securities” so as to support plaintiff’s securities violations claims based on failure to register. Motion for summary judgment with respect to aiding and abetting the sale of securities, common law fraud and statute of limitations were denied, citing “factual issues.” Those “factual issues” were later resolved in favor of the defendants.

3. State Farm Fire & Casualty Insurance Company v. Edward L. White, et al., 777 F.Supp. 952 (1991). Represented Defendants Gregg Sims and North Georgia Development Partnership in this declaratory judgment action. Declaratory judgment re: coverage pursuant to “advertising injury” provisions of commercial insurance contract. Our client, Gregg Sims, an architect, and his company, North Georgia Development Partnership, had sued White, Rozzell, Davis, Barksdale, C&R Development Company in an underlying case alleging that these defendants built apartment complexes relying on plans that were drawn by Sims, owned by NGDP and alleging that the defendants were guilty of predicate acts of theft, conversion, unjust enrichment, conspiracy to convert to their own use certain architectural, business plans and intellectual property of Gregg Sims and NGDP in that the defendants jointly and severally paid an electrician to steal, a draftsman to copy, and another architect to place an imprimatature on plans, trade dress and specifications designed by Sims, and which were his intellectual property. Damages were sought in conversion, quantum merit, assumpsit, violation of common law copyright, copyright infringement, and unfair business practices. Punitive damages were also sought. The trial court granted in part and denied in part State Farm’s motion for summary judgment, holding that claims of theft, conversion and copyright conversion were not covered, but that all damages related to the value of the printed plans would fall within the definition of property loss for which advertising injury coverage existed.