Practice Areas

Complex Business Litigation

Any business of any size may encounter difficult, high-stakes disputes with employees, customers, suppliers, competitors, government entities, or regulators. These disputes present serious costs and risks, including time, resources, legal expense, interruption of normal operations, project delays, and reputation. Swift and fair resolution of these complex matters is essential.

McLane Middleton is viewed by Chambers and others as the leading firm in northern New England for business litigation and trial practice. Our skilled lawyers are admitted to practice in more than 15 states and appear extensively in state and federal courts in both New Hampshire and Massachusetts. We are increasingly being retained outside of New England.

We are proud to have notable and outstanding trial lawyers with substantial experience trying cases to juries and the court, including a former Regent and several Fellows of the American College of Trial Lawyers.

We work closely with our clients and in-house counsel to assess issues and risks and formulate advantageous strategies for litigation or alternative resolutions. Our extensive courtroom and trial experience combined with the expansive knowledge of attorneys across the firm’s many areas of practice enhance the opportunity to reach the optimal outcome for our clients.

In addition, we have extensive internal technical resources to efficiently manage large-scale e-discovery in commercial litigation. When appropriate, we leverage our large network of service providers and experts to support our work for the client.

We know that many cases settle prior to trial and we work hard to achieve fair settlements for our clients. Our team includes trained mediation professionals with extensive experience reaching settlements in the alternative resolution process. This experience guides us as we assess when mediation is the right course.

Our business litigation and trial experience spans a wide range of complex litigation matters, including:

  • Business Litigation: Contracts, business torts, shareholder disputes, unfair competition, and trade secret disputes
  • Environmental Litigation: Superfund (CERCLA), toxic tort, manufactured gas plant (MGP) remediation, PFOAs, environmental permits, and defense of citizen suits
  • Employment Litigation: Discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wage and hour, EEOC, ERISA, wrongful termination, whistleblower, employment agreements, contract, executive compensation, trade secret, nondisclosure, non-solicitation, and non-competition agreements
  • Intellectual Property: Copyright, trademark and patent infringement litigation; trade secret litigation; opposition proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board
  • Construction Litigation: Litigation and dispute resolution related to all aspects of construction projects, representing owners, architects, engineers and contractors
  • Product Liability Litigation: Design, implied, or express warranty, warnings
  • Data privacy and security breaches

Representative Matters:

  • Represented one of the world’s largest technology companies in suit brought by state attorney general alleging consumer protection violations, strict products liability, and negligence
  • Successfully represented Granite Shore Power, LLC and Granite Shore Merrimack, LLC in trial on a suit brought by the Sierra Club and the Conservation Law Foundation alleging violations of the Clean Air Act. Sierra Club et al v. Granite Shore Power, LLC et al, 2023 WL 8455290 (2023).
  • Represented the City of Manchester in claims that efforts to relocate the homeless violate the 8th Amendment to the United States Constitution
  • Represents SIG Sauer, Inc. in a class-action brought by gun owners alleging claims for fraudulent concealment, unjust enrichment, and violations of the New Hampshire Consumer Protection Act
  • Represented a family in claims against investment advisors for breach of fiduciary duty and fraud. Following a jury trial, the clients obtained an award of damages of $28 million.
  • Represented Dartmouth College in overturning a planning board decision, which denied the college’s proposal to construct a multimillion-dollar sports facility. Trustees of Dartmouth College v. Town of Hanover, 171 N.H. 497 (2018)
  • Successfully represented New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Inc. (a NASCAR Speedway) in a contractual dispute regarding covenants in a settlement agreement reached following a challenge to the approval of a site plan for the racetrack decades earlier
  • Represented Saint Gobain Performance Plastics Corporation, et al. in a federal court class-action suit by landowners making claim for alleged PFOA groundwater contamination in southern New Hampshire communities
  • Represented the City of Portsmouth, New Hampshire in multiple related matters connected to the city’s operation of a municipal sewer line
  • Represented New Horizons Communications, Corp. in suit in the Massachusetts Superior Court by shareholders claiming a breach of fiduciary duty by dilution of shares and a “freeze out”
  • Represented shareholders in a close corporation against claims for breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, and accounting relating to a real estate business owning and operating commercial properties in the Greater Boston area
  • Represented financial advisory firm in a contract dispute, obtained reversal of an arbitration award, and sustained the court’s reversal in an appeal involving federal preemption claims

  • Represented KeySpan EnergyCorp., in defense of environmental claims by more than 80 homeowners in Bay Shore, New York, who alleged injury to property resulting from alleged contamination emanating from the former site of a manufactured gas plant.
  • Represented Eversource Energy LLC in a suit challenging the issuance of an Army Corps of Engineers permit to construct the Seacoast Reliability Project. Conservation Law Foundation v. Army Corps of Engineers and Eversource Energy LLC, United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire
  • Represented the Town of Brookline, New Hampshire, in defense of Fair Housing Act claims arising out of the impact of warrant articles on a developer’s proposed multi-family development
  • Represented a publicly traded real estate investment trust in a dispute involving claims under New Hampshire’s Gasoline Franchise Act
  • Represented a pharmaceutical manufacturer under joint criminal and civil DOJ investigation relating to sales and marketing practices, relationships with health care providers, pharmacies, and distributors/wholesalers, among other issues
  • Represented a company in a suit brought by the State of New Hampshire to recover damages allegedly arising out of contamination caused by substances commonly known as PFAS
Parent-Call-to-Action

For additional information, contact Jennifer Parent, chair of the firm's Business Litigation Group.

Delaney-Call-to-Action

For additional information, contact Michael Delaney, chair of the firm's Litigation Department.

Practice Area Members

Jennifer L. Parent Photo
Jennifer L. Parent
Director, Litigation Department & Chair Business Litigation Practice Group
Michael A. Delaney Photo
Michael A. Delaney
Director and Chair, Litigation Department
Steven J. Dutton Photo
Steven J. Dutton
Director and Vice Chair, Litigation Department
Bruce W. Felmly Photo
Bruce W. Felmly
Director, Litigation Department
Benjamin B. Folsom Photo
Benjamin B. Folsom
Director, Litigation Department
Wilbur A. Glahn, III Photo
Wilbur A. Glahn, III
Director, Litigation Department
Adam M. Hamel Photo
Adam M. Hamel
Director, Litigation Department and Vice Chair, Employment Practice Group
Andrew R. Hamilton Photo
Andrew R. Hamilton
Director, Litigation Department
Rachel A. Hampe Photo
Rachel A. Hampe
Counsel, Litigation Department
Connor W. Harding Photo
Connor W. Harding
Associate, Litigation Department
Scott H. Harris Photo
Scott H. Harris
Director, Litigation Department
Sean S. LaPorta Photo
Sean S. LaPorta
Associate, Litigation Department
Min Ji (Stephanie) Nham Photo
Min Ji (Stephanie) Nham
Associate, Litigation Department
Jesse J. O'Neill Photo
Jesse J. O'Neill
Associate, Litigation Department
Amanda E. Quinlan Photo
Amanda E. Quinlan
Associate, Litigation Department
Mark C. Rouvalis Photo
Mark C. Rouvalis
Director, Litigation Department
Cameron G. Shilling Photo
Cameron G. Shilling
Director, Litigation Department & Chair of Cybersecurity and Privacy Group
Graham W. Steadman Photo
Graham W. Steadman
Counsel, Litigation Department
Jeremy T. Walker Photo
Jeremy T. Walker
Director, Litigation Department
Christopher J. Walsh Photo
Christopher J. Walsh
Director, Litigation Department