Cummings & Lockwood LLC

Cummings & Lockwood's Trial Group Wins Multi-Million Dollar Trial of Hedge Fund Partnership Dispute

C&L recently obtained trial damages of $5,783,028.00 in a derivative lawsuit brought by two investors on behalf of a hedge fund partnership. Over the course of two weeks, the case was tried to a judge sitting on the Complex Litigation Docket for the Superior Court for the State of Connecticut.

After the trial, the court ruled in favor of C&L’s clients. The partnership successfully claimed that the hedge fund’s investment advisor, general partner and the individual who controlled the corporate entities, converted and misappropriated millions of dollars from the fund for purported “losses”, “fees” and other internal fund expenses that the court ruled they were not entitled to take. The court further determined that this conduct was a breach of fiduciary duty.

In Case of First Impression, Cummings & Lockwood Client Wins $4.5 Million Trial Judgment in Complex Assignment of Debt Action

In a case of first impression in Connecticut, C&L’s litigation group obtained a judgment after trial of $4,468,839.71 on behalf of the purchaser of a debt evidenced by a promissory note. C&L was co-counsel in the litigation along with counsel from California.

The case raised complex questions of whether or not the promissory note at issue was governed by Article 3 of the Uniform Commercial Code. The defendants argued that because the note was lost by the purchaser’s predecessor-in-interest, the purchaser could not recover pursuant to Article 3-309.

The case was tried courtside on the Complex Litigation Docket for the Superior Court for the State of Connecticut, and the court ruled that the Uniform Commercial Code did not apply. The court held that because the promissory note did not contain a fixed amount of debt, it was outside the scope of the U.C.C. It entered judgment in C&L’s client’s favor and further awarded attorneys’ fees and pre- and post-judgment interest.

Cummings & Lockwood Wins Significant Probate Law Ruling from Connecticut Supreme Court Concerning Calculation of Surviving Spouse's Statutory Share

Cummings & Lockwood recently obtained a significant ruling in favor of its client from the Connecticut Supreme Court concerning the manner in which a surviving spouse’s statutory share is to be calculated. Cummings & Lockwood successfully argued before the court that the statutory share, which is the portion of an estate that goes to a surviving spouse who was not included in the deceased spouse’s will, is to be based upon the value of the estate’s assets at the time of distribution as opposed to the value at the date of death.

This ruling was particularly significant for Cummings & Lockwood's client, who had served as executrix of the estate, because the value of the estate’s assets had depreciated significantly between the date of death and distribution. The Supreme Court’s decision is one of its two or three most significant decisions in its history concerning the statutory share and will impact the manner in which the share is calculated going forward.