Dominick Gattuso, a partner at Heyman Enerio Gattuso & Hirzel LLP, focuses his practice on corporate, intellectual property and complex commercial litigation. He advises and represents Delaware corporations and alternative entities, their governing bodies and other constituencies in business litigation, including derivative suits and class actions, contested mergers and acquisitions, contested elections and appraisals, among other business matters. Dominick’s clients include large publicly-traded and privately-held companies as well as smaller, emerging-growth entities.

Dominick also frequently serves as Delaware counsel to the nation’s leading law firms in matters involving corporate and alternative entity disputes and intellectual property rights in state and federal court. He has successfully represented plaintiffs and defendants in patent, trade secret and trademark cases across a broad spectrum of subject matters, including pharmaceuticals (including ANDA matters), telecommunications technology and computer hardware and software technology, among others. In his role as Delaware counsel to some of the nation’s preeminent IP litigation firms, Dominick joins his litigation experience with his knowledge of local practice and the judiciary in the District of Delaware to provide sound advice, support and guidance to trial teams. In addition to his litigation practice, Dominick counsels Delaware entities and their governing bodies on issues relating to corporate governance and fiduciary duties. He is currently a member of the Alternate Entities Committee of the Delaware State Bar Association, a group of attorneys that considers and recommends proposed changes to Delaware statutes governing general partnerships, limited partnerships, and limited liability companies. Dominick is also certified by the Delaware Superior Court as a mediator.

Dominick is AV Rated by Martindale-Hubbell, listed in Best Lawyers in America in the field of Corporate Law, and has been named as a “Delaware Super Lawyer” in the field of Intellectual Property Litigation. He has been described as “a top notch Delaware attorney” and a “first rate advisor on alternative entity issues and Delaware corporate litigation,” who provides “sound” and “thoughtful” advice. Dominick has also been regarded as a “strong lawyer who understands the Court's expectations and always strives to meet them.”

Dominick frequently writes, presents and lectures on corporate and alternative entity law issues.

Education:

  • Widener University, Wilmington, J.D., cum laude, 1997, Wilkes University, B.A., 1992

Career:

  • Law Clerk to the Hon. Henry duPont Ridgely and the Hon. N. Maxson Terry, Delaware Superior Court, 1997-1998
  • Richards, Layton & Finger, P.A., Associate, 1998-2002
  • Widener University School of Law, Adjunct Professor, 2003-2004
  • Smith, Katzenstein & Furlow, LLP, Associate, 2003-2004
  • Bouchard, Margules & Friedlander, P.A., Associate, 2004-2007

Memberships:

  • Alternate Entities Committee, Delaware State Bar Association
  • Board of Editors, Delaware Lawyer (quarterly publication of Delaware Bar Foundation)
    Chair, Partnerships and Alternative Business Entities Subcommittee, Business and Corporate Litigation Committee, Business Law Section, American Bar Association
    Vice Chair, Governance Subcommittee, LLCs Partnerships and Unincorporated Entities Committee, Business Law Section, American Bar Association
  • Delaware State Bar Association
  • Federal Bar Association, Intellectual Property Section
  • Richard S. Rodney Inn of Court (2004-2007)

Representative Engagements:

  • Crown Media Holdings, Inc.: Dominick was lead counsel to the nominal defendant Crown Media Holdings, Inc. (owner of the Hallmark Channel) and three of the company’s directors in this breach of fiduciary duty action, which challenged the recapitalization of Crown Media. The Court of Chancery ruled in favor of the defendants following trial, and the Delaware Supreme Court affirmed the ruling.
  • Woodmen of the World Life Insurance Society and/or Omaha Woodmen Life Insurance Society: Dominick represents the company in a suit against U.S. Bank and its affiliates in the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska, alleging breach of fiduciary duty, among other claims, relating to the company’s participating in U.S. Bank’s securities lending program.
  • BAE Systems Land & Armaments Inc. and Christiana Care Health Services, Inc.: Dominick represents defendants BAE and CCHS in an action pending in the District Court for the Southern District of New York, relating to a leveraged buy-out of the Tribune Company by Sam Zell which resulted in Tribune paying approximately $8.2 billion to thousands of public shareholders in exchange for their Tribune shares.
  • Copart, Inc.: Dominick represented Copart, a publicly-traded company, in a fraudulent inducement/breach of contract action in the Delaware Superior Court. The case settled on the eve of trial.
  • Affiliated Computer Services, LLC, a Xerox Company: Dominick represented an affiliate of this company in litigation brought by a pro se plaintiff in federal court, asserting claims arising out of alleged violations of Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Case settled.
  • Group 42, Inc.: Dominick represents the nominal defendant, Group 42, in a direct/derivative action in the Court of Chancery involving allegations of breach of fiduciary duty and breach of contract.
  • Dominick also serves as Delaware Counsel in multiple intellectual property litigation matters. His clients have included: Actavis, Inc., Lupin, Inc., Endo Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Newegg Inc., AT&T Corp., Abercrombie & Fitch Co., Macy’s, Inc., Sandoz Inc., Taro Pharmaceuticals, USA, PMC., Hetero USA Inc., and Eleven Engineering, Inc., among others.

Reported Cases:

  • Morningred v. Delta Family-Care & Survivorship Plan, et al., 526 Fed. Appx. 217 (3rd Cir. 2013)
  • Pfizer Inc. v. Teva Pharmaceutical Indus, Ltd., et al., 882 F. Supp. 2d 643 (D. Del. 2012)
  • S. Muoio & Co. LLC v. Hallmark Entertainment Investments Co., 35 A.2d 419 (Del. 2011)
  • Morningred v. Delta Family-Care & Survivorship Plan, et al., 790 F. Supp. 2d 177 (D. Del. 2011)
  • Cohen v. Formula Plus, Inc., 750 F. Supp. 2d 495 (D. Del. 2010)
  • In re Elonex Phase II Power Management Litig., 279 F. Supp. 2d 521 (D. Del. 2003)
  • Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. v. Abbott Laboratories, 294 F. Supp. 2d 552 (D. Del. 2002)
  • True North Composites, LLC. v. Trinity Industries, Inc., 191 F. Supp. 2d 484 (D. Del. 2002)
  • Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. v. Abbott Laboratories, 203 F.R.D. 159 (D. Del. 2001)
  • Emerald Partners v. Berlin, 787 A.2d 85 (Del. 2001)
  • Quickturn Design Systems, Inc. v. Shapiro, 721 A.2d 1281 (Del. 1998)
  • Hollinger Intern., Inc. v. Black, 844 A.2d 1022 (Del. Ch. 2004)
  • Comac Partners, L.P. v. Ghaznavi, 793 A.2d 372 (Del. Ch. 2001)
  • Allenson v. Midway Airlines Corp., 789 A.2d 572 (Del. Ch. 2001)
  • Mentor Graphics Corp. v. Quickturn Design Systems, Inc., 728 A.2d 25 (Del. Ch. 1998)

Publications and Speaking Engagements:

  • Co-Author: “Statutory Appraisal: An Old Workhorse with a New Lease on Life,” Business Law Today (April 2015).
  • Speaker: Alternative Entities: A Business Lawyer’s Guide to Formation, Fiduciary Duties and Governance, American Bar Association, Business Law Section (June 21, 2013).
  • Speaker: Alternative Entities from Start to Finish: What Business Lawyers Need to Know about Formation, Governance, Litigation and Dissolution, American Bar Association, Business Law Section (April 2013).
  • Co-Author: “Chapter on General Partnerships, Joint Ventures, Limited Partnerships and Limited Liability Companies,” Annual Review of Developments in Business and Corporate Litigation, Chapter 19, (American Bar Association March 2013).
  • Author: “The Application of Default Fiduciary Duties to Delaware Alternative Entities: The Saga of Uncertainty,” Business Law Today (November 2012).
  • Author: “Special Approval: Is Delaware Alternative Entity Law Cutting Edge or Cutting?”, Business Law Today (August 2012).
  • Co-Author: “Chapter on General Partnerships, Joint Ventures, Limited Partnerships and Limited Liability Companies,” Annual Review of Developments in Business and Corporate Litigation, Chapter 20 (American Bar Association 2012).
  • Speaker: Annual Review in Developments in Business and Corporate Litigation, Business Law Section of the American Bar Association, Denver, Colorado (April 22, 2010).
  • Co-Author: “Chapter on General Partnerships, Joint Ventures, Limited Partnerships and Limited Liability Companies,” Annual Review of Developments in Business and Corporate Litigation, Chapter 20 (American Bar Association 2010).
  • Co-Author: “Reining in Directors and Officers in Corporate America: In Delaware, the Answer is Not to Expand Their Personal Liability,” Business Law Today, Vol. 19, No. 3 (January/February 2010).
  • Speaker: Developments in Delaware Corporate Law and LLCs, Business Law Section of the American Bar Association, Webcast (October 14, 2009).
  • Co-Author: “Delaware LLCs: The Wave Of The Future And Advising Your Clients About Surfing The Wave,” Business Law Today, Vol. 19, No. 1 (September/October 2009).
  • Co-Author: “Chapter on General Partnerships, Joint Ventures, Limited Partnerships and Limited Liability Companies,” Ch. 20 in Annual Review of Developments in Business and Corporate Litigation (American Bar Association 2009).
  • Speaker: LLCs From Formation to Special Uses, National Business Institute, Wilmington, Delaware (March 13, 2009).
  • Author: “Drafting Arbitration Provisions for LLC Agreements: The Devil is in the Details,” Business Law Today, Vol. 18, No. 4 (March/April 2009).
  • Author: “Series LLCs: Let’s Give the Frog a Little Love,” Business Law Today, Vol. 17, No. 6 (July/August 2008).
  • Co-Author: “Handling Mergers & Acquisitions in High-Tech & Emerging Growth Environments,” PLI Corporate Law and Practice Course Handbook Series (May 2000).
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