Michael K. Coran

Michael serves as General Counsel Emeritus and is a member of the firm’s three-person Executive Committee. He concentrates his practice on commercial litigation, with particular emphasis on corporate and securities litigation, post-acquisition disputes, intellectual property litigation, lender liability, and business torts.

Michael represents numerous regional and national businesses in litigation matters in federal and state courts. He also has significant experience in litigation and civil investigations initiated by such entities as the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and state agencies, as well as self-regulatory organizations. Michael regularly conducts trials and arbitrations in state and federal courts and in private or self-regulatory organizations.

Some of the representative matters Michael has led include:

• Successful settlement of claim by multi-national generic pharmaceutical manufacturer for compensation from $442 million in bonds posted by plaintiff as security for preliminary injunctions entered in underlying patent infringement litigation won by generic manufacturer.
• Representation of a former CEO of a payment processing company sold in private equity transaction in defense of claim brought in Delaware Chancery Court by purchaser for fraud and breach of representations and warranties in merger agreement; case tried over ten days in December 2017.
• Represented owners of 250,000 square foot office building in downtown Allentown, PA in actions in both state and federal court on Constitutional Takings and Contracts Clause claims arising out of owner’s loss of building through foreclosure due to enactment of economic opportunity zone.
• Represented 13 directors and officers of failed publicly traded workers’ compensation insurer in defense of action for breach of fiduciary duty brought by bankruptcy trustee and as plaintiffs in action for insurance coverage for trustee’s claims in which the action successfully settled with insurance proceeds after lengthy mediation.
• Engaged by University Board of Trustees to conduct internal investigation into propriety of real estate acquisition program.

Author, “COVID-19 and the Police Power,” March 19, 2020

Press Release, “Klehr Harrison Client Receives Favorable Decision in Merger Liability Claim,” February 27, 2020

Featured “2015 Litigation & ADR Handbook,” Financier Worldwide February 18, 2015

Presenter, “Confidentiality Agreements: Use and Enforcement,” accredited CLE, October 24, 2011

Author, “Rethinking Corporate Counsel: Nine Minds Are Better Than One”, October 13, 2011

Presenter, “Identifying and Preventing Securities Fraud,” National Business Institute Seminar, March 2008

Presenter, “Preventing a Catastrophic Loss: Broker/Dealer Loss and Counterparty Failure,” 2008 Annual Beneficial Owners’ Summit on Domestic & International Securities & Lending Repo, February 2008

Presenter, “The Impact of a Big Hedge Fund Blowup; A Cash Loss in a Reinvestment Account A Broker/Dealer Loss; A Counterparty Failure,” 2007 Annual Beneficial Owners’ Summit on Domestic & International Securities & Lending Repo, February 2007

Author, “Lessons Learned,” International Securities Finance, June 2006

Author, “Evaluating the Most Prevalent Securities Lending Risks,” Annual Beneficial Owners’ Summit on Domestic & International Securities & Lending Repo, February 2006

• Victory for the defendant at trial in Southern District of New York a declaratory judgment action brought to determine the price at which one member of an LLC that owned a high-rise apartment in Manhattan would purchase the defendant’s interest.
• After an evidentiary hearing, obtained injunction and appointment of a temporary receiver on behalf of property owners of a large commercial office building causing the removal and replacement of property and asset manager.
• Victory for private equity purchaser of manufacturing business in action for breach of representations and warranties in the purchase agreement in a case tried over 16 days in arbitration.
• Obtained $8.2 million arbitration award for clearing broker in NASD arbitration dispute brought by introducing broker seeking to avoid payment of fees due under the parties’ clearing agreement.
• Settlement five days before trial in a securities lending dispute between 2 broker/dealers in which our client recovered $23 million and other payments equaling 98% of total actual damages.
• Obtained a multi-million dollar arbitration award on behalf of a television home shopping sales agency and against a large cosmetics manufacturer that attempted to terminate the parties’ sales agency agreement, which required the manufacturer to pay sales commissions to the agent for television sales. Award included damages, back commissions, and reinstatement of the contract
• Obtained defense verdict for national cable operator after trial in federal court on claim by multi-unit dwelling owners that FCC regulations permitted them to oust the cable operator from the property
• Successful defense to verdict of seller of business in $12 million claim for fraud arising out of sale of business
• Managed successful defense at trial and on appeal of $30 million declaratory judgment action in courts of England arising out of English plaintiff’s demand to have multimillion-dollar services contract deemed terminated due to an alleged corporate change of control.
• Victory in statutory cable access arbitration on behalf of national cable operator in which property owner’s demand for just compensation in excess of $4.0 million was rejected and award of $1 provided instead.
• Representation of international video game retailer in several consumer class action cases, all of which settled on favorable terms