Partner New York, New York Phone: 212.471.8349 Fax: 212.336.8340 sagrawal@susmangodfrey.com* Print this Profile (PDF) Download Business Card SUYASH AGRAWAL, born in Allahabad, India, admitted to the state bars of Texas (2002) and New York (2009). Suyash Agrawal is a partner in Susman Godfrey's New York office, which he joined in January 2009 after five years in the firm's Houston office. He represents plaintiffs and defendants in state and federal courts and arbitrations throughout the nation. He handles all aspects of complex commercial litigation and trial advocacy, including appeals. Suyash's cases have involved diverse areas of state and federal law including antitrust, bankruptcy, breach of contract, business torts, class actions, deceptive trade practices, defamation, energy, FCC law, fiduciary duties, fraud, fraudulent transfer, HUD regulations, Indian gaming and casino law, insurance coverage, maritime law, oil and gas law, patent infringement, real estate transactions, shareholder oppression, trade secrets, and unfair competition. These cases have taken Suyash around the country and the world—from London to Mexico City, Miami to Seattle, Hong Kong to Slovenia, San Diego to Boston. In 2006, 2007, 2008, and again in 2009, Texas Monthly named Suyash a "Rising Star" of the Texas legal profession. And H Texas magazine has identified Suyash as a "Professional on the Fast Track" in Houston. TRIALS AND ARBITRATIONS Unlike most lawyers at his level of seniority, Suyash has actual experience trying commercial cases before judges and juries.  In multi-million dollar disputes, Suyash has conducted voir dire, argued countless evidentiary and other trial motions, and handled jury charging. Most importantly, though, Suyash has examined dozens of witnesses, including adverse parties, third-party witnesses, and experts. 54 Broadcasting, Inc., et al. v. LIN Television of Texas, L.P., et al. (W.D. Tex.) – In February 2009, with Steve and Harry Susman, Suyash represented 54 Broadcasting and its shareholders in a breach of contract and minority shareholder oppression case in federal court in Austin, Texas. The case involved a dispute over the rights to an FCC license for an Austin, Texas television station worth tens of millions of dollars.  After a week-long trial, the case settled on confidential terms before the jury rendered its verdict. Segue Electronics, Inc., et al. v. Phihong USA Corp, et al. (Los Angeles, California) – Suyash represented Segue Electronics, a Los Angeles-based distributor of electronics components, in a breach of contract claim against Fujian JK and Anhui JK, Chinese manufacturers of lighting and motor-run capacitors. Segue claimed that JK breached two contracts that granted Segue the exclusive right to distribute JK's capacitors in North America. After extensive international discovery and a nearly five-week jury trial in the fall of 2008, the jury returned a verdict in Segue's favor for almost $4 million. Suyash is currently handling post-trial appeals on Segue's behalf. Williams, et al. v. KB Home (Dallas, Texas) (Arbitration) – With Katie Sammons and Trey Peacock, Suyash defended KB Home in a mass arbitration action in which the purchasers of over 125 homes asserted claims for breach of contract, gross negligence, real estate fraud, and deceptive trade practices. The homeowners alleged that, when they purchased their homes, KB Home failed to disclose that the land on which their subdivision was built had been used during World War II as a naval practice bombing range. After an eight-week arbitration in 2006 and 2007 on the claims of 24 bellwether properties, the arbitrator only awarded about 20% of what the bellwether homeowners sought in damages. Many bellwether homeowners were awarded nothing. Allapattah Services, et al. v. Exxon (S.D. Fla.) – With Steve Susman and Jim Southwick, Suyash successfully represented a small Florida law firm through a full bench trial in federal court in Miami. The dispute arose over the competing rights of several law firms to one of the largest attorney's fee ever awarded in a class action. In 2006, the court awarded more than $50 million to the three-partner law firm that originally filed the case. Enterprise NGL Pipelines, LLC, et al. v. Standard Gas Co. & Sunoco Pipeline L.P. (Harris County, Texas) – In 2005, with Tom Paterson and Harry Susman, Suyash represented Enterprise NGL Pipelines LLC and Enterprise Products Operating LP on claims that they were entitled to buy two blocks of stock worth more than $70 million in the Dixie Pipeline Company. After expedited discovery and a three-party bench trial on the merits, the court ruled in Enterprise's favor on all issues. CURRENT ENGAGEMENTS Suyash represents parties in matters large and small all over the country, including some of the most significant litigations currently pending in the New York state and federal courts. Animal Science Products, Inc., et al. v. Hebei Welcome Co., Ltd., et al. (E.D.N.Y.) – With Jim Southwick, Suyash serves as co-lead counsel for a class of direct purchasers of vitamin C in the first-ever federal price-fixing case against industrial defendants from the People's Republic of China. The case raises important, novel issues concerning the role of the Chinese central and provincial governments in the pricing and output decisions of Chinese manufacturers. Gardiner v. Bank of America, et al. (S.D.N.Y.) – With Geoff Harrison, Suyash represents several dozen victims of a fraud and money laundering scheme perpetrated by an offshore Antiguan bank. The complaint alleges that Standard Chartered Bank and Bank of America participated in and aided and abetted the Antiguan bank's fraud and breach of fiduciary duty, and also engaged in commercial bad faith conduct. Madoff Litigation – Suyash is currently representing various investors who lost substantial investments in Bernard Madoff's notorious ponzi scheme. Suyash's clients had invested in funds that they thought were run by J. Ezra Merkin, a well-known money manager in New York City. It turns out that the investments were actually placed with Madoff, a fact that was not disclosed Merkin's investors. In re Truvo USA LLC, et al. (Bankr. S.D.N.Y.) – Suyash is representing the Coordinating Committee of Senior Lenders as conflicts counsel in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings of certain affiliates of the Truvo Group, a directories and advertising company based in Europe. The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of Old CarCo LLC (f/k/a Chrysler LLC) v. Daimler AG, et al. (Bankr. S.D.N.Y.) – With Steve Susman, Suyash represents the unsecured creditors of the former Chrysler in a multi-billion dollar fraudulent transfer action against Daimler, AG and certain of its affiliates in bankruptcy court in New York. The complaint alleges that Daimler orchestrated a complex restructuring of its then-subsidiary Chrysler to maximize Daimler's return when it sold Chrysler's operations to a large private equity firm. According to the complaint, assets were stripped away from the Chrysler entities, leaving them empty handed to the detriment of Chrysler's creditors. Almonte, et al. v. Securities America, Inc., et al. (Houston, Texas) (Arbitration) – Suyash is currently representing a group of investors who lost nearly all of their investments in promissory notes issued by Medical Capital, which turned out to be a massive ponzi scheme. The investors - many of whom have lost most of their life savings - have commenced FINRA arbitration proceedings against Securities America, one of the largest broker-dealers in the country, which recommended and sold them the Medical Capital notes. Suyash's clients allege that Securities America and its affiliates failed to disclose material risks associated with the Medical Capital notes and therefore violated state and federal securities laws and regulations. T3 Energy Services v. Ardmore (Harris County, Texas) – With Tom Paterson, Suyash has been representing T3 Energy Services in a significant commercial property dispute pending in Houston, Texas against T3's former landlord and its subtenant. T3 prevailed in the trial court on summary judgment against both adverse parties. The matter is currently on appeal to the Houston First Court of Appeals. OTHER REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS The PlanIT Group, Inc. v. DLN Holdings LLC (Fairfax County, VA) – Suyash represented the buyers of a $53 million government contracts business in a breach of contract, fraud, and misrepresentation action against the sellers. Shortly after the parties exchanged expert reports, the case settled on confidential terms. United States ex. rel. Lacefield v. KB Home Mortgage Co., et al. (N.D. Tex.) – Suyash defended KB Home and its mortgage arm in a False Claims Act qui tam action in which the relator alleged that the KB parties falsely certified that certain loans were processed in accordance with regulations established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. After extensive briefing, the Court granted KB an across-the-board summary judgment win rejecting all of the relator's claims. The Court ruled that KB reasonably followed the regulations under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act and therefore could not be guilty of violating the False Claims Act. Hexion Specialty Chemicals, Inc., Apollo Management L.P., et al. v. Huntsman Corp. (Delaware Chancery Court) – Suyash was one of the Susman Godfrey lawyers who represented Hexion and Apollo in their highly-publicized dispute with chemical manufacturer Huntsman Corporation over a $6.5 billion merger agreement. Lek, d.d. v. Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. & Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (E.D. Tex.) – Suyash represented a Slovenian generic pharmaceutical company in a patent infringement suit against Bristol-Myers Squibb and Watson Pharmaceuticals over two polymorph patents for the cholesterol-lowering medication, pravastatin. Before a single deposition was taken, the lawsuit settled in the spring of 2008. The terms and amount of the settlement are confidential. Click here to read excerpts from an article about the case in IP Law 360. Rinaldo Corp. v. Nevada Gold & Casinos, et al. (Kern County, California) – With Robert Rivera and Joe Grinstein, Suyash defended Houston-based Nevada Gold & Casinos, a publicly traded gaming company, in a business tort case arising out of a failed Indian casino project in Hisperia, California. Rinaldo Corporation sought more than $400 million in alleged damages. After extensive discovery, in February 2007, the trial court in Bakersfield, California granted summary judgment in favor of Nevada Gold on all of Rinaldo's claims. In 2008, the California Court of Appeal affirmed. Wood Group Logging Svcs., Inc. v. Key Energy Svcs., Inc., et al. (Harris County, Texas) – With Geoff Harrison, Suyash defended Key Energy Services and two of its managers in a theft of trade secret, breach of fiduciary duty, and civil conspiracy case brought by Wood Group. Key Energy and Wood Group were competitors in the cased-hole services industry. When it filed its lawsuit, Wood Group also moved immediately for a temporary restraining order alleging that it would suffer imminent and irreparable harm. Instead of wasting time in what could have been protracted and expensive pretrial proceedings, the parties agreed to expedited discovery and a quick trial setting. With an imminent trial date, the parties settled before a single deposition was taken on confidential terms. Enron Corp. v. Citigroup, et al. (Bankr. S.D.N.Y.) – With H. Lee Godfrey, Kenneth S. Marks, and a team of Susman Godfrey partners, Suyash represented Enron's bankruptcy estate in a massive adversary proceeding against 11 major investment banks for aiding and abetting the breaches of fiduciary duty and fraud of Enron's top officers. Susman Godfrey reached settlements worth billions of dollars to the estate's creditors. Williams, et al. v. KB Home Mortgage Co. (Dallas, Texas) (Arbitration) – With Katie Sammons and Trey Peacock, Suyash defended KB Mortgage Company in a mass arbitration action in which homeowners alleged that they were misinformed about what they would have to pay in property taxes in the years after they purchased their homes. KB Mortgage moved for summary judgment arguing that its actions were not only consistent with the governing HUD regulations, but actually required by them. After hearing oral argument, the arbitrator entered summary judgment in favor of KB Mortgage. Barney F. Kogen & Co. v. Federal Ins. Co. (S.D. Tex.) – Suyash represented Houston entrepreneur Barney Kogen, whose custom-fitted sailing yacht, the Kamp Kogen, sank and was submerged for 18 hours in the frigid Chesapeake Bay. Kogen sued on his $1.2 million insurance policy when the insurer balked at paying for all of the repairs that would be necessary to return the vessel to its true pre-loss condition. With no discovery, the dispute settled with Kogen eventually receiving virtually all of the money he sought to repair his yacht. ChoiceParts LLC v. General Motors Corp., DaimlerChrysler Corp., Ford Motor Co., & OE Connection, LLC (N.D. Ill.) – With Steve Susman and other Susman Godfrey partners, Suyash helped represent ChoiceParts in its $250 million antitrust claim against General Motors, Ford, DaimlerChrysler, and OE Connection. ChoiceParts alleged that the Big Three automakers conspired to refuse to license parts data to ChoiceParts for use in its revolutionary electronic parts locating service. In 2001, the case was filed in Chicago. After the court denied ChoiceParts's request for an injunction, ChoiceParts hired Susman Godfrey to assist in preparing the case for trial. In March 2005, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois denied the Big Three's motions for summary judgment and their Daubert motions. With a trial date pending, Defendants settled the matter, the terms of which are confidential. PRO BONO Suyash's law practice includes community service through pro bono activities. In 2006, Suyash and Jonathan Bridges handled the successful appellate representation of a Mexican national who alleged that she was savagely beaten by an INS agent at an El Paso, Texas, international bridge. The path-breaking decision was covered in the Houston Chronicle and the Texas Lawyer. When the action returned to the trial court, Suyash's client obtained a high five-figure settlement. In 2008, Suyash represented an unsophisticated property owner who was sued for breach of contract when he refused to sell his property to a professional real estate purchaser that tried unfairly to take advantage of him. After investigating the facts, Suyash made an appearance and filed a counterclaim on behalf of the property owner claiming fraud and violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. The real estate purchaser promptly settled, agreeing to walk away from its suit if the property owner also dismissed his counterclaim. EDUCATION Suyash joined Susman Godfrey L.L.P. in 2002 after graduating with honors from The University of Chicago Law School, which he attended as a James B. Blake Scholar. He was a member of The University of Chicago Law Review (vols. 68 & 69) and won the Thomas R. Mulroy Award for Excellence in Appellate Advocacy. Before law school, Suyash graduated magna cum laude from Bucknell University, which he attended on the Mary Taubel Rieder Memorial Scholarship. Along with earning departmental honors in history, Suyash was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, received the university's Louis W. Robey Medal, and was awarded the John R. Crossgrove Prize in Economics. During the 1997-98 academic year, Suyash studied in the Politics Philosophy & Economics (PPE) program at Oxford University in England. JUDICIAL CLERKSHIP In 2003, Suyash left the firm for one year to serve as a law clerk for the Hon. Jacques L. Wiener, Jr. on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. PUBLICATIONS Alternative Fee Arrangements in Business Litigation: Some Ethical Considerations, ABA Section of Litigation's Committee on Ethics & Professionalism, 2010 Annual Review. Practical Issues when Litigating the Trans-Border Dispute, with Judge Randy Wilson, 70 Texas Bar J. 130 (2007). BAR ADMISSIONS AND PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS Suyash is admitted to practice before the courts of the State of New York, the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, all of the state and federal courts in the State of Texas, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States.  Suyash's professional affiliations include membership in the American Bar Association, the Texas Bar Foundation, the Houston Bar Association, and the American Constitution Society for Law & Policy.     *Internet mail is not fully secure or private. Therefore, please do not transmit confidential information via Internet mail. Transmission of information is not intended to and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Please do not assume that your communications sent using Internet mail are privileged or confidential. 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