Name: Bassford Remele
Address: 100 South 5th Street, Suite 1500, Minneapolis, MN, 55402, US
Telephone: 612.333.3000

Commercial Litigation

Today, litigation has become an inevitable part of doing business. When it comes to the varied legal issues companies face, we have seen it all—from unfair competition claims, to business contract lawsuits, to shareholder rights disputes and more. For decades, we have represented companies of all sizes across a broad range of industries, including banking, law, accounting, and manufacturing, to name a few.

With a flexible approach, a comprehensive understanding of the current corporate climate, and substantial experience in every aspect of commercial litigation, we efficiently bring our clients’ disputes to an agreeable close, and we save them valuable time and money in the process. We have seen success in everything from small disputes to multimillion dollar claims, including one judgment for a computer hardware manufacturer that ranked as one of the single largest arbitration awards in Minnesota history. More than just courtroom outcomes, we take pride in helping clients proactively protect their business and confidently navigate their legal disputes.

Representative Cases

Represented a global computer-equipment company, obtaining a decision affirming and reinstating an arbitration award resulting in a total award exceeding $800 million in a misappropriation of a trade secret dispute. Seagate Tech., LLC v. Western Digital Corp., 854 N.W.2d 750 (Minn. 2014).

Served as co-lead counsel in a consolidated proceeding of more than 70,000 plaintiffs seeking damages arising from a multinational biotechnology conglomerate’s alleged premature commercialization of genetically modified corn products, resulting in a favorable settlement. In re: Syngenta Litig., No. 27-CV-15-3785 (Hennepin Cty. Minn. 2017).

Represented a global agricultural corporation in a multimillion dollar grain, fertilizer, oil and oil field supplies transloading site in Canada involving breach of contract, tortious interference, and equitable claims.

Represented the chief executive officer, chairman of the board, and minority shareholder in a dispute involving a successful family business.

Represented dealers at trial against a multinational agricultural company, obtaining a six-figure jury verdict and finding of no liability on a seven-figure counterclaim arising from a breach of seed distribution agreement.

Represented a global medical-device company in district court and on appeal, winning summary judgment on liability for breach-of-contract and tortious interference claims, together with a jury verdict and seven-figure judgment, including an attorneys’ fees award. St. Jude Med., S.C., Inc. v. Biosense Webster, Inc., 818 F.3d 785 (8th Cir. 2016).

Represented a global manufacturer in a dealer termination action enforcing the Minnesota choice-of-law and forum-selection provision and rejecting the claimed applicability of the New Jersey Franchise Practices Act.

Represented a group of distributors, obtaining dismissal of an antitrust class action. Insulate SB, Inc., 797 F.3d 538 (8th Cir. 2015).

Represented the former chairman, chief executive officer, and selling-shareholder in a class-action ESOP litigation, winning summary judgment from the district court for the firm’s client on the eve of trial. (Following separate trials on liability and damages, the plaintiff class was awarded more than $15 million in relief. Judgment in favor of the firm’s client was unchallenged on appeal.) Chesemore v. All. Holdings, Inc., 276 F.R.D. 506 (W.D. Wis. 2011); 886 F. Supp. 2d 1007 (W.D. Wis. 2012); aff'd sub nom. Chesemore v. Fenkell, 829 F.3d 803 (7th Cir. 2016).

Represented an individual at trial, obtaining a $4.75 million jury verdict against a large manufacturer in a fraudulent transfer case.

Represented an individual, obtaining a $2.3 million arbitration award in a case involving breach of a buyout agreement related to a casino-development project in California.

Represented a realty company and its parent company, obtaining a favorable outcome in a theft of a copyright and antitrust matter.

Defended an energy company at trial, obtaining a defense jury verdict in a case involving tortious interference with a frac-sand mining contract and claimed damages exceeding $60 million.

Represented a business and its owner at trial, obtaining a favorable jury verdict in a contract dispute with a railroad.

Comments from clients and the legal community:

Our company has worked with several attorneys at Bassford Remele over many years. To a person the attorneys are responsive, skilled, and above all, practically-minded. They strive to understand business goals and mold their approach to clients' needs. I couldn't recommend them higher. (General Counsel)

Bassford Remele is knowledgeable, experienced, great at communication, provides great strategy for the case and are detail-oriented.

Bassford Remele responded to our most recent legal issue in a very prompt manner and was very communicative during the entire process. They made sure to fully understand the dynamics of the issue and helped to get it resolved quickly. We have worked with Bassford Remele for many years and would highly recommend their services to others.

Took the time to listen to my opinion before submitting important documents. Took the time to understand the nuances of the case.

Many times our industry does not win in court....but, we did win. And we did because our attorney understood the issues and presented the facts with a clarity that resulted in every juror finding in our favor. Maybe the best way to describe the process is that it was very organized and done very professionally. I hope we don't need to go through an ordeal like it again, but if we do that Firm will be our first phone call. (President, Bank)

Exceptional service and competent, friendly professionals. (General Counsel, Real Estate Industry)

Smart strategists, sound advice, cost effective pricing, one of the best choices I ever made. (Owner)

Very competent and very professional. (Owner, Automotive Industry)

Mr. Ed Fox has been our attorney for over 30 years and has never lost a case for us. Several years ago we were involved in litigation involving a very large oil company who had threatened a half-million dollar lawsuit with regard to a large construction project. Within two weeks of being notified of this threat, Mr. Ed Fox of Bassford Remele was able to turn this lawsuit around and get this large oil company to instead send us a half-million dollar settlement in our favor. In addition we incurred very little expense to support our legal position and a final settlement. It was unbelievable to us that Mr. Ed Fox of Bassford Remele was able to get us a settlement this quickly. (President, Manufacturing Company)

Ed Fox was extremely dedicated to our case and to finding out the background to make sure that he could come up with the best strategy for our case. His ability to detail out information for arbitration was beyond what I could have expected. (Executive Vice President, Manufacturing Company)

The Bassford Remele law firm has handled two different class action lawsuits for my company. In both cases, the commercial litigation was very complicated and involved insurance, banking, automobile dealer and multi state issues. We were able to settle both cases for the desired result, after years of extended litigation. I would award this firm the highest rating available in all areas. They are truly top notch! (Insurance Industry)

Lew Remele and Kevin Hickey at Bassford Remele are top tier attorneys and litigators. They have represented our insurance company on different matters over a period of many years. I give them my strongest recommendation. (Insurance Industry)

These comments were collected as part of the U.S. News - Best Lawyers® "Best Law Firms" research process.

accolades