Sample Briefs « Green Jacobson P.C.

Sample Briefs

Here is a small selection of appellate briefs written by Green Jacobson lawyers. Just click on the description of the case to download a PDF copy of the brief.

We think these sample briefs provide a view into the nature of our practice, including both the types of cases we handle and the quality of the work we do. Many of our cases have carved out new legal doctrines or have otherwise led to clarifications or changes in the law, thus improving the lives not only of our clients but of everyone who finds themself facing similar legal issues.

If you would like to see any of our filed briefs in a particular practice area, please do not hesitate to contact us. We’re always happy to share our work if it can be a help to someone.

In re BankAmerica Corp Securities Litigation

In 1998, NationsBank acquired the former BankAmerica in one of the largest bank mergers ever. Green Jacobson, then known as Green Schaaf & Jacobson, was Lead Counsel representing former NationsBank shareholders in a federal class action that claimed that NationsBank had overpaid in the merger because of the failure to disclose a massive hedge fund liability on the former BankAmerica’s books. At the same time our case was pending, however, the Milberg Weiss law firm — then the 800-pound gorilla of securities class actions — filed a state-court class action based on the same claims and started moving directly into settlement talks with the defendants without having taken any discovery. We obtained an injunction against the state-court case proceedings and attempted settlement. This injunction was affirmed by the United States Court of Appeals.

Key to our victory was convincing the courts of a new exception to the federal Anti-Injunction Act.

Our appellees’ brief made the case. Later, after taking more than 100 depositions, we led the settlement of the case for $490 million in cash — at that time, the third largest securities class action settlement in the United States (the largest in cash) and the largest settlement in any court in Missouri.

Rokusek vs Security Title

The firm filed class actions against a dozen title companies for charging notary fees in excess of the amounts permitted by statute. The trial court entered summary judgment in favor of the title companies and the Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed. The Missouri Supreme Court granted transfer and unanimously reversed the judgments below based on the arguments in our briefs.

Casey vs North American Savings FSB

Our Petition for Certiorari filed in the United States Supreme Court concerning whether certain regulations issued under the federal Home Loan Act preempt Missouri’s laws regulating the practice of law. This appeal is related to two other appeals argued by the firm in the Missouri Supreme Court. In both appeals, the Court unanimously adopted our arguments.

Daoukas vs Lacey

While all of the cases featured on the sample briefs page involve novel, difficult, and important legal issues, perhaps none was as important to our client’s own life as this case.

Mr. Daoukas was an experienced electrician who suffered grievous and disabling burns in an electrical explosion at Lambert Airport.

His injuries were sufficiently extensive to cause him to be unable to work. The City of St. Louis, which owns the airport, and its employee, Mr. Lacey, attempted to avoid responsibility for the injuries by characterizing this as a premise-liability case, asserting that Mr. Daoukas was thus limited to a worker’s compensation claim against his employer. Green Jacobson’s trial team proved that Mr. Lacey negligently disabled a safety interlock on the equipment Mr. Daoukas was working on, and thus we were able to establish that Mr. Lacey and his employer, the City, were responsible under a theory of general negligence. The amount recovered for Mr. Daoukas was sufficient to allow him to live comfortably for the remainder of his life. The decision in Daoukas is frequently cited by Missouri courts.

Eisel vs Midwest Bank Centre

Few class actions are ever taken to trial. Green Jacobson tried two in one year, both relating to the issue of whether a mortgage lender could lawfully charge its customers for the preparation of legal documents relating to the loan. The judgment we obtained for the class in the first of the two cases tried, Eisel v Midwest Bank Centre, was affirmed by the Missouri Supreme Court in an unanimous opinion.

Behnen vs AG Edwards and Sons

When an executive at a major St. Louis securities firm was wrongfully terminated and defamed in the process, he thought his fight was over once he had obtained a favorable arbitration ruling. Then the trial court vacated a crucial portion of the arbitration award as outside the arbitrators’ authority. This appeal obtained reinstatement of the arbitration award in its entirety.

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War Stories

Bring together any group of experienced trial lawyers and pretty soon they’re going to be sharing “war stories” about their experiences.
Sample Briefs

Here is a small selection of appellate briefs written by Green Jacobson lawyers.
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