Business and Commercial Disputes

• Represented investors in renewable energy companies in their successful defense of RICO and fraud claims brought in the Southern District of New York to recover in excess of $100 million
• Counsel to health care providers in defense of claims brought in the District of Connecticut by major insurance companies to recover in excess of $15 million in alleged reimbursement overpayments
• Represented large-scale travel company and its owners in their successful defense of RICO and fraud claims brought by a former owner in the Eastern District of California
• Counsel to engineering and manufacturing company in successful defense of wrongful-competition claims brought by a competitor in the Maryland trial court

Special Counsel Services and Trustee/receiver Representations

• As special litigation counsel for the court-appointed receiver in a case commenced by the Securities & Exchange Commission, obtained a $10 million recovery on accounting malpractice claims arising out of public bond offerings for senior living facilities
• In proceedings before the Maryland state court and Delaware bankruptcy court, counsel to the court-appointed receiver of the assets of an electrochemiluminescence (ECL) research and development company facing claims in excess of $100 million
• Represented a state-court receiver before the Maryland bankruptcy court in the successful prosecution of a motion to dismiss an involuntary chapter 11 bankruptcy petition filed against the receivership debtor
• In proceedings before the Virginia bankruptcy court (Eastern District), represented a chapter 11 trustee as special litigation counsel in the prosecution of avoidance actions to recover tens of millions of dollars of fraudulent and preferential transfers in connection with a fraudulent mortgage scheme

business Reorganizations and insolvency litigation

• Representation of local council units of the Boy Scouts of America in the BSA’s reorganization proceedings pending before the Delaware bankruptcy court
• Co-counsel to several defendants in a lender-liability action before the Maryland bankruptcy court, involving a chapter 11 trustee’s lawsuit to recover over $1 billion dollars from major lending institutions
• Debtor’s counsel to a luxury home builder in a voluntary chapter 11 case before the Maryland bankruptcy court
• Debtor’s counsel to a Maryland and Virginia real estate developer in a voluntary chapter 11 case before the Maryland bankruptcy court

Creditors' Rights

• Represented a judgment creditor in Maryland state court to successfully petition for the appointment of a receiver to take control over the operations and assets of an insolvent real estate developer
• Counsel to freight-carrier defendants before the New Jersey bankruptcy court, in cases brought by a trustee to recover payments made to the carriers in connection with an alleged Ponzi scheme
• Counsel to a Maryland bank before the Illinois bankruptcy court (Northern District), involving a plan administrator’s action to recover pre-bankruptcy payments made to the bank in connection with an alleged fraudulent equipment leasing scheme
• In the Delaware bankruptcy court, counsel to creditors seeking the allowance of an administrative expense claim against the debtor for its use of licensed trademarks in connection with the debtor’s operation of a horse racetrack and two off-track wagering facilities in Indiana

Appellate Practice

Mr. Brooks has extensive experience in federal and state appeals on a wide range of civil issues and routinely handles criminal appeals in pro bono matters.  Prior to joining Whiteford, Mr. Brooks was a judicial clerk for The Honorable James A. Kenney, III on the Maryland Court of Special Appeals.  Representative cases include:

• In Havtech Parts Division, LLC v. Advanced Thermal Solutions, LLC, 2020 WL 6624931 (Md. App. Nov. 12, 2020), an appellate team led by Mr. Brooks persuaded Maryland’s intermediate appellate court to affirm the dismissal of claims, seeking in excess of $20 million against Whiteford’s client, on the ground that those claims were barred by res judicata
• In Lewis v. State, 470 Md. 1, 233 A.3d 86 (2020), Mr. Brooks obtained a ruling from the Maryland supreme court that law enforcement officers cannot arrest and search a person in Maryland solely because that person smells like marijuana
• In State v. Baker, 453 Md. 32, 160 A.3d 559 (2017), Mr. Brooks persuaded the Maryland supreme court that “double jeopardy” prevented prosecutors from pursuing a second trial against Whiteford’s pro bono client
• In Han v. Yancey (In re Kang), 2016 WL 6958438 (4th Cir. Nov. 29, 2016), the Fourth Circuit affirmed a multi-million-dollar judgment obtained by Whiteford’s client, a chapter 11 bankruptcy trustee, against a recipient of the debtor’s assets 
• In State v. Hunt, 443 Md. 238, 116 A.3d 477 (2015), Mr. Brooks convinced the Maryland supreme court that his client was entitled to a hearing to present newly-discovered evidence that would potentially exonerate him
• In United States v. Garcia, 752 F.3d 382 (4th Cir. 2014), Mr. Brooks persuaded the Fourth Circuit to reverse the defendant’s convictions based upon the government’s unlawful admission of evidence supplied by a “code words” expert