Kasowitz Argues Against Appeal of Summary Judgment Dismissal Secured for Townsquare Media in Five-Year Litigation Seeking Millions

Marc Kasowitz, founding and managing partner of Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP, provided oral argument today before the Indiana Court of Appeals in an important and hotly contested litigation against his client Townsquare Media, a media company owning nearly 250 radio stations nationwide. The appeal stems from the firm’s summary judgment victory obtained on behalf of Townsquare in May 2013, which terminated a five-year old lawsuit in which plaintiff Alan Brill, the well-known media magnate, and his affiliated companies sought more than $25 million in damages from Townsquare’s subsidiary, Regent Communications. Please click here to view today’s proceedings. 

The Indiana state court lawsuit centers around Regent’s victory at a marathon, 48-hour bankruptcy auction of Brill’s radio stations and newspapers worth in excess of $100 million. Brill claimed that Regent was contractually barred from even attending the auction, and that Regent won the auction because it allegedly used confidential information that it had fraudulently induced Brill into disclosing. After discovery, Kasowitz moved for summary judgment, asking Judge Richard G. D’Amour to dismiss the entire lawsuit in light of the testimony and documentary evidence belying Brill’s allegations, and showing instead that Regent committed no fraud, was contractually permitted to attend the auction, and did not use any of Brill’s confidential information at the auction. Judge D’Amour agreed and granted Kasowitz’s motion on Thursday, April 18, 2013, dismissing all claims and vacating the impending jury trial that was slated to commence in May 2013. In his written decision, Judge D’Amour held that Kasowitz successfully demonstrated that no genuine issues of material fact existed with respect to any of Brill’s claims and that Townsquare was entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Brill appealed the summary judgment decision to the Indiana Court of Appeals and challenged the trial court’s rulings on Regent’s motions to strike certain designated evidence and Brill’s motion to strike parol evidence. Regent separately cross-appealed the trial court’s 2011 denial of its motion to dismiss, in which Regent argued that the choice-of-law provisions contained in the applicable contracts render Brill’s action untimely under Virginia’s statute of limitations. 

Townsquare is represented by Kasowitz attorneys Marc E. Kasowitz, Cindy C. Kelly and Kevin A. Cyrulnik.