Davis Polk partners Jarrett Arp, Tatiana Martins, Greg Andres, Paul Nathanson and Uzo Asonye, counsel Matthew Cormack, associates Isaac Gelbfish, Matthew Vasilakos, Dan Peck, Kate Mathews, Kyle Victor, Leigh Brinkerhoff, Kevin Sette, Laixin Li, Kelsey Roth, Benjamin Miller and Meghan Patzer, and legal assistants Christine Jegarl and Emily Turner received top runners-up honors in AmLaw Litigation Daily’s October 21, 2022, “Litigator of the Week” column. The team was recognized for securing the dismissal of criminal antitrust charges against Jason McGuire in the Department of Justice’s probe of alleged price-fixing in the market for broiler chickens.

The dismissal followed an October 14 decision by the presiding judge, Hon. Daniel D. Domenico of the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, which effectively rendered much of the government’s evidence inadmissible based on a finding that the government had not sufficiently proved the existence of the charged conspiracy.

After conducting a day-long James hearing and considering Davis Polk’s voluminous pre- and post-hearing briefing, Judge Domenico found that the government had not proved the existence of the charged conspiracy. Accordingly, Judge Domenico ruled that none of the 294 emails, texts and statements offered by the government under the hearsay exception for co-conspirator statements was admissible at trial. The government’s motion to dismiss the case acknowledged this ruling as its catalyst.

A complete victory after a James hearing is nearly unprecedented.

“Another Jam-Packed Edition of Litigator of the Week Runners-Up and Shout Outs,” Litigation Daily (October 21, 2022) (subscription required)

Read more about the case in the Wall Street Journal (“Price-Fixing Charges Against Chicken-Industry Executives Are Dismissed,” October 17, 2022) and Law360 (“DOJ Drops Last Chicken Price-Fixing Case,” October 17, 2022).

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