• Defending AXA Space, a large insurer, in an antitrust action brought by EchoStar Communications claiming hundreds of millions of dollars in damages. Following various written discovery and depositions, EchoStar dismissed the case.
  
  
• Defending the United States Olympic Committee in an action brought by the developer with respect to projects to renovate the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs and develop other buildings. The developer agreed to dismiss the action against the USOC with prejudice.
  
  
• Defending a Fortune 1000 company against a $12.9 million lawsuit alleging breach of contract and negligence. The Firm used the plain language of the contract to dismiss one claim, and to obtain summary judgment on the other.
  
  
• Trying a five week jury trial involving antitrust, patent and trade secret claims on behalf of Sun Microsystems, for allegations relating to its enterprise class data storage libraries. The case settled on the eve of close arguments.
  
  
• Obtaining a significant settlement for a landlord in a commercial real estate lease dispute involving tens of millions of dollars. In the process, the Firm was able to pierce a triple net lease through allegations of sham transactions and alter ego liability.
  
  
• Trying a two week just trial on behalf of Qwest Corporation against claims of breach of contract. Qwest counterclaimed. The jury returned a complete defense verdict and found Qwest proved its counterclaims.
  
  
• Defending a Fortune 1000 company in parallel proceedings involving multiple simultaneous claims of breach of contract. The cases involved over 40 separate contracts, interactions between the contracts, and multiple parties. The matter was settled for a fraction of the cost demanded.
  
  
• Helping Qwest Communications resolve a $10 million breach contract case. To get the case resolved, the Firm worked with experts to evaluate millions of lines of call detail records to establish that the allegations put forward by the plaintiff were erroneous. Once this fact was proven, the case settled for nuisance value.
  
  
• The Firm successfully defended a private university in an arbitration brought by numerous former students claiming that the school had defrauded them into enrolling, and had withheld material information about the value of degrees awarded by the university. The Firm obtained summary judgment under the "bespeaks caution" doctrine - a doctrine used primarily to defend securities fraud claims - by showing that the university had disclosed all material facts, and that no fraud had occurred as a matter of law.
  
  
• Representing Kroenke Sports Enterprises in a suit against the Pepsi Center's architect, general contractor, and construction suppliers over construction defects. Following discovery, the Firm negotiated a settlement by which the exterior of the sports arena was renovated and replaced, and the defendants placed hundreds of thousands of dollars in escrow for any future repairs.
  
  
• Defending the Metropolitan Football Stadium District in a lawsuit challenging the sale of the naming rights to the new football stadium for the Denver Broncos. The court awarded summary judgment in favor of the MFSD.
  
  
• Representing several brokerage houses in arbitrations with investors claiming that brokers churned their accounts or invested in unsuitable securities. Numerous of these cases were tried and won.
  
  
• Representing numerous government contractors in bid protests and contract claims in front of the GAO, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, and the Armed Services and Civilian Boards of Contract Appeals. See the separate description of our Government Contracts Counseling and Litigation Practice.
  
  
• Representing various intellectual property holders in infringement claims or alleged violations of covenants not to compete. See the separate description of our Intellectual Property Practice.
  
  
• Representing various telecommunications providers in evidentiary proceedings and enforcement hearings before numerous state public utility commissions. See the separate description of our Telecommunications Practice.

Steese ♦ Evans ♦ Frankel, P.C.'s lawyers are also known for their appellate work in state and federal courts across the country. Examples of matters they have handled over the course of their practices include:

• Successfully challenging the FCC's rules for subsidizing telephone service to rural and high-cost customers in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit on behalf of Qwest Communications and SBC (now AT&T). The decision overturned the basis of a $300 million federal program and was written up in the American Lawyer as one of the most significant litigation victories of the year.
  
  
• Bringing a successful challenge in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to an FCC order changing the rights of broadcast license holders and authorizing unlicensed deployment of broadband-over-power-line equipment.
  
  
• Persuading the D.C. Circuit to overturn an order of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission purporting to replace the board of directors of an electric utility.
  
  
• Representing The Washington Post in the Maryland Court of Appeals in a suit seeking access to former Maryland Governor Parris Glendening's official appointment calendars and telephone records. The case was the first decision by a state supreme court in the country recognizing a public right of access to these types of documents.
  
  
• Authoring the Supreme Court brief successfully defending the federal Family and Medical Leave Act as a valid abrogation of the states' Eleventh Amendment sovereign immunities.
  
  
• Appealing a trial verdict against Qwest in a commercial case to the Idaho Supreme Court. After the Firm filed a brief showing the decision below was extra-jurisdictional, the case was resolved for a fraction of the trial court's award.