Commercial Disputes

Our professionals have considerable experience in preparing and evaluating claims for business disruption. Our experts have the financial and accounting expertise required to perform the analyses necessary to properly calculate an organization’s economic loss as a result of a damaging event. We are adept at identifying the cause-and-effect relationships between the damaging events and the calculated damages that are a direct and proximate cause of the alleged incident. Our professionals have worked with clients in the preparation, presentation, and resolution of some of the largest business disruption and complex damage claims, domestically and internationally.  

We also assist both policy holders and insurance companies in preparing comprehensive, logical, defensible, and well-documented claims.

Examples of our expertise in this area include:  

• Time Element Claims  
• Extra Expense Claims  
• Property/Inventory Damages  
• Lost Profits Evaluations  
• Market Analysis  
• Forensic Accounting Investigations  
• Expense Mitigation  
• Insurer Subrogation  
• Collect invoices and claim support for submission  
• Develop a strategic approach to the claim  
• Analyze operational and accounting records to develop financial models to accurately assess and present the claim  
• Profit disgorgement calculations and damages  
• Contract rescission review  
• Calculate estimates for insurance reserves and advance payments  
• Prepare property repair estimates and review the quality of pre-loss conditions  
• Conduct lost profit calculations and prepare damages model  
• Tortious/Interference calculations and damages  
• Fraud/Fraudulent inducement calculations and damages  
• Business valuation services for mergers, acquisitions, and dispute resolution  
• Assist in the preparation of insurance claims  
• Independent analysis and testimony in ADR or litigation when necessary  

SOCOTEC’s team consists of CPAs, MBAs, financial analysts, and other individuals trained in the accounting, financial and economic aspects of intellectual property. Our experience as expert witnesses on intellectual property damage issues in court and arbitration proceedings, combined with our general intellectual property valuation expertise, enhances the quality and overall supportability of our damage opinions on intellectual property matters. While some of the services we provide to our clients are only performed in the context of litigation, many of the financial, economic, market, and valuation analyses are common to both our clients outside the litigation environment and to companies involved in a dispute.  

Our qualified team of technical experts provide the following services: 

• Review and analysis of comparable license agreements 
• Market analysis 
• Accounting for profit analyses 
• Projection of revenues from intellectual property 
• Projection of relevant costs related to intellectual property 
• Assessment of production capacity 
• Analysis of variable versus fixed costs 
• Cost of capital analysis 
• Research and development cost analysis 
• Analysis and summary of historical revenues from intellectual property 
• Analysis and summary of historical costs related to intellectual property 
• Analysis of corrective advertising costs 
• Analysis of relevant company acquisitions 

While some of the services that SOCOTEC provides to our clients are only performed in the context of litigation, many of the financial, economic, market, and valuation analyses we perform are common to both clients outside the litigation environment and to companies involved in a dispute. Our professionals’ strong backgrounds and degrees in accounting and finance enable us to efficiently and effectively obtain and analyze relevant financial and economic information to be used by our clients in the context of both litigation and non-litigation matters. 

The following are examples of some of the services we have provided in the past to our clients on general consulting engagements: 

• Asset valuation 
• Business valuation 
• Acquisition review 
• Economic modeling 
• Financial and accounting fact finding 
• Information management 
• Analysis of internal controls         

Our clients depend on us to provide timely and insightful advice involving complex business issues. This enables them to make informed business decisions in an often-turbulent environment. Our professionals are experienced at providing expert bankruptcy and valuation testimony.  

Areas of expertise include: 

• Avoidance actions and fraudulent conveyance reviews 
• Cash collateral analyses 
• Control and production of financial documents and business records 
• Damage claims from secured and unsecured creditors 
• Fraud investigations 
• Preference analyses 
• Reconstruction of financial documents and business records 
• Forensic investigations of debtor’s operations 

Our team has utilized experience in evaluating the administration of estates and foundations, as well as in many industries including banking, manufacturing, electric power, natural resources, insurance, electronics, aerospace, telecommunications, transportation, construction, and retail. We have assisted counsel and clients in the resolution of numerous disputes and challenges involving securities instruments, transactions, investment advice, and other related issues. Given our technical training and experience, we are uniquely qualified to assist our clients in securities related matters. 

Our securities practice has involved work for both plaintiffs and defendants on issues as diverse as: 

• Lack of disclosure 
• Misrepresentations 
• Options speculation 
• Inappropriate investment advice 
• Account churning 
• Fraud 
• Shareholder actions 
• Commodities trading 
• Mortgage-backed obligations 
• Insider trading 
• Valuation of thinly traded stocks and bonds 

Examples of our services in actions alleging inappropriate investment practices include: 

• Evaluation of the risk-return objectives of the investing party 
• Analysis of investment advisor’s practices and policies 
• Development of economic models which quantify the effects of the imprudent or unauthorized investment practices 
• Construction of models which approximate returns to be earned in a prudent, balanced portfolio over the appropriate time period 
• Analysis and assistance with 10b-5 actions including support for the prerequisites of the claims 
• Reconstruction of trading activity and associated gains, losses, and commissions 
• Transactional analyses related to stocks, bonds, hybrids, options, futures, unbundled units, and commodities 
• Analyses of security price movements in relation to market and industry indices 
• Analyses of security price movements in relation to the release of public information 
• Development of economic models which quantify the effects of the fraudulent activity 

SOCOTEC’s group of experts provide counsel and client companies with numerous class administration services. Our experience on these matters range from class sizes of less than 50 and up to 50,000 members. The types of services we have performed are as follows:  

•  Assistance with Class Certification — Our professionals have submitted affidavits regarding class certification requirements.  
• Identification of the Appropriate Class Period and Population of Potential Class Members — On securities matters, we typically utilize the transfer agent records to estimate class size and to obtain addresses for potential class members.  
• Prepare and Distribute Notice and Response Cards for Potential Class Members — SOCOTEC has a network of vendors we utilize for bulk mailing services.  
• Information Management — We have prepared numerous databases to house claimants’ mailing and transactional information. These databases are used to print mailing labels and form letters, calculate and allocate damages, and to print checks and 1099 forms. Depending on the size of the class, we will either perform the data entry in-house or outsource to a data entry facility.  
• Class Administrator — SOCOTEC has served as the repository for all claimant information and has performed and coordinated virtually every facet of communicating with the class members.  
• Assist with Fairness Hearing — Members of SOCOTEC participated in a hearing to approve recommended settlements and attorney’s fees. Part of our efforts included preparation of Plans of Distribution and a Damage Allocation Table.  
• Claims Processor — We have assisted counsel with both the preparation of Proof of Claims Forms and the verification of returned forms.  
• Develop and Process Cure Notices for Deficient Claims  
• Serve as a Distribution Agent — SOCOTEC has served as the distribution agent for a class action settlement. We worked with the escrow agent and counsel to oversee the distribution of settlement monies to the class members.  
• Provide Interim and Final Accounting Services — SOCOTEC has performed both functions for the court on the account during the settlement distribution process.