Jeffrey H. Daichman has been an active trial and appellate lawyer for more than 40 years in State and Federal Courts. He has litigated cases in over 20 states, has regularly been admitted as lead counsel pro hac vice in many jurisdictions throughout the United States, and has frequently argued before the appellate courts as well as the highest court of the State of New York. In addition to his trial and appellate work, Mr. Daichman has represented clients in numerous arbitrations before the American Arbitration Association (AAA), and JAMS.
With an emphasis on commercial litigation, Mr. Daichman has litigated cases ranging from corporate matters, shareholders’ claims, partnership disputes, breach of contract, fraud, employment issues, trade secret misappropriation, restrictive covenants and noncompete agreements, brokerage claims, distributorship and sales representative agreements, liability claims relating to high technology issues, unfair competition, commercial paper and negotiable instruments, discrimination and sexual harassment and numerous federal and state statutory matters. He has extensive experience in the First Amendment area, having litigated claims of defamation, invasion of privacy and the right to publicity, resulting in several landmark decisions in this area of constitutional law. His diverse litigation experience has involved him in high profile cases successfully representing clients against adversaries such as Louis Nizer and Gerry Spence, representing individuals such as author Jackie Collins and Penthouse publisher Bob Guccione and successfully defending against claims brought by public figures such as Vanessa Williams, Henry Kissinger and Jerry Falwell. Among the cases he has been involved in include defeating claims for hundreds of millions in damages and winning judgments for $40 million, $39 million, $4 million and $2 million after trial, and recovering $1 million in legal fees for his client in one arbitration.
While in law school, Mr. Daichman was the Managing Editor of the N.Y.U. Review of Law & Social Change and received the American Jurisprudence Award in Criminal Procedure.
Mr. Daichman handled two landmark cases decided by the United States Supreme Court and argued before former Supreme Court Justice David Souter when he sat on the Supreme Court of New Hampshire and before Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer when he sat on the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston. Mr. Daichman has been repeatedly selected as a litigation Super Lawyer for the New York Metropolitan area for the years 2013-2023.
- Won a bench trial dismissing a patent holder’s clam for over $1 million in royalties under a Settlement Agreement for sales of smoke alarms.
- Won an arbitration dismissing claims for over $10 million based on an earn-out provision in an Asset Purchase Agreement, won counterclaim for indemnity for tax obligations and obtained $1 million in legal fees on behalf of the client.
- Won judgment notwithstanding the verdict vacating a jury verdict for over $1 million for breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing.
- Won a jury determination that former employees of a financial consulting firm breached their non-solicitation covenants.
- Successfully represented a steel manufacturer in the Delaware Chancery Court seeking to enforce a noncompete clause in the sale of a business, obtaining a preliminary injunction and winning a judgment after trial in the amount of $909,000, including $355,000 in attorney’s fees, which was unanimously affirmed by the Supreme Court of Delaware.
- Successfully defended a manufacturer of orthopedic inserts in an arbitration brought by a patent holder under a license agreement, obtaining complete dismissal of millions of dollars in unpaid royalty claims and recovering $256,000 in attorney’s fees.
- Won summary judgment dismissing a shareholder derivative suit against the directors of an insurance company charging them with conflicts of interest in connection with the establishment of an off-shore reinsurance company.
- Dismissed shareholder derivative claims and successfully settled a related arbitration involving accusations of excessive executive compensation and favorable lease rates for commercial properties.
- Successfully resolved and collected $500,000 for a publisher of travel magazines on its claim against a foreign nation for unpaid advertising promoting tourism.
- Won an appeal reinstating the case and then successfully settled for $1 million a claim that clients were unlawfully rejected by a cooperative board in connection with the acquisition of commercial space for a law practice.
- Won summary judgment and successfully argued the appeal upholding the dismissal of claims against a real estate client for failure to close on the purchase of commercial property.
- Won an appeal and judgment against the surety in the amount of $425,000 representing the present value of a client’s winnings from an internet lottery sweepstakes.
- Obtained permission to appeal and won a favorable decision from the New York Court of Appeals reversing the Appellate Division and holding that an option right in a sublease did not survive cancellation of a subsequent contract of sale.
- Won summary judgment dismissing a defamation claim against a client who accused a former employee of using drugs and suffering from psychological problems.
Speaking Engagements
- Featured panelist with Larry Flynt and Floyd Abrams at the Time-Warner Center in New York City addressing First Amendment issues as impacted by the Supreme Court decision in Hustler Magazine v. Falwell
- Featured panelist at a conference in Scottsdale, Arizona, on the implications of the Supreme Court decision in Hustler Magazine v. Falwell, sponsored by the American Bar Association Forum on Communications Law;
- Featured panelist at a conference addressing First Amendment issues at the University of Virginia Law School sponsored by the Thomas Jefferson Center for Freedom of Expression and broadcast on C-SPAN.
Publications
- “New York Court Puts the Brakes on Overreaching Creditors,” Law360, November 7, 2014