Kenneth G. Gilman

Attorney Kenneth G. Gilman is a graduate of Suffolk University Law School (J.D., 1979) and Boston University (B.A.,1976). Mr. Gilman is a member of the bars of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the State of Florida, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. He is a member of the Massachusetts Bar Association, the Florida Bar and the American Bar Association. Mr. Gilman has served, and currently serves as lead or co-counsel in various types of complex litigation, including cases in the areas of antitrust, consumer protection, insurance, dangerous and defective products, environmental law, personal injury and securities fraud.

Representative cases which have produced significant legal developments, include: Sebago, Inc., et. al. v. Beazer East, Inc., et. al., No. 96-10069- Wolf (D. Mass.) (Nationwide Class Settlements with two manufacturers of phenolic insulation with a value in excess of $240 million; 18 F.Supp.2d 70 (D.Mass. 1998); Coleman, et. al. v. GAF Building Materials Corporation, No. CV-96-0954-Galanos (Circuit Court of Mobile County, Alabama) (Nationwide class of persons who owned properties with GAF defective roofing shingles with settlement value in excess of $75 million); In re: Louisiana-Pacific Corporation Inner-Seal OSB Trade Practices Litigation; Ciardi v. F. Hoffman-LaRoche Ltd, et. al.,(Civil Action No. 99-03244, Middlesex Superior Court Department Mass.), (a case that created new law in Massachusetts conferring standing upon indirect purchasers for claims of price-fixing or other anti-competitive conduct. Settlement funds obtained of over $22.5 million); Michaels v. Phoenix Home Life Mutual Insurance Company, Index No. 5318-95 (N.Y.Sup.Ct. Albany County) 1997 N.Y. misc. LEXIS 171 (1996); Agnes v. The Enstar Group, Inc., et. al., 90-C-1204-N (M.D. Alabama)(Settlement obtained of over $23 million); In re Hallwod Energy Partners L.P. Securities Litigation, 90-Civ-1555-JFK (S.D.N.Y.)(In which a $9.1 million settlement was obtained after five years of intensive litigation arising out of a complex oil and gas merger; Sullivan, et. al. v. Shearson California Radison Plaza Partners Limited Partnership, et. al., No. 89-5472 (C.D.Cal.)(Securities fraud action resulting in settlement in excess of $11 million); and Alert Income Partners Securities Litigation, No. 92-2-9150(D.Colo.)(Securities fraud action resulting in settlement valued at $60 million); Many of Mr. Gilman’s cases have produced significant legal developments, including In re Blech Securities Litigation, 961 F. Supp. 569 (S.D.N.Y. 1997) and 2002 WL 31356498 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 17, 2002)(liability of a clearing broker as primary violator for a scheme initiated by one of the clearing broker’s correspondent broker-dealers) and Weld v. Glazo Wellcome, Inc., 434 Mass. 81, 746 N.E.2d 522 (2001)(certification of class action against several defendants engaged in parallel conduct where certain defendants had no contact with the plaintiff and engaged in no conduct which directed affected the plaintiff).

Mr. Gilman was previously associated with Gilman, McLaughlin and Hanrahan in Boston, Massachusetts and with the firm of Blackwell, Walker, Gray, Powers, Flick and Hoehl in Miami, Florida. In 1985, Mr. Gilman was appointed by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida as the Equity Receiver in the Intercontinental Commodities litigation. During the period from 1980 through 1984, he also participated as counsel to the Equity Receiver in the nationwide Lloyd Carr and Company commodities fraud litigation. In that capacity, he prosecuted complex litigation in Federal and state courts in Massachusetts, Michigan, and Florida, resulting in significant recoveries for defrauded investors. Also as part of this litigation, Mr. Gilman acted as special counsel for the Department of Justice.

Douglas M. Brooks

Attorney Douglas M. Brooks is a 1982 graduate of Suffolk University Law School (J.D.) and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Northwestern University in 1979.  He was a Note Editor for the Suffolk University Transnational Law Journal in 1981-1982.  Mr. Brooks was previously associated with the Law Offices of Harold Brown in Boston, Massachusetts.  Mr. Brooks has litigated a wide variety of civil cases, including matters involving franchising, dealer and distribution, as well as securities actions.  He is a member of the bar of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.  He is a member of the Massachusetts Bar Association and a member of the Forum on Franchising and Litigation Section of the American Bar Association.  Mr. Brooks was a speaker at the 1995 Annual Forum on Franchising of the American Bar Association, where he delivered a paper entitled “Survey Evidence – Use of Collected Data in Encroachment Cases” and has been a frequent speaker at the annual conventions of the American Association of Franchisees and Dealers and the American Franchisee Association.

Significant trials and appeals handled by Mr. Brooks include NXIVM Corp. v. Ross Institute, 364 F.3d 471 (2nd Cir. 2004) (affirming denial of preliminary injunction against non-profit anti-cult organization in lawsuit alleging Copyright and Lanham Act violations; Mr. Brooks is representing the defendant pro bono); Wolinetz v. Berkshire Life Insurance Co., 361 F.3d 44 (1st Cir. 2004) (reversing summary judgment in “vanishing premium” case based on statute of limitations); In re: America Online, Inc., 168 F.Supp.2d 1359 (S.D.Fla. 2001) (denying summary judgment); Scheck v. Burger King Corp., 756 F.Supp. 543 (S.D.Fla. 1991) (denying summary judgment in franchise encroachment litigation), further opinion, 798 F.Supp. 692 (S.D.Fla. 1992); Rhodes v. Consumers’ Buyline, Inc., 668 F.Supp. 368 (D.Mass. 1993) (denying motion to compel arbitration in pyramid scheme case); Szymanski v. Boston Mutual Life Ins. Co., 56 Mass.App. 367 (2002), rev. den., 438 Mass. 1106 (2003) (reversing summary judgment in vanishing premium litigation); Oganesov v. GNC Franchising Inc., Bus. Franchise Guide (CCH) ¶11,808 (Pa. Ct. Cmn. Pl., March 3, 2000) (awarding $700,000 judgment for franchisee in encroachment litigation), aff’d, Bus. Franchise Guide (CCH) ¶12,163 (Pa.Super. 2001).

John C. Martland

Attorney John C. Martland is a 1978 graduate of Suffolk University Law School (J.D.) and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Colby College in 1972.  Mr. Martland was previously associated with the Law Offices of Harold Brown in Boston, Massachusetts, where he was the senior trial attorney and with the firm of Ring and Rudnick, also located in Boston.  Mr. Martland has had experience in a wide variety of complex civil litigation and been trial counsel in complex civil actions in state and federal courts throughout the United States.  He has served as counsel in complex business litigation in state courts in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine.  He has represented franchisees in arbitration proceedings before the American Arbitration Association in Massachusetts, North Carolina, Illinois and New Jersey.  He is a member of the bar of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States of America.  He is a member of the Massachusetts Bar Association and the American Bar Association and is a member of the ABA Antitrust Section.  Mr. Martland was a speaker at the 1998 Annual Forum on Franchising of the American Bar Association, where he delivered a paper entitled “Mediation: An In-Depth Analysis of the Process and the Techniques – the Franchisee Perspective” and has been a frequent speaker at the annual conventions of the American Franchisee Association and the American Association of Franchisees and Dealers on franchise law topics.

Rene Potkay

Attorney Rene Potkay is an associate at Gilman and Pastor, LLP. She concentrates her practice on various types of complex and class action litigation. Ms. Potkay is currently working on several securities fraud class actions against numerous issuers of securities for allegedly misleading investors, including In re ProShares Trust Securities Litigation, 09-cv-6935 (JGK) and In re Direxion Shares ETF Trust, 09-cv-08011 (RJH). She is also active in the firm’s antitrust practice, including In re Air Cargo Shipping Services Antitrust Litigation, MDL 1775, alleging a global conspiracy to fix the prices of air cargo shipments worldwide and In re Florida Cement and Concrete Antitrust Litigation, 09-cv-21387, alleging an antitrust conspiracy against companies in the concrete and cement industry throughout the state of Florida.

Ms. Potkay is or has been involved in several product liability and defective drug class action settlements, including Sebago, Inc., et al. v. Beazer East, Inc., No. 96-10069 (D. Mass.) (Nationwide class settlements with two manufacturers of phenolic foam insulation, worth a combined estimated value of more than $240 million); In re OSB Antitrust Litigation, (E.D. Pa.); Zyprexa Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 1596 ($590 Million settlement against Eli Lilly for victims who ingested Zyprexa which resulted in the onset of diabetes) Ms. Potkay graduated from the University of Tampa, where she received her Bachelor of Science degree in International Business (B.S., 2001). She obtained her law degree from Suffolk University Law School (J.D., 2009) where she participated in the Suffolk Legal Services Landlord/Tenant Clinic and also served as a legal intern in the Norfolk Probate Court. Ms. Potkay is admitted to practice in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the State of Rhode Island. She is a member of the Massachusetts Bar Association, Rhode Island Bar Association and the Massachusetts Association of Woman’s Lawyers.