David R. Fertig is a partner in the Litigation Department of Weil, Gotshal & Manges. Mr. Fertig specializes in complex commercial litigation and arbitration, and has litigated a broad array of matters for clients in the private equity, consumer and commercial finance, insurance, cosmetics, pharmaceutical and health care industries.
Mr. Fertig also has extensive experience in the area of intellectual property, having counseled and represented numerous clients in the media, sports, entertainment and fashion industries. Mr. Fertig has also successfully represented Healthology, Inc. and others in domain name disputes brought under the UDRP before the World Intellectual Property Organization, and he has likewise represented a number of clients, in trademark disputes and other matters before the US Patent and Trademark Office and the Trademark Trial And Appeal Board.
Most recently, Mr. Fertig was involved in the successful defense of Lehman Brothers in a multi-million dollar arbitration involving breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty claims. Following a week-long hearing in April 2005, the arbitrator returned an award exonerating Lehman Brothers of any wrongful conduct and awarding Lehman Brothers all of the costs, expenses and attorneys' fees it incurred in defending against the petitioner’s claims. Mr. Fertig also recently represented General Electric Capital Corporation (now GE Commercial Equipment Finance, a division of General Electric's Commercial Finance business) in multidistrict proceedings arising out of an alleged multi-million dollar fraudulent investment scheme. In that capacity, Mr. Fertig handled all aspects of GE Capital's litigation, from drafting of the initial pleadings to preparation and argument of pre-trial and dispositive motions, to coordination and oversight of the expansive, multi-party discovery that was taken, involving dozens of depositions all across the country. In December 2004, following over two years of intensive litigation, Mr. Fertig settled the litigation on terms extremely favorable to GE Capital.
Mr. Fertig has successfully represented: ESPN in several breach of contract, unfair competition and trade secret cases; Disney Enterprises and certain music retailers, including Tower Records, Coconuts, Sam Goody and Borders, in a copyright infringement action arising out of the motion picture “The Lion King II: Simba's Pride;” the National Football League Players Association in a number of right of publicity cases relating to the unlicensed activities of various Internet websites; and a variety of cable television networks, including ESPN, MTV, Fox and The Discovery Channel in copyright infringement actions brought by the American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers. Mr. Fertig has also successfully represented Healthology, Inc. and others in domain name disputes brought under the UDRP before the World Intellectual Property Organization, and he has likewise represented a number of clients, including Puig USA, Carolina Herrera, Ltd. and Odyssey Investment Partners LLC, in trademark disputes and other matters before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the Trademark Trial And Appeal Board.
Other clients which Mr. Fertig has represented and/or counseled include GlaxoSmithKline, Cosmair/Redken, UnitedHealth Group and its various affiliates, Yeshiva University, and the Randall's Island Sports Foundation, Inc., among others.
Mr. Fertig joined Weil, Gotshal & Manges as summer associate in 1996, and then as a full-time associate in September of 1997. Prior to joining the firm, he clerked as a summer intern for the Honorable Denise L. Cote, US District Judge for the Southern District of New York, and from 1995 to 1996, he served as an intern in the US Attorney's Office for Eastern District of New York.
Mr. Fertig is a member of the Litigation Sections of the New York State and American Bar Associations.