David Murphy is a litigation partner in the Detroit office of Pepper Hamilton LLP. His practice is in the area of commercial litigation, with emphasis on bankruptcy litigation.
Mr. Murphy has represented such diverse clients as Korean construction companies with regard to Saudi Arabian projects, auctioneers, appraisers, banks, bankruptcy trustees, creditors’ committees, secured creditors, unsecured creditors, and private corporations and individuals. He has handled litigation in major bankruptcy cases in Detroit and in other parts of the country. Mr. Murphy has handled matters in federal and state courts, and before arbitration tribunals. In Chapter 11 situations, Mr. Murphy has been responsible for analyzing and determining the validity of hundreds of reclamation claims made by creditors under 11 U.S.C. 546(c). He has prosecuted and defended unusual types of professional negligence cases, for example, architectural malpractice and auctioneer malpractice. He has litigated questions of solvency, the correctness of financial statements and financial projections.
Litigation in which Mr. Murphy has participated include those where he has:
- represented a Korean construction company in litigation with American procurement agents involved in a 600-unit Saudi Arabian construction project
- represented the Creditors’ Committee of a major publicly owned meat company in litigation brought by shareholders seeking to have a Chapter 11 plan of confirmation revoked for fraud
- represented secured creditors in cash collateral and priming loan litigation
- represented bankruptcy trustees in all types of bankruptcy and commercially related litigation including contamination at the Diamond Reo site in Lansing
- represented private corporations in litigation and arbitrations regarding acquisitions and sales of assets and businesses
- represented bankruptcy trustees and private companies in environmental litigation involving Chapter 11 and Chapter 7 debtors
- represented a group of dissident franchisees who broke away from their automotive industry related franchisor
- represented banks and asset based lenders in defending lender liability claims
- represented (as part of a team) a major oil company in Superfund litigation
- represented a company in a group of more than 3,000 asbestos cases, obtaining favorable settlements in the first group to go to trial
- been qualified as and acted as an expert witness before a Colorado State Court on the reasonableness of attorneys fees in litigation in Detroit, MI
- coordinated the handling of thousands of preference cases on a major bankruptcy case
- represented numerous Canadian companies in litigation in the United States
- represented a prisoner pro bono in a civil rights case
- represented a defendant against a claim by Enron in the Southern District of New York
- represented Tier II automotive suppliers
- represented liquidation trusts and creditors’ committees as to fraudulent transfer actions.
Mr. Murphy has lectured on several topics, including litigation aspects of boundary disputes in Michigan and bankruptcy-related topics.
