Source: https://www.vedderprice.com/thomas-r-dee
Timestamp: 2019-04-20 08:40:58+00:00

Document:
Thomas R. Dee is a Shareholder at Vedder Price and a member of the Litigation and Intellectual Property practice areas of the firm.
He has extensive experience in complex commercial matters, including breach of contract, products liability, trademark, copyright and patent infringement, trade secret violations and enforcement of restrictive covenants. Mr. Dee has substantial experience in actions involving temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions.
Mr. Dee represents clients ranging from Internet/e-businesses to Fortune 500 companies in U.S. federal and state courts and before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. He has appeared and argued before the Illinois Appellate Court and the Federal Circuit and the Seventh and Eighth Circuit Courts of Appeals.
In addition to his litigation experience, Mr. Dee regularly counsels corporations and individuals on how to protect corporate assets, including employee relationships, confidential information and trade secrets.
He is past Co-Chair of the firm’s Summer Associate Program and serves on the firm’s Diversity and Pro Bono Committees. He is also a founding member of Vedder Price’s Trade Secrets/Unfair Competition practice group.
Mr. Dee is a member of the United States Supreme Court Bar and the Federal Trial Bar. Mr. Dee has been in the Leading Lawyers Network since 2011, included in Illinois Super Lawyers from 2012 to 2017 and “AV Preeminent” rated by Martindale-Hubbell.
In Powell v. XO Communications et al., Mr. Dee served as lead counsel on behalf of defendants in a defamation action. After successfully narrowing the claims and the alleged defamatory statements through a motion to dismiss, Mr. Dee obtained summary judgment on all claims against the remaining defendants.
•In First Advantage et al. v. Sterling Infosystems, Inc. et al., Mr. Dee brought an action seeking a declaration that certain restrictive covenants were overbroad and unenforceable. Mr. Dee then defended and defeated Sterling’s attempt to obtain an injunction which would have prohibited two executives from performing work for First Advantage.
In Sysco Corporation et al. v. Reinhart FoodService, LLC et al., Sysco brought multiple claims, including an alleged violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, against Reinhart based upon its hiring of a former Sysco executive. Mr. Dee obtained a dismissal of all claims Sysco brought against Reinhart.
In Ignite v. Leapfrog et al., Mr. Dee served as lead counsel and obtained a TRO and preliminary and permanent injunction against a group of former Ignite employees who opened a competing business while still employed by Ignite. Using forensic evidence, Mr. Dee was able to establish that one of the employees had used an Internet service to back up Ignite’s entire development database.
In AWTP v. Saenz, Mr. Dee obtained a permanent injunction and $700,000 judgment against a former RainSoft™ dealer who violated his dealer agreement by selling competing water-treatment products and misrepresenting his affiliation with RainSoft™.
In Fast Food Gourmet v. Kraft and Little Lady Foods, Mr. Dee served as lead trial counsel for the defendants in a $160 million trade secret dispute. After opening statements and just before the plaintiff had to put its first witness on the stand, the case was favorably settled.
In Bridge Associates LLC v. Bridge Finance Group LLC, Mr. Dee defended Bridge Finance against the plaintiff’s attempt to permanently enjoin Bridge Finance from using the name it chose and invested significant capital promoting. At the preliminary injunction hearing, Mr. Dee was able to completely discredit the plaintiff’s alleged instances of actual confusion and defeated the preliminary injunction by establishing that there wasn’t even a likelihood of confusion between the two parties. The case was settled shortly after denial of the preliminary injunction.
In Grayline v. Garden Ridge, Mr. Dee obtained a permanent injunction prohibiting the defendants from importing and/or selling products that infringed on his client’s trademarks, copyrights and patents. In addition, his client received significant damages and attorneys’ fees.
In Dana Classic Fragrances v. F&F Industries et al., Mr. Dee obtained a permanent injunction against a number of defendants prohibiting their sales of knock-off English Leather products. His client also received damages and fees far in excess of the costs of litigation.
In CL Enterprises v. Law Title et al., Mr. Dee achieved a significant settlement on behalf of a client who was defrauded out of over $1.5 million. Out of the amount lost, Mr. Dee was able to recoup over $1 million in the settlement.
In AAMG v. Oakland Deposit Bank, Mr. Dee obtained a large settlement against a number of defendants found to have engaged in a complex mortgage fraud scheme.
In Celander v. Loyola University, Mr. Dee successfully defended Loyola University of Chicago in an alleged breach-of-employment contract case brought by a former University professor. The plaintiff sought two years of salary and benefits and unspecified damages for failure to grant tenure. At trial, Mr. Dee established that Loyola properly dismissed the plaintiff when it found out that the plaintiff breached his contract by teaching at another institution without Loyola’s knowledge or consent.
In PRG-Schultz International v. Krix, Mr. Dee served as lead trial counsel to PRG-Schultz International and PRGS in a trade secret/copyright infringement suit against a competitor who was accused of misappropriating a highly proprietary software program. After defeating its motion for summary judgment a day before trial, the competitor agreed to withdraw the offending portions of its software program from the market.
In Therapeutic Showers, Inc. v. Loyola University of Chicago, Mr. Dee served as lead trial counsel and successfully defended Loyola University of Chicago during an eight-week trial in the Circuit Court of Cook County. The plaintiff filed a multicount complaint claiming that Loyola forced him out of business. Despite a great deal of negative pretrial publicity, Mr. Dee established that Loyola did not cause the plaintiff’s business to fail. At the end of the trial, Loyola was found innocent on all counts.
In Heartland Bank v. Heartland Home Finance, Mr. Dee served as lead trial counsel and successfully defended Heartland Home Finance before a jury in a trademark infringement action in the Eastern District of Missouri federal court. After the plaintiff put on its case in chief, Mr. Dee moved for and obtained a directed verdict. After the case was remanded by the Eighth Circuit, Mr. Dee successfully argued for and received an award of more than $130,000.00 in attorneys’ fees paid by the plaintiff and its counsel. The remainder of the case settled shortly thereafter.
Powell v. XO Services, Inc. et al. (N.D. Ill. 2011) (defamation and employment action).
Strata Marketing v. Murphy et al., 317 Ill.App.3d 1054 (1st Dist. 2000) (restrictive covenants, trade secrets).
PRG-Schultz International v. Krix et al., 2003 WL 22232771 (N.D. Ill. 2003) (trade secrets, copyright infringement).
Heartland Bank v. Heartland Home Finance, 335 F.3d 810 (8th Cir. 2003) (trademark infringement).
Ardisam v. Hunter's View, 336 F.Supp.2d 867 (W.D. WI 2004) (patent infringement).
Mr. Dee contributes to our Media & Privacy Risk Report blog. To view it, please click here.

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