David Goldkrantz v. Merv Griffin et al.

Retained by Cravath, Swaine & Moore

Defense counsel retained Cornerstone Research and Professor William Silber of New York University after shareholders sued Griffin Gaming & Entertainment (GGE) over its merger with Sun International Hotels Limited (Sun). The plaintiffs claimed that a license agreement between Sun and Merv Griffin, the largest shareholder and chairman of the board of GGE, had fraudulently inflated Sun’s stock price. Our analysis demonstrated that Sun’s subsequent write-off of the agreement with Griffin had not prompted a decline in Sun’s stock price. That meant that there was no evidence that Sun’s stock price had been inflated by the original agreement. The judge in the case relied heavily on Professor Silber’s report and granted summary judgment for the defendants.