Darrell Daley is a litigator, an advocate and a business counselor. He resolves high-stakes business disputes and problems by trial in the courtroom, by argument in the appellate court chambers, by negotiation in the boardroom or by mediation in the conference room. He is known as a creative, sophisticated problem solver who lawyers aggressively yet civilly.

Business Litigator. Darrell is an accomplished, experienced business litigator who uses his skills across many industry sectors. Most cases he litigates bear one similar attribute: they are high stakes, financially complicated disputes. He has litigated or tried to verdict—both to juries and judges—varied cases, including:

• A $100 million dispute over a 20-year concealment of fraud related to the administration of corporate-owned life insurance.
• $75 million lender liability claims related to a failed five-star resort hotel development.
• Construction, entitlement and redevelopment disputes arising from a $26 million failed golf course community.
• Prosecution of a $25 million claim for attorney malpractice in patent infringement litigation.
• A $20 million methanol facility construction defect dispute.
• A $11 million breach of fiduciary duty claim related to a failed pet foods company merger.
• A 12-year fraud involving ownership of a prominent Denver area automobile dealership.
• A $6 million misappropriation of trade secrets and unfair competition claim against 57 disloyal employees.

 Clients highly commend Darrell's skill as a litigator:

 "Darrell . . . was masterful in his arguments of rules of evidence [and] cross examinations of [experts] . . . Under cross examination [one expert] was served an enormous helping of humility as errors and experience limitations were deftly pointed out to him. [The other expert's] testimony was greatly limited by challenges made by Darrell . . . Not only did Darrell score points during his cross examination of the witness but his form was pure. The cadence, order and demeanor of interrogatories were outstanding. I was very impressed."

                        Paul Mullaney, Managing Director, Carval Investors

Darrell has instructed at the Intersession Trial Advocacy Program at the University of Colorado School of Law and attended the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, National Session. 

Advocate. Although skilled at litigating cases that cannot be resolved otherwise, Darrell strongly advocates out-of-court resolution of business disputes. He has acted as an advocate for his clients in arbitrations, mediations and settlement conferences across the country—from Los Angeles to Denver to Chicago to Delaware. Darrell also advocates in the appellate courts, including arguments before the Colorado state appellate courts, federal courts of appeal in both the 5th and 10th circuits, and briefing in the U.S. Supreme Court. His appellate advocacy efforts have generated numerous reported legal decisions making, clarifying or expanding the law.

Business Counselor. Darrell is a trusted business advisor to many of his clients, most often when they are faced with the insolvency or bankruptcy of a business partner, vendor or customer, or are experiencing financial distress themselves. His practice regularly includes high-stake bankruptcy matters, focusing on insolvent company refinance and reorganization, and advising creditors in protecting and foreclosing rights against real estate, personal property and intellectual property assets. He has represented purchasers of businesses out of bankruptcy, providing soup-to-nuts counseling and advice on getting the deal done. His law partners routinely seek his counsel on business strategy for their clients. Darrell was a member of the management committee in his prior firm and was integral in negotiating its merger with Faegre Baker Daniels in 2002.

When the Stakes Are High. Among Darrell's significant engagements are:

• Trial counsel for Xcel Energy, a Fortune 500 public utility company, pursuing $100 million in claims arising from the fraudulent concealment over 25 years by a national insurance carrier and its broker relating to the complex sale and misadministration of corporate-owned life insurance. Devised winning summary judgment strategy that resulted in an eight-figure negotiated settlement sufficient to positively impact client's earnings per share.
• Lead trial counsel for Carval Investors, a Cargill affiliate, in state court receivership, lender liability and mechanic lien claims, and related federal bankruptcy court matters in both Colorado and Michigan, related to a $75 million hotel project in Telluride, Colorado.
• Lead trial counsel for Beal Bank, litigating in both state and federal court over a dozen claims based on judicial foreclosure, contested guarantees, lender liability, mechanic liens and FDIC insolvency issues arising from a $26 million failed golf course community in Montrose, Colo.; lead attorney for post-litigation entitlement, water rights, redevelopment and property sale issues.
• Lead trial counsel for Corporate Express, a national office products company, achieving a $6 million jury verdict on novel damages theory against a competitor for misappropriating business value and unfairly competing based on recruitment of 57 disloyal employees. Noted as the "Verdict of the Week" by the National Law Journal, Dec. 9, 2002.
• Trial team member that represented purchaser of bankrupt pet food company against debtor's former merger partner, resulting in $11.4 million verdict based on breaches of fiduciary duty, fraud, interference with contract and prospective economic advantage and misappropriation of trade secrets. The award was 20 times greater than the purchase price for the business, which included the right to pursue the lawsuit. Reported decisions: Larsen v. Consolidated Pet Foods, Inc. (In re S & D Foods, Inc. fka Consolidated Pet Foods, Inc.), 144 B.R. 121 (Bankr. D. Colo. 1992); Consolidated Pet Foods, Inc. v. Millard Refrigerated Services, Inc. (In re S & D Foods, Inc.), 110 B.R.34 (Bankr. D. Colo 1990).
• Lead counsel to the trustee appointed by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation to administer the liquidation of a Denver-based securities broker-dealer, including prosecution of claims for employee malfeasance based on $8 million of unauthorized trades, accountant malpractice, lender liability and customer claim reconciliation.
• Engaged by Nautilus, Inc. to purchase the fitness assets in the Chapter 11 proceeding of Schwinn Cycling and Fitness. As lead counsel, successfully pursued, negotiated and closed $151 million joint bid for both the fitness and cycling assets of Schwinn, one of the largest asset sales in the Colorado bankruptcy courts. As part of efforts, tried multimillion dollar trade dress, trademark and patent infringement injunction proceedings against one of Schwinn's trade partners.
• Represented Fortune 500 computer storage company in successful prosecution and settlement of $25 million claim against New York City-based law firm for attorney malpractice based on underlying patent infringement trial.
• Trial counsel for large British general contractor construction conglomerate in $20 million dispute over construction defects at a methanol production facility, including related subcontractor bankruptcy proceedings in Georgia.
• Lead counsel to U.S. Bank, defending and successfully settling a multimillion-dollar claim related to Virginia-based mortgage fraud scheme in which investors lost tens of millions of dollars.
• Represented GE Access, a General Electric affiliated multibillion-dollar computer master reseller in connection with the insolvency issues of resellers, customers and business partners, including representation as the chair of the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the MicroAge Chapter 11 case in the District of Arizona, successfully asserting reclamation rights for GE Access, which resulted in almost 100 percent return on its multimillion dollar claim, where the plan of reorganization paid only cents on the dollar. 
• Represented the president of the operating companies in the Oren Benton, Energy Fuels, Inc. and Nuexco Trading Corporation bankruptcy cases. Mr. Benton, after failing to corner the world's uranium markets, filed the largest individual case in Colorado, with more than $1 billion in debt and $800 million in assets. Successfully negotiated reallocation and settlement of client's multimillion-dollar claims against the estates, achieving greater return than most other creditors.
• As lead trial lawyer, successfully opposed the discharge of an individual debtor in a "no-asset" Chapter 7 case. Years later, after discovering the debtor fraudulently concealed his ownership of a successful automobile dealership, tried to verdict the right to unwind the fraud and negotiated the sale of the dealership for millions of dollars. After 12 years, the result was a 100 percent return, plus interest, to all unsecured creditors. Reported decision:  In re Dreiling, 233 B.R. 848 (Bankr. D. Colo. 1999).
• Engaged by Integrated Biopharma to negotiate the multimillion-dollar purchase of the nutraceutical intellectual property and operating assets in the Chapter 11 proceedings of Hauser Chemicals, pending in Los Angeles.
• Lead trial counsel in obtaining federal court jury verdict on legal malpractice claim against prominent Minneapolis-based law firm based on deficient services in underlying real estate transaction.
• Lead counsel to a Boulder-based investment advisor, defending and successfully settling a million-dollar Ponzi scheme claim related to the Lancer Group, a purported billion-dollar offshore hedge fund group based in Connecticut, brought by the bankruptcy trustee.
• Orchestrated the involuntary bankruptcy filing of Exabyte, Inc. on behalf of its commercial landlord and structured creative fund recovery litigation process, turning a $200,000 pre-bankruptcy settlement offer into a return of more than $1.5 million.

When it Matters. Darrell is firmly committed to providing legal services to the less advantaged, and he puts that belief to practice. Examples of his commitment to pro bono service include:

• Member of volunteer appellate habeas corpus and re-trial team that, as part of the American Bar Association's Post-Conviction Death Penalty Representation Project, diligently represented, for more than five years, an inmate on death row in Texas, eventually helping overturn his conviction. Reported decisions:  Bennett v. Texas, 486 U.S. 1051 (1988); Bennett v. Texas, 492 U.S. 911 (1989); Bennett v. Collins,  835 F.Supp. 930 (E.D.Tex. 1993)  Bennett v. Collins, 852 F.Supp. 570 (E.D. Tex. 1994).
• Co-recipient of the 1995 Jonathan Olom Award presented by the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar for "remarkable personal sacrifice made without regard to personal gain in the defense of the accused."
• Volunteer with the Sister Carmen Community Center, Legal Aid Days, 2010-present, and Adopt-A-Senior Holiday Project, 2007-present.
• Volunteer Trial Counsel, Colorado Faculty of Federal Advocates' Bankruptcy Pro-Bono Legal Service Project, representing bankruptcy debtors in objection to discharge cases. Reported decisions: In re Sukut, 357 B.R. 840 (Bankr. D. Colo. 2006); In re Sukut, 357 B.R. 834 (Bankr. D. Colo. 2006); In re Sukut, 380 B.R. 577 (10th Cir. BAP (Colo.) 2007).
• Recipient of the 2008 Donald E. Cordova Distinguished Service Award for excellence in pro bono representation of debtors by the Faculty of Federal Advocates' Bankruptcy Pro-Bono Legal Service Project.
• Pro bono trial counsel in one-week state court jury trial in 2008 to vindicate rights and provide opportunity to access courts in business dispute for breach of investment advice and fiduciary duties.
• Volunteer, Northeast Colorado Legal Services Bankruptcy Program, 1987-95.

Additional reported cases:

• FirsTier Bank v. Contract Manufacturing, Inc., 2008 WL 2979294 (D. Colo., August 1, 2008)
• Allison d/b/a Cheat Code Central v. Wise, 621 F.Supp.2d 1114 (D. Colo.  2007)
• Transfinancial Corp. v. Xcel Energy, Inc., 2007 WL 3256642 (D.Colo., November 01, 2007)
• In re M Liquidating Corp., 2007 WL 4571090 (Bankr. D. N.J., December 27, 2007)
• In re Telluride Income Growth Limited Partnership, 311 B.R.585 (Bankr. D. Colo. 2004)
• Sandstone Investments I, LLC v. A.Everett Williams 1963 Trust, 53 P.3d 687 (Colo. 2002)
• In re United States Voting Machines, Inc., 224 B.R. 165 (Bankr.D.Colo. 1998)
• Metro Wastewater Reclamation District v. Continental Casualty Company, 834 F.Supp. 1254 (D.Colo. 1993)
• John Deere Company v. Alamosa National Bank, 786 P.2d 505 (Colo.App. 1989)

Honors

• Identified as one of The Best Lawyers in America, Bankruptcy and Creditor-Debtor Rights Law, 2007-12.
• For more than 10 years, Darrell has received an AV Pre-eminent Rating by Martindale-Hubbell based on their objective, confidential Peer Review Rating survey of attorneys and judges before whom he has practiced. The AV Pre-eminent Rating is reserved for those lawyers with the highest ethical standards and professional ability.
• Listed in the Corporate Counsel Black Book (2007), a resource for in-house counsel when identifying, short listing and retaining outside legal counsel; inclusion requires nomination by corporate counsel.

Professional Associations

• American Bankruptcy Institute
• Colorado Bar Association

Civic Activities

• Boulder Economic Council, 2010-present
• Boulder Valley YMCA — Board of Directors, five-year member; Executive Committee, 2009-present; and Community Development Committee, Chair
• YWCA of Boulder — Dancing With the Boulder Stars, participant and winner, 2010, and panel judge, 2009
• Boulder Country Club — Finance Committee, Past Member
• Boulder Chamber of Commerce — Leadership Boulder, Graduate and Past Chairperson
• University of Colorado School of Law Alumni Association — Board of Directors, Past Member, and CU Law School Alumni Fundraisers, Past Chair

Presentations

• Civil Litigation Summit: Strategies for Managing and Winning Civil Cases
  Moderator (April 2011)
• Landlord-Tenant Law in Colorado: Bankruptcy Implications
  Presenter, Sterling Education Services CLE, Fort Collins, Colo. (2008)
• Protecting Your Business When Borrowing Money
  Presenter, Boulder Chamber of Commerce (1997)
• Insurance Coverage for Environmental Damage: The Litigation Issues
  Presenter, Wyoming Claims Association Annual Meeting, Cheyenne, Wyo. (1994)

Legal Updates

• What's Covered, What's Not in Attorney-Client Privilege
  Boulder County Business Report (January 2005)
• Depositions Under Rule 30(b)(6)
  Boulder County Bar Newsletter (2004)
• Fulfill Your Duties at the Helm of a Sinking Ship
  Trends (May 2002)
• The Last Chapter: What's Your Duty to a Failed Venture
  The Law Journal, Boulder County Business Report (April 2002)
• Protecting Your Rights
  Equipment Leasing Today 11, Vol. VI, No. 5 (May 1994)
• Propriety of Class Proofs of Claim in Bankruptcy
  63 Am.Bkr.L.J. 249 (Summer 1989)
• Class Representation in Bankruptcy
  18 Colo. Law. 267 (February 1989)