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Robert W. Hayes

Member

: Philadelphia
One Liberty Place
1650 Market Street
Suite 2800
Philadelphia, PA 19103
P: (215) 665-2094
TF: (800) 523-2900
F: (215) 665-2013

Robert W. Hayes

Robert W. Hayes is a member of the firm’s Business Litigation Section and sits on the firm’s Management Committee.

Bob has tried more than 50 substantial cases to verdict, judgment or arbitration award. In commercial disputes, he has obtained numerous multi-million dollar awards, including two in excess of $25 million. Bob has also obtained defense verdicts in personal injury actions in which more than $10 million in damages were demanded.

Bob has served as lead counsel in multiple appeals, including those in which published opinions were issued by the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the Supreme Courts of Pennsylvania, Delaware, West Virginia, Iowa and Alabama. In commercial disputes, Bob has been lead counsel in complex matters involving securities and common law fraud, patent, trademark and copyright infringement, antitrust laws and unfair competition, and breach of contract claims. Bob is experienced in the sports and entertainment industry, representing professional sports franchises, professional athletes, concert promoters, owners and operators of stadiums, arenas and amphitheaters, musicians, professional photographers and music instrument retailers. He also represented a promoter in testifying before the Antitrust Subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee concerning the Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger.

Bob has defended negligence, product liability and toxic tort claims seeking to recover for severe personal injuries or substantial property damage. He serves as national coordinating counsel for product liability claims for a consumer product manufacturer. Representative matters include the defense of claims arising out of high rise office building, apartment, and residential fires, passenger train and commercial and military aircraft crashes, and long-term exposure to carbon monoxide.

Many of the cases Bob has handled were pursued on a class action basis or included in multi-district or other consolidated proceedings. Bob argued class action issues before an en banc panel of the Third Circuit in one of the first appeals under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(f).

Bob graduated magna cum laude from Villanova University School of Law, where he was elected to the Order of the Coif and was a member of the Law Review, and earned his undergraduate degree, with honors, from St. Joseph’s University

Experience

Obtained summary judgment from state trial court in wrongful death claims arising out of two deaths in a residential fire.

Lead counsel in an appeal in which the Supreme Court of Alabama affirmed a jury verdict for the client in a published decision. In an issue of first impression for the Court, it held that judgment as a matter of law should have been entered because plaintiffs failed to prove a safer alternative design.

Represented the manufacturer of a safety product in wrongful death claims arising out of the death of a four year old child in a case tried in a state court in Southern Alabama. The jury returned a defense verdict.

Represented concert venue in successfully resolving citations the Secretary of Labor issued in its first attempt to enforce OSHA’s noise exposure regulations in the concert industry

Persuaded the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to enter summary judgment for the seller of a professional sports team in a breach of contract action arising out of the sale of the team.

Represented a concert promoter in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia against Grammy-nominated rapper Wiz Khalifa, who claimed over a million dollars in damages based upon allegations that the promoter breached its contract by canceling a show. In a decision affirmed by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, the District Court granted the promoter’s motion to dismiss on the grounds that no contract was ever formed.

After persuading the United States District Court of the Middle District of Pennsylvania to enter summary judgment upon patent infringement claims asserted against the firm’s client, obtained a $3.25 million verdict, including $1 million in punitive damages, against the plaintiff and its senior executives upon counterclaims that the patent infringement claims were wrongfully pursued to compete unfairly against the client.

Obtained judgment as a matter of law at trial upon RICO claims asserted in consolidated litigation against a client on the basis of her alleged participation in her husband’s fraudulent international adoption scheme and a defense verdict upon all remaining state law claims other than for the return of minimal sums received from the husband.

Represented Utz Quality Foods, LLC in its acquisition of Inventure Foods, Inc. in a deal valued at $165 million. The transaction was completed via a cash tender offer for all outstanding shares of Inventure Foods common stock, followed by a merger of a wholly owned subsidiary of Utz into Inventure Foods pursuant to Section 251(h) of the Delaware General Corporation Law. Inventure Foods will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Utz. Inventure Foods manufactures and sells salted snacks under the brands Boulder Canyon®, TGI Fridays™, Nathan’s Famous®, Vidalia Brands®, Poore Brothers®, Tato Skins®, and Bob’s Texas Style® and has manufacturing facilities in Arizona and Indiana. This complex and multi-faceted transaction drew on the experience of Cozen O’Connor’s corporate, tax, labor and employment, benefits, litigation, intellectual property, real estate, and environmental attorneys.

Represented a contractor in debarment and suspension proceedings with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

Represented a contractor in connection with a contract dispute with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

Secured a judgment of more than $1.1 million, after a five-day bench trial, on behalf of a client in the business of operating music venues and producing, staging, and hosting concerts. The client sought a refund of payments it made to operate a large amphitheater in Maryland after the defendant failed to reconstruct the venue’s dressing rooms and other backstage facilities. In securing this victory, we overcame the defendant's argument that the client's recovery interfered in the renovations and was precluded by a limitation of damages provision.

News

Bob Hayes and Matthew Glazer in Law360 Regarding Successful Representation of Comcast Spectacor

July 30, 2014

A Pennsylvania federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit in which two sports industry veterans sought a $2 million finder's fee from Comcast Spectacor LP, the former owner of the Philadelphia 76ers, stemming from the 2011 sale of the franchise. U.S. District Judge Petrese Tucker ruled that under the agreement Bob Whitsitt — a former owner of the Seattle Seahawks and Portland Trailblazers — and Thomas Shine signed with Comcast Spectacor, the pair were obligated to identify the proposed purchaser to the team in order to collect their fee.

Bob Hayes and Matthew Glazer Prevail On Behalf of Comcast-Spectacor

July 30, 2014

Bob Hayes and Matthew Glazer, members of Cozen O’Connor’s Commercial Litigation Department, recently obtained a favorable ruling on behalf of Comcast-Spectacor in a breach of contract suit against the former owner of the Philadelphia 76ers, in which the plaintiffs alleged they were deprived of fees relating to finding a buyer during the sale of the team. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Chief Judge Petrese B. Tucker granted summary judgment in favor of Comcast-Spectacor. The ruling served as a reversal to a prior decision by Tucker in which she said ambiguities in the written language of the contract between the plaintiffs and defendant necessitated further examination of the case by a jury. Tucker said in her opinion that a reversal was necessary because the court failed to address certain portions of the contract.

Cozen O’Connor Team Secures Dismissal of Contract Claims Against Concert Promoter Client

April 26, 2013

Bob Hayes, Jordan Fox, and Rebecca Brodey were successful in persuading the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia to dismiss Grammy nominated rapper Wiz Khalifa’s claim that our concert promoter client breached a promotional agreement by cancelling a Washington area concert.

Cozen O’Connor Attorneys Named 2009 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers By Law & Politics

May 28, 2009

Cozen O’Connor is proud to announce that 52 attorneys from the firm’s Philadelphia and West Conshohocken offices have been named 2009 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers by Law & Politics, and will appear in the June 2009 issues of Philadelphia magazine and Pennsylvania Super Lawyers.

Cozen O’Connor Forms New Practice Group to Address Credit Market Crisis

January 16, 2008

Cozen O’Connor Forms New Practice Group to Address Credit Market Crisis

Rock May Never Die, But It Sure Has Matured [Delaware Lawyer]

December 12, 2017

Bob Hayes, a member of the firm’s Business Litigation Section, published, "Rock May Never Die, But It Sure Has Matured" for Delaware Lawyer.

Threading the 'American Needle': The Supreme Court Adopts a New Standard of Concerted Action Under the Sherman Act [Litigation Alert!]

May 27, 2010

Threading the 'American Needle': The Supreme Court Adopts a New Standard of Concerted Action Under the Sherman Act - Litigation Alert! - In a unanimous decision likely to transcend its unique factual background, on Monday, the United States Supreme Court in American Needle, Inc. v. National Football League, et al., established a new test for determining whether related parties are single entities for purposes of establishing an agreement, combination or conspiracy in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act.

The 2014 ACC Annual Meeting	New Orleans, LA	10/28/2014
You Are a Director or Officer and You Just Got Sued: What Indemnification and Insurance is Available to Protect You?	Philadelphia, PA	09/26/2013

Practice Areas

Commercial Litigation

Complex Litigation

Securities Litigation & SEC Enforcement

Appellate

Education

Villanova University School of Law, J.D., magna cum laude, 1980
St. Joseph's University, A.B., 1977

Bar Admissions

Court Admissions

Affiliations

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