Skadden Arps defends DaimlerChrysler in $1bn suit

Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom is battling on behalf of DaimlerChrysler against a lawsuit brought by a billionaire investor.

The suit, first filed by billionaire Kirk Kerkorian’s investment vehicle Tracinda in November 2000, is alleging that Daimler-Benz misrepresented its 1998 combination with Chrysler Corp.

It is alleged Daimler-Benz took over Chrysler and did not carry out a “merger of equals”, as the deal had been billed by the German group.

The trial, where Kerkorian is believed to be seeking at least $1bn (£578.9m) in damages, began on 1 December. Tracinda’s lead counsel on the case is Los Angeles firm Christensen Miller Fink Jacobs Glaser Weil & Shapiro.

Morris Nichols Arsht & Tunnell, which filed the original suit, has also retained a role on the case, and New York’s Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson is also involved.