Moore & Van Allen, PLLC

Moore & Van Allen, PLLC

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Evan M. Bass

Evan M. Bass

Evan's experience includes advising investors, developers, lenders and major corporations on a variety of commercial estate transactions, ranging from the purchase or sale of real estate assets, real estate lending and borrowing, complex lease negotiations, condominium and planned community creation and management and the acquisition of real estate liens in distressed debt markets. Evan serves as outside counsel to public and private companies, regularly advising senior management, asset managers, investment advisors and boards of directors on commercial real estate matters, corporate governance issues and related legal issues.
Kathryn Gusmer Cole

Kathryn Gusmer Cole

Kate serves as Co-head of the firm's Intellectual Property team. She provides strategic leadership and counsel on complex intellectual property matters for domestic and international clients, including start-ups, private equity groups, and large private and public companies. Her broad IP experience positions her to serve as a valued business partner to her clients on a variety of IP transactional and litigation matters. She represents clients in matters relating to IP development, portfolio acquisition, and complex licensing, and leads teams in advising on the IP aspects of various debt and equity investments. Clients look to Kate for her collaborative approach to deals, ensuring that both sides work together on creative solutions to reach a mutually positive outcome. Kate also routinely assists clients in protecting their IP rights through enforcement and litigation, with experience in federal courts throughout the country in IP disputes including patent, trademark, and trade secret litigation. Kate is ranked in IAM Strategy 300 as a leading IP strategist in licensing and M&A, and is recommended by IAM Patent 1000, where clients note that she is “an adept litigator as well as deal lawyer” and describe her as “brilliant – she is responsive, thorough, and careful but very creative. She has an extremely strong skill set when it comes to IP and corporate matters, so she can efficiently and effectively solve any problem that comes her way.” She has also been recognized by Best Lawyers in America, Business North Carolina Legal Elite, North Carolina Super Lawyers, and World Trademark Review 1000, with clients commenting that she is “extremely customer focused and looks for – and accomplishes – business wins.” “She always takes a business-sensitive tack on disputes, looking for the best value proposition for the client. She communicates promptly and responsively, and works closely with her patrons.  I have had uniformly excellent results from her and her team.” Kate has also been named a Charlotte Business Journal Women in Business Achievement Award winner for her significant contributions to her firm, industry, and community.
Suzanne K. Gainey

Suzanne K. Gainey

Suzanne’s practice is focused on supply chain, licensing, technology and commercial transactional matters, as well as data security and privacy. She has extensive experience in drafting and negotiating a variety of commercial contracts, including licensing agreements, outsourcing agreements, cloud services agreements, reseller agreements, referral agreements, and payment processing agreements. Suzanne represents clients across a number of industries, including those in financial services, manufacturing and healthcare. Before practicing law, Suzanne studied mechanical engineering at the University of Illinois and worked as a technology analyst in the financial services industry. She also has experience analyzing patent portfolios and conducting intellectual property due diligence.
Brandon Gaskins

Brandon Gaskins

Brandon is an accomplished litigator with experience in complex business and contract disputes, land use and zoning disputes, and cases involving violations of non-competition, confidentiality, and other restrictive covenants. In the land use arena, he has successfully challenged governmental entities who have denied clients’ development and property rights. In addition, Brandon maintains a wide-ranging employment law practice, providing advice and litigating matters involving Title VII, Americans with Disabilities Act, Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Fair Labor Standards Act, and the Family and Medical Leave Act. As part of this practice, Brandon regularly counsels employers, executives, and physicians regarding employment contracts, employee termination, wage and hour compliance, restrictive covenants, and other employment-related matters. Prior to joining the firm, Brandon served as Deputy Chief Counsel to South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford. In this role, Brandon served as a key member of the team representing the governor’s office during the high-profile ethics investigation and impeachment proceedings. Since leaving the governor’s office, Brandon has continued to represent clients in regulatory and internal investigations. Representative Experience The following examples are representative of the attorney’s practice and are not intended to indicate or predict similar results can be obtained for other clients. See Disclaimer  \tSecured a $2.6 million award for client in a bench trial on a breach of contract claim against a municipality for failing to honor a parking license agreement that supported the development of a parking garage \tObtained a settlement in litigation against a municipality for denial of controversial apartment development. Asserted claims for denial of due process, equal protection rights, and declaratory judgment. Settlement included approval of project and $375 thousand reduction in development impact fees \tSecured defense verdict for property owners in non-jury trial against plaintiffs challenging rezoning of their property to Light Industrial \tSuccessfully appealed Board of Zoning Appeals decision denying property owner the right to utilize property for accommodations uses \tAchieved favorable settlement for a major governmental contractor in False Claims Act investigation into executive compensation by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). DOJ sought more than $10 million in damages and penalties. Through settlement, the client resolved the dispute as a contractual matter for substantially less than the claimed amount instead of as a FCA violation \tServing as liaison counsel to defendants in approximately 20 federal court cases involving allegations of trade secret misappropriation that have been consolidated into multidistrict litigation (MDL). Argued before the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation in support of consolidation \tRepresented the South Carolina Office of the Governor in the only impeachment proceeding against a governor in South Carolina history. The South Carolina General Assembly commenced a proceeding to consider a resolution to impeach the governor, but it failed by overwhelming vote of the South Carolina House Judiciary Committee. Served on a team of lawyers that presented standard for impeachment and argued against impeachment
Stephen E. Gruendel

Stephen E. Gruendel

Steve is co-head of the Bankruptcy & Financial Restructuring group. He represents banks and other creditors in workouts and bankruptcies. Also certified as a mediator, Steve brings a practical, problem-solving approach to workouts and recognizes that in most situations a practical and cooperative solution is better for his creditor clients than a collection action or a liquidation. Steve’s practice encompasses both syndicated credit facilities and bilateral loans and leases. With clients that are national, regional and local, his work is as likely to involve a restructure of a publicly traded defense contractor’s syndicated credit facility as it is the cooperative liquidation or winddown of a regional hog producer or franchisee’s restaurant chain.  Workout matters regularly involve forbearance agreements, amendments, wind-downs and debt restructuring agreements. Chapter 11 matters regularly involve debtor-in-possession financings and cash collateral use, section 363 sales and negotiated and/or contested reorganization plans.  Steve’s workout matters also often involve intercreditor issues with third parties, including payment subordination, lien subordination, and surety-related rights and he frequently advises clients about how to structure loans that involve particularly thorny or complex issues. In his free time, he coaches a high school mock trial team at Covenant Day School in Matthews, NC. Representative Experience \tAgriculture. Represented real estate lender owed approximately $40MM by pistachio and almond farming operation in California. Matter involved overlapping state court receiverships and a cooperative multi-lateral sale process against the backdrop of multiple lender foreclosure actions. \tBourbon Distillery. Represented lender owed approximately $40MM by bourbon distillery in Kentucky. Matter resulted in cooperative receivership proceeding under Kentucky law. \tConsumer Products. Represented administrative agent under $275MM credit facility to Amazon aggregator of health supplements / vitamins. Matter involved challenging governance dynamics on both company and lender side but resulted in eventual consensual exit transaction. \tDefense Contractor. Represented administrative agent under $1200MM credit facility to defense contractor. Matter involved competing views about significant EBITDA addbacks and financial covenant compliance. \tCoffee Importer. Represented bank client owed approximately $50MM by a coffee importer borrower which filed an assignment for the benefit of creditors in Florida. The matter involved significant intercreditor disputes over the proceeds of collateral due to fraudulent borrowing practices and an eventual legal action against the company’s audit firm. \tFloorplan Lending. Represented administrative agent for bank group in connection with $40MM floorplan lending facility to auto dealership. Matter resulted in repossession of over 2000 cars immediately prior to chapter 7 filing. \tFlight School Services. Represented administrative agent for bank group owed over $250MM in connection with syndicated loans to flight school. Matter involved adding additional aircraft collateral in the multiple jurisdictions, including the US and UK.
Arlene D. Hanks

Arlene D. Hanks

Arlene counsels and guides clients through their development of practical brand strategies to maximize brand investment to meet their business and commercial goals, whether of a local, national, regional, or international scope.  This includes protecting, policing, and enforcing intellectual property rights domestically and globally, and related marketing, private label branding, licensing, and transactional matters. She assists clients with intellectual property disputes and with IP counseling and due diligence in connection with mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures.  She works with an extensive network of respected firms internationally and assists those firms in protecting and enforcing their clients’ intellectual property rights in the United States. She serves as external trademark counsel for several multinational companies and their subsidiaries across a wide spectrum of industries, providing guidance and assistance with both day-to-day issues and enterprise-wide concerns and strategies.
Joshua D. Lanning

Joshua D. Lanning

Josh has tried and won numerous cases to jury verdict and has successfully argued state and federal appeals in areas ranging from constitutional law to securities entitlements. Josh focuses his practice on class action defense, antitrust and commercial litigation, including matters involving state and federal antitrust laws; complex contractual disputes; fraud and other business torts; Civil RICO; unfair commercial practices; securities fraud; intellectual property; and fiduciary duties. In addition, Josh has managed multiple internal investigations for clients including Fortune 500 companies, financial institutions, and local government bodies. Josh has represented plaintiffs and defendants in state and federal courts throughout North Carolina as well as in a number of other jurisdictions, having litigated significant disputes on behalf of his clients in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Florida, Maine, Georgia, Utah, Nebraska, Texas, and Louisiana. His clients are a diverse set of people and businesses ranging from individuals and families to large national and international banking institutions.
Luis M. Lluberas

Luis M. Lluberas

OverviewNotableNewsAffiliationsPublicationsSpeaking Engagements Luis has extensive experience representing key stakeholders in connection with all aspects of financial restructuring matters in a myriad of industry sectors, including agriculture, commercial real estate, commercial services, consumer discretionary, energy, healthcare, government contracting, manufacturing, retail, technology and transportation. Luis routinely represents financial institutions, in both lender and agent capacities, in syndicated credit facilities and other secured lending transactions. He has also represented strategic investors, receivers and corporate debtors. His out-of-court experience includes creditor compositions, lender workouts, liability management transactions, debt-to-equity swaps and secured party sales. His in-court experience includes large corporate chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, the acquisition of assets out of bankruptcy proceedings, receiverships and foreclosure actions. As a compliment to his vibrant financial restructuring practice, Luis regularly represents lenders and administrative agents in non-distressed lending transactions, including in preparing intercreditor agreements for first lien / second lien, senior / subdebt, and unitranche financing structures.
J. Christopher Oates

J. Christopher Oates

Chris Oates is routinely involved in the acquisition, development, financing, and leasing of urban and suburban office complexes, mixed-use developments, hotels, and retail shopping center facilities. He has represented municipal interests and private developers in public/private joint ventures, economic incentive agreements, and other collaborations. He has also been involved with the negotiation of lease agreements, restrictive covenants, and operating and reciprocal easement agreements for developer, lender, and tenant clients. He has assisted developers with zoning issues and obtaining variances before municipal boards. Chris has written and lectured on commercial real estate leasing issues, especially the negotiation of retail leases.
Christopher A. Ogiba

Christopher A. Ogiba

OverviewNotableNews Chris is an experienced civil litigator and trial attorney who has successfully represented a wide variety of clients in state and federal court and in arbitrations. As the chair of the firm’s Charleston Litigation group, Chris is supported by a smart and creative team of professionals and is adept at scaling up or down as the needs of a particular engagement demand. Chris also advises his clients of the most efficient and least painful methods of resolving their disputes. Chris is a litigator who can take on any legal obstacle with success and exceptional service, bringing a deep understanding of the law and evolving regulations. He has more than 25 years of experience representing home builders, financial institutions, investment firms, technology companies, professional services networks, accounting and auditing firms, third-party human resource and administrative companies, manufacturers and distributors of industrial and consumer products, construction and bonding companies, retirement communities, real estate developers, and property owners’ associations. Chris has tried more than two dozen cases to verdict in a variety of venues in several jurisdictions along the East Coast and is known for his calm demeanor and confident approach that puts clients at ease even in the face of a potentially catastrophic dispute. His clients also appreciate that he is cognizant of opportunities to drive efficiencies in cost and time. Representative Experience \tLeads the MVA team that represents one of the largest national home builders and developers. To date, the team has earned favorable results in class action, contract, and construction defect litigation defense matters. \tLeads the MVA team representing an international consulting firm in a federal securities class action related to alleged accounting fraud arising out of a failed multibillion-dollar energy expansion project by a utility company. The plaintiffs sought to attach liability to Chris’s client, alleging it violated its professional responsibilities and failed in its role of gatekeeper, thus misleading investors about accounting for and completion of the project. In February 2025, the Fourth Circuit agreed to hear the client’s appeal of the class certification ruling, based on arguments over whether a Supreme Court model on damages was properly applied. \tLeads the MVA team representing a global systemically important bank in various commercial litigation matters, including high-profile state court actions involving allegations of lender liability, fraud and negligence. \tLeads the MVA team representing a national retailer in various litigation matters in South Carolina, as well as in multi-district and state opioid litigation. \tLeads the MVA team representing a B2B distributor in commercial litigation involving contractual disputes, including cases pending in South Carolina state and federal courts, and in binding arbitration proceedings that proceeded to a final judgment. \tLeads the MVA team representing one of the nation’s largest metal producers in various South Carolina and federal courts, including in a catastrophic injury case that wound its way through the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and South Carolina Supreme Court. \tLed the MVA team that secured dismissals of litigation brought against sports franchise entities in South Carolina state and federal courts.
Alan W. Pope

Alan W. Pope

OverviewNotableNewsAffiliations Alan applies substantial experience to representing administrative agents and collateral agents in syndicated credit facilities and other financial institutions in secured lending transactions. Representative Experience The following examples are representative of the attorney’s practice and are not intended to indicate or predict similar results can be obtained for other clients. See Disclaimer  Bankruptcies \tMGTF Radio Company, LLC (E.D. Mo.): Representation of administrative agent and lenders with $62 million in debt claims in chapter 11 case of radio station holding companies \tDakota Plains Holdings, Inc. (D. Minn): Representation of administrative agent and lender in a $65 million credit facility in chapter 11 case of an oil transloading facility \tCrescent Resources, LLC (W.D. Tex.): Representation of administrative agent in an approximately $1.5 billion syndicated facility and $110 million debtor in possession financing facility in chapter 11 bankruptcy cases of a large real estate developer and its affiliates \tWood Structures, Inc. (Me.): Representation of administrative agent for lenders with over $25 million of secured and unsecured claims in the chapter 7 bankruptcy case of a manufacturer and distributer of manufactured wood products \tBig West Oil, LLC (Del.): Representation of administrative agent for senior secured lenders on a $120MM revolving credit facility in the chapter 11 bankruptcy case of a Utah based oil refinery
Nader S. Raja

Nader S. Raja

Nader has substantial experience defending clients in all phases of litigation in state and federal courts across the United States. He handles a diverse range of litigation matters, including class actions, securities fraud claims under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, lawsuits alleging breaches of fiduciary duties, lender liability and mortgage servicing claims, and litigation arising out of commercial contracts and transactions. In addition to traditional litigation, Nader is well seasoned in representing clients that are the subject of high-profile government investigations and conducting internal investigations. He has represented clients in domestic inquiries and investigations by the Department of Justice (Main Justice and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), as well as cross-border matters involving the European Commission (EC), the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Nader’s involvement in these investigations includes overseeing complex document reviews, conducting witness interviews, representing witnesses in interviews and testimony, working with expert consultants on complex data analysis, and engaging with various enforcement authorities in North America, Europe, and Asia through written submissions, oral advocacy presentations, and settlement conferences.
W. Kevin Ransom

W. Kevin Ransom

Some of the services Kevin provides his clients include: \tObtaining patent protection in the U.S. and non-U.S. patent offices. \tInfringement and invalidity investigations, product landscaping, and freedom to operate investigations, and product redesign assistance. \tPreparing and negotiating license, manufacturing, distribution, joint-venture, joint-development, royalty-sharing, intellectual property purchase agreements. \tNegotiating and performing due diligence involving intellectual property in a variety of debt and M&A transactions, including: preparing and negotiating intellectual property and regulatory compliance provisions; due diligence related to ownership, scope, product coverage, and overall legal value of intellectual property assets/ collateral; and analyzing material licenses and other commercial agreements to assess a range of issues, such as the scope of license rights, transferability, assignability, and termination provisions.
Trudy H. Robertson

Trudy H. Robertson

Trudy frequently counsels individuals, businesses, nonprofit organizations, charitable organizations, municipalities, physicians, and other health care providers through governance and transactional matters, regulatory compliance, and disputes. She regularly advises and represents governmental and nonprofit organizations in contractual, governance and litigation matters. She represents health care providers in licensing, medical staff, governance, and fair hearing matters, and has experience advising on Certificate of Need issues. She brings significant litigation experience in representing fiduciaries in trust and estate matters. She also has litigation experience in representing clients in condemnation, easement and property related matters. Trudy has experience serving in outside general counsel roles for municipal and nonprofit clients. She has experience handling matters in state, federal, and administrative courts in South Carolina. As counsel to municipalities, Trudy is the principal legal advisor to the town council and town departments. She represents the municipalities in legal matters affecting the towns’ interests. She also drafts resolutions, local laws, ordinances, and contracts for the town council. Representative Experience The following examples are representative of the attorney’s practice and are not intended to indicate or predict similar results can be obtained for other clients. See Disclaimer  \tSojourner v. Town of St. George, et al. Represented the town in successfully having the South Carolina Supreme Court affirm the lower court’s ruling that found the town’s ordinance constitutional and that the Home Rule Act allowed for the conveyance of the town’s sewer system assets to the county \tBees Ferry Landing, LLC, et al. v. South Carolina Department of Transportation. Represented Bees Ferry Landing, LLC in successfully obtaining a $1 million plus jury verdict in a Charleston County case involving a novel issue of the state’s liability for inverse condemnation when the state revokes a revocable permit after the permittee has expended substantial monies in reliance on the permit \tArbitration Proceeding Represented a client in successfully defending against breach of contract claims in an arbitration proceeding and then recovering on affirmative fee and expense claims \tHensen, et al. v. Hensen, et al. Represented the Hensen brothers petitioners in successfully obtaining a summary judgment ruling in their favor that the trust owned a real property asset
William D. Rust

William D. Rust

Business and Transactional Law \tRepresents public and private companies in merger and acquisition transactions, joint ventures, bond offerings, securities, and general corporate and contractual matters. \tNegotiates commercial contracts – including purchase agreements, commercial leases, employment agreements, shareholder management agreements, and operating agreements – on behalf of local and regional businesses. \tRepresents private companies belonging to regulated industries to ensure compliance with South Carolina laws and regulations. Health Care Law \tRepresents hospital systems in physician practice acquisitions, joint ventures, and matters related to physician employment and recruitment. \tProvides regulatory compliance advice to hospital systems and physician practices with respect to the Stark Law, the Anti-Kickback Statute, HIPAA and EMTALA.
Zachary H. Smith

Zachary H. Smith

Zach is a nationally recognized restructuring lawyer with more than 20 years of experience in complex restructurings, representing a broad spectrum of stakeholders in special situations and bankruptcy proceedings. Before joining MVA in 2013, Zach was a partner in the restructuring practice of an international law firm based in New York City. Zach’s practice covers transactional and litigation, and encompasses representations such as: \tPrivate equity sponsors and their portfolio companies in out-of-court distressed M&A transactions. \tIndependent directors and special committees in distressed M&A transactions. \tPurchasers of distressed businesses and their assets. \tCorporate debtors in all aspects of complex chapter 11 proceedings, including chapter 11 litigation. \tFinancial institutions, special situation funds, and direct lenders in the restructuring and exit of troubled credits. \tStakeholders in cross-border insolvency situations. \tHigh net worth individuals and family offices in risk mitigation and management, transaction structuring, and transaction execution associated with distressed investment opportunities and special situations. \tPuerto Rico-based financial institutions, private equity investors, and distress investors. Zach is an adjunct professor at Duke University Law School where he teaches courses in corporate restructuring, chapter 11, distress investing, and structuring of financial transactions. Representative Experience \tPacific Investment Management Company (PIMCO), as sponsor, secured lender, and DIP lender, in the Agspring Mississippi Region chapter 11 cases in Delaware \tPIMCO, as JV counterparty, in connection with the LStar Management federal receivership in North Carolina \tCBRE, Inc., as court-appointed receiver of the EpiCentre, a large mixed-use development including shopping center, office, and hotels in uptown Charlotte \tCBRE, Inc., as court-appointed receiver of various distressed real estate projects \tLargest Southeast-based franchisee of Sonic Drive-In and MOD Pizza restaurants in chapter 11 cases in Charlotte, North Carolina \tFilip Technologies, Inc. and certain domestic and foreign affiliates in chapter 11 cases in Delaware \tAres Management as owner of a distressed energy project in New Jersey, in a comprehensive out of court restructuring involving $500+ million of senior debt held by international banks \tNational healthcare portfolio company Joerns Healthcare in a comprehensive out-of-court restructuring \tWell-known family office as equity owners of a company with toxic tort liabilities in a receivership in North Carolina \tPrivate equity sponsors in the restructuring, sale, and other strategic transactions involving distressed portfolio companies \tAircraft lessor in the Spirit Airlines chapter 11 case in the Southern District of New York \tInternational bidder in going concern 363 process in the Big Lots chapter 11 case in the District of Delaware \tLargest creditor of multi-company insurance business in chapter 11 cases in the Southern District of Florida \tAres Management as secured lender in the Southern Produce and Imperial Frozen Foods chapter 11 cases in Eastern District of North Carolina \tPrivate equity sponsor Putnam Bridge Funding, in its acquisition of Marina Puerto del Rey and a major San Juan-based real estate project through chapter 11 cases in Puerto Rico \tThe Government Development Bank for Puerto Rico in its liquidation under Title VI of The Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA) \tFirstBank Puerto Rico as agent bank in several complex restructurings, including the Gatsby Stores chapter 11 cases in the District of Puerto Rico, the restructuring of a major Puerto Rico-based hotel and convention center, the chapter 11 case of Doral Financial Corporation, the restructuring of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, and the cross-border insolvency proceedings of the Scrub Island resort (simultaneous proceedings in the British Virgin Islands and Florida) \tUnited States Department of Treasury and the Presidential Task Force with respect to the restructuring of General Motors
Skottowe W. Smith, Jr.

Skottowe W. Smith, Jr.

OverviewNotableNewsAffiliations  In this capacity, Skott assists developers, owners, tenants, lenders, and investors in a variety of transactions: \tHe recently handled the development of a downtown office tower adjacent to and part of the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, NC \tHe has handled the acquisition, financing, development and disposition of numerous large office, retail and residential developments \tHe recently handled the acquisition of several medical office complexes \tHe has extensive experience handling complex retail and office lease transactions throughout the United States \tHe has recently been involved in the acquisition and development of a regional mall  
Christopher D. Tomlinson

Christopher D. Tomlinson

A longtime member of MVA’s Litigation group and leader of the firm’s North Carolina Business Court team, Chris is called upon to protect clients’ intricate and critical business interests. He assists a wide variety of large and middle-market clients, including global financial institutions, manufacturers, broker-dealers, private equity groups, and aircraft lessors. He also represents members, shareholders, and directors in corporate governance disputes and business break-ups, which often involve claims for breach of fiduciary duties. Chris maintains a national practice, regularly litigating in federal and state courts around the country, as well as in private arbitrations. In his nearly two decades of practice, Chris also has developed trial strategies tailored to North Carolina Business Court representations and he parlays that experience into successful outcomes for clients.
Scott M. Tyler

Scott M. Tyler

Scott focuses his time—and his clients’ resources—on a strategic path to success by creating a road map for each case, from pleadings to motions, to discovery, and onto trial. He is prepared to seek a prompt but favorable compromise or to fight aggressively for his clients’ interests. He works thoughtfully with legal experts while considering a cost-benefit analysis for both tactical and strategic issues impacting each matter. Scott guides other attorneys using the same methodical, effective approach. Scott served as co-head of the Litigation group for nearly a decade and on the firm’s Management Committee.