On August 11, 2015, Daily Business Review and Consultor Jurídico featured Venable's recent victory on behalf of Companhia Energética Potiguar (CEP), a Brazilian power plant operator, against Caterpillar. The Venable team of Patrick Boyle and Jessie Beeber successfully defeated a motion to dismiss on grounds of forum non conveniens. In its suit, CEP alleges fraud, negligent misrepresentation, promissory estoppel, breach of express and implied warranties, strict product liability, unfair trade practices, and revocation of acceptance arising out of the catastrophic failure, malfunction, and inadequacy of 144 generator sets manufactured by CAT and installed in CEP’s power plants in Brazil. The lawsuit seeks more than $50 million in damages.
Arguing that the case should not be moved to Brazil, Boyle and Beeber said it could take up to 20 years to get to trial. "That's the pace of the Brazilian court system," said Boyle. "That would be akin to putting the case in a filing cabinet for the next generation. Here, we are before a judge who has a swift case of calendaring. We are looking at a trial in 18 months."