Sean Patrick Roche

Sean Patrick Roche is a business litigation attorney and a partner in the firm. His practice is devoted to complex civil and business litigation with expertise in matters generally revolving around a variety of forms of contract disputes, often including high stakes “bet-the-company” litigation. For example, Mr. Roche regularly handles litigation involving construction, real estate, trust and estates, labor and employment, commercial landlord-tenant, telecommunication, intellectual property, defamation/First Amendment, and various other forms of complex business disputes. Ultimately, Mr. Roche is a trial attorney though his expertise is in conflict resolution, whether by prevailing in court or negotiating the best possible resolution out of court. Mr. Roche is licensed to practice law in Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Maryland. He regularly handles litigation in the state and federal courts throughout all three jurisdictions and he is often specially admitted to appear on behalf of clients in various courts and arbitration proceedings throughout the United States, while also appearing in international proceedings as well.

Mr. Roche was born and raised in the Washington, D.C. area. He obtained two Bachelor of Arts degrees from Georgetown University, a Juris Doctorate from the University of Richmond School of Law (where he served on the Law Review as Allen Chair Editor), and a Master of Laws (“LL.M.”) in Litigation and Dispute Resolution from The George Washington University Law School. Mr. Roche is also a graduate of the College of Trial Advocacy and completed a certification in disruptive strategy from the Harvard Business School.

Mr. Roche has been named among Virginia Business magazine’s “Legal Elite”, the Washington Post Magazine’s “Outstanding Young Lawyers,” and he has been elected as a “Super Lawyer” in Virginia, Maryland, and D.C. In his first year of eligibility, he achieved an AV-rating by Martindale-Hubbell, the highest available rating from the premier attorney rating database. Inclusion on these various lists means Mr. Roche is among those lawyers recognized by his peers as one of the best in the D.C. metropolitan region.  Mr. Roche was recently elected to become a fellow in the Litigation Counsel of America.

Practice Notes

• Over $30 million dollars in total judgment amounts obtained through bench and jury trials.
• Cases featured on local and national news, including coverage by The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, CNN, Wired, Law360, NBC News, USA Today, BBC, Hollywood Reporter, Fox News, CBS News, ABC News, Variety, Rolling Stone, TMZ, and Fierce Wireless.
• Millions of dollars in confidential settlements, often including long-term business benefits in addition to immediate monetary payments.
• Numerous cases dismissed and/or resolved through motions to dismiss, demurrer, plea in bar, or other pretrial practice and procedure.
• Dismissal by jury of all claims in favor of client on business dissolution dispute.
• Dismissal in favor of client on motion to dismiss involving complex securities litigation.
• Dismissal in favor of client following trial of complex litigation involving multi-million dollar construction dispute.
• Dismissal by motion of complex construction dispute involving multiple millions of dollars in dispute in which the presiding judge described Mr. Roche’s defense of his client as “first rate” and “a take no prisoner’s defense.” Mr. Roche’s client was also awarded reimbursement of its fees and costs by way of a substantial sanction against the opposing party.
• Dismissal with prejudice by opposing party immediately following Mr. Roche’s deposition of the Plaintiff.
• Dismissal in favor of client in subrogation dispute involving complex products liability and personal injury claims.
• Successful prosecution and defense of numerous injunctions (preliminary and permanent) in both state and federal courts involving complicated non-compete, non-solicitation, and/or estate claims.
• Resolution of business dispute and defamation claims for social media celebrity client.
• Dismissal of domain name dispute in favor of client through international arbitration proceedings, with an award in favor of the client for attorney’s fees and sanctions.
• Dismissal of business tax litigation in favor of client against Virginia government.
• Dismissal by jury on all counts in favor of client involving defamation and first amendment claims, with post-trial resolution settling related ongoing business litigation.
• Representation of various Fortune 500 companies in contract and business disputes.
• Representation of municipal and governmental organizations in contract and business disputes.
• Regular representation of individuals and national/international entities as local counsel, often serving as lead counsel in dismissing claims on jurisdictional grounds.
• Resolution through arbitration of multi-million dollar claims in national/international arbitrations.

Publications

• Sean Roche, et al., Law 101: An Essential Reference for Your Everyday Legal Questions (2d ed., Sphinx Publishing, 2009).
• Jonathan D. Frieden & Sean Patrick Roche, E-Commerce: Legal Issues for the Online Retailer in Virginia, 13 Rich. J.L. & Tech, 2006.
• University of Richmond Law Review, Allen Chair Symposium 2004: Federal Judicial Selection (Sean Roche ed., 2005)
• Sean Roche, Advanced Issues in Virginia Employment Law: Legal Issues in Employee Privacy, National Business Institute 1, 1-42 (2004).

Representative/Published Cases

• T-Mobile US, Inc. v. Simply Wireless, Inc., No. C21-525RSM, 2022 WL 1486522 (W.D. Wash. May 11, 2022) (granting motion to dismiss)
• Vienna Park, LLC v. Ronald B Bruder & Brookhill Cap. Res., Inc., 103 Va. Cir. 86 (2019) (denying opposing party’s attempt to compel arbitration)
• Armstrong v. Navient Sols., LLC, 292 F. Supp. 3d 464 (D.D.C. 2018) (granting motion to dismiss in light of preemption arguments raised by Mr. Roche)
• Cornelius v. Simply Wireless, No. 3:17-CV-3392-CMC-PJG, 2018 WL 4356578 (D.S.C. Sept. 13, 2018) (granting motion to dismiss complex employment litigation matter)
• Tracfone Wireless, Inc. v. Simply Wireless, Inc., 229 F. Supp. 3d 1284 (S.D. Fla. 2017) (granting motion to dismiss).
• Tracfone Wireless, Inc. v. Simply Wireless, Inc., 275 F. Supp. 3d 1332 (S.D. Fla. 2017) (granting motion to dismiss).
• TracFone Wireless, Inc. v. Simply Wireless, Inc., No. 15-24565-CIV, 2017 WL 5636281 (S.D. Fla. Nov. 22, 2017) (granting motion allowing competing arbitration to proceed in lieu of litigation).
• United States v. Preston, 123 F. Supp. 3d 93 (D.D.C. 2015) (denying government’s motion for seizure of client’s assets resulting in a settlement that resolved all claims).
• Chubb & Son v. C & C Complete Servs., LLC, 919 F. Supp. 2d 666 (D. Md. 2013) (dismissing claims of Plaintiffs on the motion to dismiss filed by Mr. Roche).
• 3M Co. v. Thailand3M.net, No. 1:11CV627, 2013 WL 2156322 (E.D. Va. Apr. 23, 2013) (granting judgment in favor of Mr. Roche’s client on complex cybersquatting and trademark infringement claims).
• Khatib v. All. Bankshares Corp., 846 F. Supp. 2d 18 (D.D.C. 2012) (denying Plaintiff’s motion for preliminary injunction and proceeding to dismiss the case altogether on counter-motion to dismiss filed by Mr. Roche).
• Roberts Welding, LLC v. Hanover Ins. Co., No. CIV.A. GLR-12-2838, 2012 WL 6698646 (D. Md. Dec. 21, 2012) (granting motion to dismiss).
• Zhou Jie Plant v. Merrifield Town Ctr. Ltd. P’ship, 482 F. App’x 823 (4th Cir. 2012) (upholding trial court ruling and dismissing action as a result of discovery violations).
• 3M Co. v. Directi Internet Sols. Pvt. Ltd., No. 1:11CV627, 2012 WL 5527154 (E.D. Va. Nov. 13, 2012) (finding judgment in favor of Mr. Roche’s client in complex cybersquatting and trademark infringement litigation).
• Plant v. Merrifield Town Ctr. Ltd. P’ship, No. 1:08CV374, 2012 WL 293221 (E.D. Va. Jan. 30, 2012) (denying motion of Plaintiff seeking to overturn judgment obtained by Mr. Roche in favor of the Defendants).
• Prop. Const. Co. v. Sprenger Lang Found., 768 F. Supp. 2d 198 (D.D.C. 2011) (denying motion for summary judgment and finding in favor of Mr. Roche’s client).
• A-J Marine, Inc. v. Corfu Contractors, Inc., 810 F. Supp. 2d 168 (D.D.C. 2011) (quashing subpoena issued against the client of Mr. Roche and dismissing the litigation altogether).
• Zhou Jie Plant v. Merrifield Town Ctr. Ltd. P’ship, 751 F. Supp. 2d 857 (E.D. Va. 2010) (granting motion for summary judgment of Mr. Roche on multi-million dollar class action litigation).
• In re Merrifield Town Ctr. Ltd. P’ship, No. 09-18119-SSM, 2010 WL 5015006 (Bankr. E.D. Va. Dec. 3, 2010) (dismissing matter in favor of Mr. Roche’s clients and awarding them recovery of fees and costs while describing Mr. Roche’s work in a published ruling as “first rate” and a “take no prisoners defense.”).
• Boeman v. Reed, No. 1:09 CV 848, 2009 WL 3698496 (N.D. Ohio Nov. 4, 2009) (granting motion to dismiss).
• Suntrust Inv. Servs., Inc. v. Cleary, No. CIV. 09-01066RJL, 2009 WL 1651541 (D.D.C. June 12, 2009) (granting motion of Mr. Roche and issuing an injunction upholding non-solicitation and non-compete contracts).
• Murnan v. Stewart Title Guar. Co., 607 F. Supp. 2d 745 (E.D. Va. 2009) (obtaining reconsideration of prior order from trial court and granting motion of Mr. Roche dismissing matter with prejudice).
• Shay v. Sight & Sound Sys., Inc., 668 F. Supp. 2d 80 (D.D.C. 2009) (granting motion of Mr. Roche and dismissing case on pretrial motions).
• Nemet Chevrolet, Ltd. v. Consumeraffairs.com, Inc., 564 F. Supp. 2d 544 (E.D. Va. 2008), aff’d, 591 F.3d 250 (4th Cir. 2009) (dismissing matter in its entirety based upon a statutory argument raised by Mr. Roche).
• Lodal v. Verizon Virginia, Inc., 74 Va. Cir. 110, 2007 WL 5984179 (Fairfax County, Aug. 22, 2007) (dismissing claims based on pretrial motion of Mr. Roche).

Presentations

• Northern Virginia’s Annual Seminar on Commercial Landlord-Tenant Law (2014, 2015, and 2016).
• George Mason American Inn of Court – Opening Statements and Closing Arguments: How to Reach a Jury and Close the Case (April 24, 2018).