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Sean F. Murphy
Partner 
1750 Tysons Boulevard
sfmurphy@mcguirewoods.comSuite 1800 Tysons Corner, Virginia 22102-4215 F: 703.712.5243    |
Mr. Murphy handles complex commercial litigation in state and federal courts, particularly for financial institutions, and in fiduciary matters. He has repeatedly represented banks, thrifts, leasing companies, commercial and residential mortgage companies, and various other lenders in claims involving negotiable instruments, bankruptcy, creditors' rights, breach of contract, fraud actions, lender liability suits, and other types of business torts. In addition to handling commercial business and fiduciary disputes, he also has experience in products liability and maritime litigation.
Mr. Murphy most frequently appears in cases in the Eastern District of Virginia, otherwise known as the "Rocket Docket." From 1982 to 1983, he served as a law clerk to the Honorable Albert B. Bryan, Jr., the former Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, and since then has appeared in more than 75 cases in the Rocket Docket including serving frequently as local counsel in patent infringement cases in the Alexandria Division. Since 1996, he has been a panelist for the Virginia Law Foundation on "Trying Cases in the Rocket Docket," and through his role as an officer and director of the Northern Virginia Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, he regularly organizes and participates in CLE programs focused on practice in the Eastern District of Virginia.
- LEGAL DISCLAIMER: THE RESULTS OF ALL CLIENT MATTERS DEPEND ON A VARIETY OF FACTORS UNIQUE TO EACH MATTER. PAST SUCCESSES DO NOT PREDICT OR GUARANTEE FUTURE SUCCESSES.
- Represented an 8(a) government contractor in defeating an emergency injunction request (in state court) claiming misappropriation of trade secrets and fraud. The plaintiff subsequently non-suited the case, and its threatened AAA arbitration demand never materialized.
- Obtained summary judgment in state court in favor of Prince William County Service Authority dismissing a developer's challenge to the authority's policy prohibiting fee refunds or transfers of its sewer and water connections, after the developer had paid initial connection fees.
- Obtained and enforced a judgment in federal court of more than $500,000 for a lender against a medical clinic and its principals who had converted third-party payments on the clinic's accounts receivables without authorization and in violation of various court orders. Prior to the judgment, these actions led to a temporary restraining order, a preliminary injunction, and two contempt orders against the defendants.
- Represented a pension plan claims administrator in federal court after the administrator had denied a plan participant's claim for total disability benefits.
- Represented the petitioners who sought the appointment of a guardian for their father and a conservator to manage his multimillion-dollar estate.
- Represented a New York nonprofit charitable foundation in a Virginia state court fiduciary proceeding against the principal officer and director of the foundation and the Executrix of the estate responsible for funding the foundation from the estate. This suit resulted in a satisfactory settlement for the foundation.
- Represented the president, majority shareholder and director of two corporations against allegations of an unauthorized inter-corporation transfer characterized as a breach of fiduciary duty and as a fraudulent conveyance. Plaintiffs non-suited after a year and a half of litigation.
- Represented a supplier of computer equipment to the federal government in a challenge to its BPOL tax assessment by Fairfax County, Va., resulting in a 100% refund to the company.
- Challenged on behalf of a child's mother in the Maryland Court of Special Appeals, the juvenile court's determination of jurisdiction over her child as a Child in Need of Assistance (CINA). This case resolved for the first time in Maryland the jurisdictional requirements for a CINA finding in a Maryland juvenile court proceeding. In re Russell, 108 Md. App. 366, 672 A.2d 109 (1996).
- Represented a community bank against borrowers' allegations of a multimillion-dollar joint venture with the bank and fraudulent alteration of the borrowers' promissory note by the bank. The Business Bank v. Plank, 710 F.Supp. 619 (E.D. Va. 1989).
- Was a lead attorney for Westinghouse Electric Corporation in defending against more than 10,000 individual asbestos claims consolidated for a common issues trial against Westinghouse and 100 other defendants in Charleston, W.Va.
- Represented a community bank in obtaining a federal court injunction and subsequent favorable settlement of unfair competition and trade name infringement claims for unauthorized use of the bank's name to obtain credit.
- Aided defense of steering gear manufacturer against Exxon's claims in the Exxon Valdez litigation alleging that the manufacture of the steering gear system on the EXXON VALDEZ was defective. Suit was settled.
- Jointly defended the directors of a Virginia bank against a minority shareholder's class action allegations of breach of fiduciary duty and violations of federal securities laws involving the bank's "going private" merger. Sandberg v. Virginia Bankshares, 111 S.Ct. 2749 (1991).
- Defended a Virginia bank against a claim that the bank had unlawfully accelerated payment of borrower's promissory note.
- Jointly represented Jordanian owners of Netherland Antilles and Cayman Island corporations in disputes over real estate in California and Virginia, disputes which involved application of the laws of Jordan and defending against allegations of forged documents.
- Served as co-counsel to The Washington Bank in detinue and injunction actions to obtain stock pledged as collateral for defaulted loan.
- Served as co-counsel to The Washington Bank in Jointly represented equipment leasing company in effort to enforce in federal court the best efforts remarketing agreement of a leading computer manufacturer.
- Represented a private psychiatric hospital in challenge to determinations of Fairfax County Zoning Administrator and Board of Zoning Appeals that effectively precluded the hospital's admission and treatment of certain patients.
- Represented a leading manufacturer of commercial printing equipment against a printer's contract, warranty and fraud claims brought in the Eastern District of Virginia.
- Represented a major credit card company against claims for breach of contract, misappropriation of trade secrets, unjust enrichment and conversion in the Eastern District of Virginia by an individual who claimed the company had misappropriated his debit card product.
- Represented a Minnesota bank against a suit in Virginia state court regarding the bank's actions as trustees for bondholders of a Delaware limited partnership. After a year of litigation, the plaintiffs non-suited their claims for conversion, fraud and the imposition of a constructive trust.
- Commercial Litigation
- Financial Services Litigation
- Labor & Employment
- Technology & Software
- Intellectual Property
- Employee Benefits/Executive Compensation Litigation
- Fiduciary Litigation
- Named a Washington, D.C. and Virginia "Super Lawyer," 2007
- Law Clerk, the Hon. Albert Bryan, Jr., U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, 1982-1983
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EDUCATION College of William & Mary Marshall-Wythe School of Law, Williamsburg, Virginia, J.D., 1982 University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, B.A., 1979 Manhattanville College, Purchase, New York FRATERNITIES OR SORORITIES Phi Delta Phi ADMITTED Virginia 1988 Louisiana 1983 Maryland 1997 U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia 1997 U.S. District Court for Eastern District of Virginia 1988 U.S. District Court for Eastern District of Louisiana 1983 U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit U.S. Supreme Court PLACE OF BIRTH Washington, D.C. |