Christopher M. Daniels
Partner
Phone: 612.355.4100
Fax: 612.355.4101
Email: [email protected]
Address: 888 Colwell Building
123 North Third Street
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55401
Professional Experience
- Founded Parker Daniels Kibort – 2017-present.
- Founded Daniels & Wymore (later, Daniels & Kibort) — 2007-2017.
- Founded Koepke & Daniels — 1997-2007.
- Prior to relocating to the Twin Cities from LA in late 1996, Mr. Daniels was an associate litigation attorney at a large, national firm, Katten, Muchin & Zavis, in Chicago and LA (1988-1992), and at two boutique litigation firms in Century City (LA), Leopold Petrich & Smith (1992-1994) and Ginsburg, Stephan, Oringher & Richman (1994-1996), focusing on entertainment, business and healthcare litigation.
- Prior to law school, Mr. Daniels was a CPA at what was then the second largest accounting firm in the world, Arthur Andersen & Co, in the Oil & Gas Division of its Houston, TX office.
- Proudest moments occur often, every time Mr. Daniels helps his clients successfully resolve their disputes and get back to the business of running their business.
Areas of Practice
- Business & Commercial Litigation
- Shareholder Disputes/Business Divorce
- Corporate Governance Disputes
- Contract Disputes and Negotiation
- Trust/Estates/Probate Litigation
- Civil Rights Litigation
- Intellectual Property Litigation
Courts Admitted
- Minnesota
- California
- Illinois (inactive)
- United States District Courts for the District of Minnesota, the Northern District of Illinois, and the Central and Southern Districts of California
- United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Education
• University of Wisconsin-Madison: B.B.A. in Accounting (1982)
• University of Texas School of Law, with Honors (1988)
Certification/Other
- Certified Public Accountant, Texas (1984) (inactive)
- Order of the Coif, University of Texas School of Law (1988)
Representative Cases
- Represented Plt – (Breach of Contract) Individual lender versus borrower (entity) and guarantor (individual), ultimately encompassing four lawsuits, a total of approximately 25 defendants, one 17-day trial, several multimillion-dollar judgments, ending in a global settlement.
- Represented Def – (Business Divorce) Founding partner in professional networking company was sued by his partner for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Obtained defense verdict at trial.
- Represented potential Def – (Business Divorce) Majority founding partner in large snow removal business was being threatened to be sued by his cousin, a minority owner. Negotiated a settlement that allowed client to remove cousin from company and assume complete ownership, opening the door to phenomenal growth in company.
- Represented Plt – (Business Divorce) Individual business owner sued his brother/partner to separate their companies and their other intertwined holdings, ultimately encompassing four lawsuits in three counties, ending in a global settlement.
- Mediated separation of owner from company – (Business Divorce) asked by the two owners of a multimillion-dollar international musical instrument manufacturing/distribution company in CA to mediate their “business divorce.” The two owners had been best friends and business partners/owners for decades but had a falling out. Successfully mediated the separation of the minority owner form the company.
- Represented Defs – (Business Divorce) General Partner (GP) of Family Limited Partnership (FLP) was sued along with the FLP and a related entity by several of the limited partners (LPs), which eventually expanded into litigation in three different venues. Negotiated a settlement of all disputes, including a separation of the LPs from the company.
- Represented Defs – (Fire Subrogation) involving insurance company who sued its insureds (two tradesmen) disclaiming coverage for a large commercial fire loss. The insureds settled with the property owner via a Miller Shugart settlement agreement and then sought to force the insurance company to pay the Miller Shugart settlement amount. After a three-day jury trial, a 15-day bench trial, and an appeal, defendants prevailed.
- Represented Def – (Breach of Contract) local unincorporated chapter of large, international networking organization who was sued for non-renewal of membership. Former member sued in state court for an injunction (TRO). Obtained prompt denial of TRO and dismissal of action.
- Represented Def – (Breach of Contract) local LLC sued by Swiss corp. regarding $1.5 million advanced for real estate project in Costa Rica. Successfully brought motion to dismiss based on forum non conveniens.
- Represented Def – (Breach of Contract) Spanish film production company with principals in Germany, Venezuela and CA sued by German national in LA County Superior Court for alleged breach of Sales Agency Agreement. After filing motion to dismiss, negotiated global settlement.
Extracurriculars
- Daniels is married with four children.
- Favorite pastimes are biking, basketball, photography, and meditation.