PETER K. HWANG
Peter K. Hwang is one of the founding partners of Sung Hwang & Kim LLP. He represents companies and individuals in a wide array of litigation matters. Mr. Hwang's cases have involved a broad range of substantive areas, including intellectual property, fraud, banking, securities, construction, employment, defamation, personal injury, and insurance, in various state and federal courts. Prior to co-founding Sung Hwang & Kim LLP, Mr. Hwang was an associate at the Washington, D.C. offices of Baker Botts LLP. At Baker Botts, Mr. Hwang worked primarily on white-collar and securities litigation matters. He also represented clients in investigations conducted by the Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission, shareholder derivative and class action suits, and a broad range of civil litigation matters in state and federal courts throughout the country.
Representative Engagements
- Successfully represented a conglomerate headquartered in South Korea in a Texas federal court (S.D. Tex.) as lead counsel in a lawsuit seeking damages in excess of $70,000,000.00 in a dispute over policies reinsuring payments made for the construction of large sea vessels.
- Obtained a favorable settlement as lead counsel representing 68 property and business owners in Maryland federal court in a lawsuit against the Mayor & City Council of Baltimore for damages arising from the social unrest following the death of Freddie Gray. Obtained settlement after deposing City and Police officials and defeating a request to impose damage caps under the Local Government Tort Claims Act, which, according to the Mayor & City Council of Baltimore, was the first time any such request was denied by any state or federal Maryland court.
- Won a motion to dismiss on personal jurisdiction grounds in Maryland federal court as lead counsel defending a for-profit college against breach of contract claims asserted by its former president.
- Won a motion to dismiss in Maryland state court as lead counsel defending a Florida-based national manufacturer of HVAC equipment against fraud claims.
- Obtained a favorable settlement as lead counsel representing a Korean actress in Illinois state court in defamation claims asserted against an anonymous poster. Obtained settlement, which included a publicly-posted videotaped apology, after subpoenaing social media platforms, uncovering the poster’s identity, and obtaining a confession by the poster during the poster’s deposition.
- Obtained a favorable settlement as lead counsel representing a for-profit college in Virginia state court in defamation claims asserted against a newspaper. Obtained settlement, which included a requirement to publish a retraction on the front page of the newspaper, on the third day of trial after the author of the defamatory article was called as an adverse witness.
- Won a motion to dismiss in Maryland federal court as lead counsel representing business against claims alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
- Won a take-nothing defense verdict after trial on claims of fraud against a textile restoration company as lead counsel.
- Successfully represented various companies based in South Korea in trademark opposition proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.
- Won summary judgment against claims for personal injuries against a Korean-owned Baltimore City store as lead counsel.
- Obtained a take-nothing dismissal from the Korea Resolution and Collection Corporation, a division of the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation, of claims against the firm’s clients totaling $5,796,653.91 after defeating plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment as lead counsel.
- Won a motion to dismiss as lead counsel resulting in the dismissal of a wrongful termination claim and obtained a take-nothing dismissal of remaining defamation claim.
- Defended company based in South Korea in Utah federal court (D. Utah) as lead counsel against claims including breach of contract regarding a dispute over intellectual property.
- Defended two members of the U.S. Marine Corps, two members of the U.S. Air Force and another individual as lead counsel in a $12,000,000.00 civil suit alleging sexual assault, among other things. Case settled after extensive discovery but before trial with each individual paying only $3,000.
- Represented church members as lead counsel in a derivative suit seeking equal access to a church, among other things, from a pastor purporting to be the sole trustee of the church and purporting to have support from a religious hierarchy and other members of the church congregation. Won contested motion for temporary restraining order and obtained court’s confirmation of subsequently-granted arbitration award providing for equal access to and ownership of church property, among other things, despite objections on First Amendment grounds.
Areas of Practice
Bar Admissions
Education
- American University, Washington College of Law, Washington, District of Columbia
- The Johns Hopkins University
Past Employment Positions
- Baker Botts LLP, Associate
