Peter Cross is head of JMF's General Litigation Practice and is also the partner in charge of the firm's Entertainment Practice Group. The Group represents theater companies, Broadway and Off Broadway producers, recording artists, entertainers, writers and independent filmmakers.
For the past several years Mr. Cross has worked with the Chinese Consulate in New York, the Ministry of Culture in China and various cultural organizations and companies here and in China to bring Chinese entertainment to the U.S. and vice versa.
Mr. Cross and Donald Farber are the General Editors of the 10-volume treatise entitled Entertainment Industry Contracts which is published by Lexis Nexis Publishing. The treatise provides guidance for attorneys in drafting agreements and legal documents in all fields of entertainment.
Mr. Cross is also the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York, also known as ART/NY. ART/NY is the advocacy and service organization for the not-for-profit theater community in New York. It has over 400 member theaters including Lincoln Center Theater, Roundabout, Manhattan Theatre Club, Signature, Playwright’s Horizons, MCC and Aquila among many others. ART/NY provides training and technical support as well as low cost financing to member theaters. It also provides low cost office and rehearsal space at two locations in New York City. Recently ART/NY signed a letter of intent with New York City to develop two new Off Broadway theaters in a new development on New York’s West Side.
As head of JMF's General Litigation Practice Mr. Cross focuses on the resolution of corporate and commercial disputes and complex product liability matters. He has served as lead counsel or co-lead counsel in construction defect, landslide and fire litigations involving hundreds of plaintiffs and multiple defendants both in the United States and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. He has represented corporations in litigation arising from the sale, acquisition, and financing of businesses; conducted internal corporate investigations; represented corporations in connection with governmental investigations; and defended and prosecuted distributor and dealer termination cases. In the environmental area Mr. Cross has worked on CERCLA matters, the defense of claims arising from the sudden release of toxic gases, as well as efforts to obtain and apportion insurance coverage for environmental damage and remediation expenses.
In the product liability field, Mr. Cross has defended manufacturers in numerous jurisdictions. He was lead counsel for a major corporation in the data entry worker repetitive stress injury litigation and successfully defended the corporation against claims in multiple jurisdictions. He has served as national litigation counsel for a major U.S. homebuilder. He has substantial long-term experience dealing with asbestos issues including the apportionment of asbestos liability among multiple parties. He has also defended DES and breast implant manufacturers. Mr. Cross also has substantial experience handling fire and explosion cases on land and at sea involving catastrophic injuries and loss of life.
In the public interest sector, since 1991 Mr. Cross has worked with legal services organizations to provide representation to victims of predatory lending and real estate practices. His work has resulted in mortgage cancellations, rate and debt relief, as well as the re-purchase of sub-standard buildings by sellers.
From 1977 to 1984 when he returned to private practice, Mr. Cross was a member of the General Counsel's staff of ITT Corporation. During that period Mr. Cross gained broad experience managing the litigation of a diverse group of manufacturing units. For several years Mr. Cross also served as counsel to the ITT Asia Pacific-Latin America Group where he worked on the acquisition and disposition of business units.
Speeches and Publications
Suggested Strategies for Limiting the Powers of Arbitrators in U.S. Arbitration Proceedings, Center for International Legal Studies, Steamboat Springs, Colorado, February 2006
Class Action Laws in Europe; the Outlook for Consumer Litigation in Western Europe, American Conference Institute, Orlando, Florida, January 2006
The Class Action Fairness Act and its Impact on Class Action Practice in the United States, American Conference Institute, Orlando, Florida, January 2006
Defense Strategies for Defeating Consumer Fraud Allegations in Obesity Litigation, 2nd National Forum on Preventing and Defending Obesity Claims, Washington, D.C., January 2005
Noteworthy
Professional Activities
