Paul D. Malmfeldt

Paul Malmfeldt is a litigator with over 15 years of experience who focuses his practice on complex matters including shareholder derivative, securities class action, and consumer class action cases.

Mr. Malmfeldt has successfully represented plaintiffs in numerous derivative and class actions as either lead counsel or co-counsel. In Magowski v. The Parking REIT, Inc. et al. (Circuit Court for Baltimore City No. 24-C-19-003125 (consolidated)), he represented a stockholder of a non-traded REIT, challenging the amount of consideration that the REIT paid to the owners of its former external advisor in connection with an internalization transaction, which consideration was paid in the form of common stock. He prosecuted class and derivative claims for dilution, achieving a settlement with a value over $9.25 million. Mr. Malmfeldt was appointed by the Court as co-lead counsel for the settlement class. 

In Milliken v. American Realty Capital Hospitality Advisors, LLC et al. (U.S. District Court S.D.N.Y. No. 1:18-cv-1757), Mr. Malmfeldt represented a stockholder of Hospitality Investors Trust, Inc. (f/k/a American Realty Capital Hospitality Trust, Inc.), challenging the REIT’s property management arrangements with its affiliated property managers, payment of certain advisory fees to its affiliated advisor, and payment of compensation in connection with the termination of those management and advisory arrangements, achieving a derivative settlement of over $15 million.

In Trumbo et al. v. The Inland Group et al. (Circuit Court of Cook County, IL No. 13-CH-07790), Mr. Malmfeldt represented stockholders of InvenTrust Properties Corp. (f/k/a Inland American Real Estate Trust, Inc.), prosecuting derivative claims relating to the REIT’s payment of performance-based asset management fees to its affiliated advisor which resulted in a $11.1 million settlement.

In Gamburg et al. v. Hines Real Estate Investment Trust, Inc. et al. (Circuit Court for Baltimore City No. 24CV16004496), Mr. Malmfeldt prosecuted class and derivative claims on behalf of stockholders of Hines Real Estate Investment Trust, Inc., challenging the calculation of a profits interest in the REIT’s operating partnership held by the owners of its affiliated advisor. The case resulted in a $3.25 million settlement.

In Lang et al. v. Last Atlantis Capital Management LLC et al. (Circuit Court of Cook County, IL No. 08-CH-46044), Mr. Malmfeldt originated a derivative action on behalf of investors in a commodity pool, prosecuting claims against the fund’s introducing and clearing brokers, the fund’s manager, and the manager’s officers. He subsequently became lead counsel for the fund’s court-appointed receiver, achieving a substantial recovery for the receivership estate and successfully defending against the clearing broker’s counterclaims.

Mr. Malmfeldt has an A.B. magna cum laude in Economics from Bowdoin College (1998) where he was a James Bowdoin Scholar and a J.D. cum laude from the University of Illinois College of Law (2005) where he was an editor of the Illinois Business Law Journal. He is admitted to practice in Illinois.