K&L Gates LLP must face a lawsuit over drink maker Le-Nature's Inc.'s collapse, a Pennsylvania appeals court ruled in reinstating a $500 million case against the law firm, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. Bankruptcy trustee Marc Kirschner sued K&L Gates in September 2009 in Pennsylvania state court, alleging that the firm's failure to detect fraud at the company resulted in losses of more than $500 million. K&L Gates was hired by Le-Nature's to investigate allegations of improper conduct in 2003, according to court documents. The trial court's December 2010 dismissal of the complaint was an error, the appeals court said yesterday.
