Media Mentions
2011
“Class Certification in Merger Lawsuit, Timing of Daubert Hearing Contested”
BNA Health Law Reporter, February 10, 2011
David Hanselman commented on a Seventh Circuit appeal of a case involving class certification for an antitrust lawsuit over a hospital merger. He said the decision will be important because “courts across the country have raised the bar for plaintiffs to obtain class certification, particularly in antitrust cases,” and because of a related “simmering debate … about how closely district courts must look at expert testimony on a motion for class certification.” Mr. Hanselman added, “It will be interesting to see how far the court gets into the merits of class certification and whether it articulates any standards for proving common impact in antitrust class actions.”
David L. Hanselman Jr., Antitrust & Competition, Class Action, Health Care Litigation
2010
“Movers”
The National Law Journal, December 13, 2010
Anthony Upshaw’s joining McDermott as a trial partner in the Miami office – focusing on class action, mass and toxic tort, and product liability defense – was noted in this news roundup.
Anthony N. Upshaw, Class Action, Mass & Toxic Torts, Product Liability, Tax
“McDermott Hooks Veteran Trial Atty from Yoss”
Law360, December 1, 2010
“Upshaw Leaves Yoss to Join McDermott Will & Emery”
Daily Business Review, December 2, 2010
Anthony Upshaw cited “the opportunity to work with some extremely high-caliber lawyers, who are well known internationally,” as a major reason for his decision to join McDermott as a trial partner focusing on class action and mass tort defense. “It was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up,” he added. Mr. Upshaw will practice at the Firm’s Miami and Washington D.C. office locations, and will also play key roles in promoting diversity initiatives and mentoring young lawyers.
Anthony N. Upshaw, Class Action, Mass & Toxic Torts, Trial
"Q&A With McDermott's Christopher Murphy"
Law360, October 14, 2010
Christopher Murphy was featured in a Q&A interview regarding class action defense practice. He stated that in his own practice he was proud of his working relationships with plaintiffs' counsel: "Whether engaged in settlement negotiations which require the parties to work together to achieve a common goal, or aggressively advocating for the client's position, one can remain professional and cordial." Mr. Murphy expressed his belief that "there needs to be a greater review of class certification rulings by appellate courts in both the federal and state court systems," particularly on review of decisions certifying classes, and predicted that "the next wave of cases will be class actions asserting state common law causes of action in the types of cases which were traditionally brought under the federal laws," such as those involving antitrust and environmental claims.
Christopher M. Murphy, Class Action, Trial
David Hanselman spoke to the National Law Journal on February 22 regarding a settlement that Chicago area hospitals reached with a group of nurses who had alleged the hospitals conspired to depress their wages. A federal court had denied class certification to the plaintiffs last fall, and Mr. Hanselman, who represents one of the hospitals, stated that the case was “settled for a very small fraction of what it would have cost to defend the case going forward.” He explained that “the defendants felt we had a good chance of winning on summary judgment, but the amount that we settled for was far less than the amount it would cost to draft a summary judgment [motion].”
David L. Hanselman Jr., Class Action, Health Care Litigation
2009
David Hanselman was quoted in an October 5 Modern Healthcare story about a federal judge’s denial of class action status for a lawsuit by 19,000 Chicago area nurses who alleged that hospitals conspired to depress their wages. The judge held that granting class status based on an “average loss” theory would obscure the wide differences in pay and circumstances among individuals, leading Mr. Hanselman (who represented one of the hospital defendants) to comment: “District judges can no longer rubber-stamp the opinions of plaintiff’s experts at the class certification stage.” Click here to read the full article.
David L. Hanselman Jr., Antitrust & Competition, Class Action, Health Care Litigation, Trial
David Hanselman was quoted by Global Competition Review on October 2 concerning U.S. District Court Judge John Grady’s refusal to grant certification to a lawsuit by Chicago area nurses alleging that several hospitals conspired to suppress their pay. Mr. Hanselman identified the Judge’s rejection of averages to determine class-wide antitrust impact as the key to the decision. “In this case the [plaintiffs’] expert had used an econometric model that had used a single average percentage of wage suppression,” Mr. Hanselman stated. “The judge was highly critical of the use of averages because it does not show whether each class member had suffered an antitrust injury.” Click here to read the full article.
David L. Hanselman Jr., Antitrust & Competition, Class Action, Health Care Litigation, Trial
The National Law Journal quoted David Hanselman (October 1) concerning a Chicago federal court decision that denied class certification to a group of nurses who had alleged that hospitals had conspired to depress their wages. The Illinois plaintiffs sought over $1 billion in lost wage claims, but U.S. District Court Judge John Grady held that they did not demonstrate that common questions of law or fact predominated. Mr. Hanselman, who represented one of the hospitals, called the decision "a significant victory for the defendants because often in class actions the denial of class certification sounds the death knell of the litigation." He also represents defendants in several similar cases being heard in other federal courts, "We are hopeful that Judge Grady's well-reasoned opinion has persuasive impact on those courts."
David L. Hanselman Jr., Antitrust & Competition, Class Action, Health Care Litigation, Trial
David Hanselman was noted by West’s Andrews Litigation Reporter – Antitrust in October 2009 as counsel for one of several Chicago area hospitals in a federal antitrust case where the court denied class certification to a group of nurses that alleged a conspiracy by the hospitals to keep wages low. Mr. Hanselman said the ruling may provide guidance in nurse wage-fixing class actions pending in federal courts in New York, Michigan, Tennessee and Texas, adding that the ruling shows that courts beyond the Third Circuit are looking to the “rigorous analysis” standard of In re Hydrogen Peroxide Antitrust Litigation when making class certification rulings.
David L. Hanselman Jr., Antitrust & Competition, Class Action, Health Care Litigation, Trial
Edward Leibensperger was noted in a September 30 story on the Children’s Rights web site (www.childrensrights.org) for his role in reforming the troubled Michigan child welfare system. Mr. Leibensperger was counsel for Children’s Rights in filing the Dwayne B. v. Granholm child welfare reform class action lawsuit in August 2006, which two years later resulted in a sweeping settlement agreement that was signed by Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm and subsequently approved in federal court.
David Hanselman, Jr., spoke to Law360 on September 29 about a federal judge’s denial of class certification to a group of nurses who alleged that four Chicago area hospital systems violated antitrust law by colluding to suppress the nurses’ wages. The judge ruled that the plaintiffs did not have a viable method of showing classwide injury, which Mr. Hanselman, who represented one of the hospital systems, said “constitutes the death knell” for the litigation. “I can’t say that this effectively ends the case because plaintiffs’ lawyers can be creative,” he noted, “but it certainly is a significant blow to the plaintiffs’ case, and we’ll be anxious to see what they do from here.” Click here to read the full article.
David L. Hanselman Jr., Antitrust & Competition, Class Action, Health, Health Care Litigation, Trial
Steven Scholes was quoted extensively in Compliance Week (June 30) about the substantial increase in class action securities lawsuits related to the financial crisis. Mr. Scholes stated that such an increase “was only to be expected given the market dislocations we’ve had over the last 18 months or so,” adding that “a tremendous amount of litigation” involves structured financial products such as collateralized debt obligations. He also predicted there is “a significant likelihood there will be more” litigation over credit default swaps. An increasing number of lawsuits are targeting asset management firms, and Mr. Scholes attributed that to the “unprecedented size, scope and number of the alleged Ponzi schemes, which seem to be coming to light as a result in the decline in asset values. I think that wave is still building and has yet to crest.”
Steven S. Scholes, Class Action, Securities Litigation, Trial
2008
Thomas A. Ryan was mentioned in the December 23 issue of the Am Law Litigation Daily in an article regarding Judge Philip Gutierrez's dismissal of a class action brought against Amgen, DaVita and Fresenius Medical Care North America. The plaintiffs, seven health benefit plans, claimed that the defendants promoted off-label uses of several Amgen drugs. Judge Gutierrez agreed with the defendants' argument that the case was an impermissible attempt to bring a private cause of action under the Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act. Only the FDA has the authority to bring such actions. Mr. Ryan represents Davita in the case.
Christopher M. Murphy was mentioned in the September 25 issue of the AmLaw Litigation Daily in an article regarding a nationwide class action brought by Rebecca Siegel and Michael Siegel against major gas producers in the Northern District of Illinois. The Siegels made claims of fraud and unjust enrichment, alleging that the gas companies kept prices high by limiting supply, restricting purchases and falsely advertising that gas supplies were scarce. The Honorable Amy J. St. Eve denied the motion for class certification on the grounds that the claims of fraud and unjust enrichment would differ from state to state, essentially violating the standard for class certification. Mr. Murphy represented Exxon Mobil Corporation in the case.
Christopher M. Murphy, Class Action, Trial
Michael A. Pope was mentioned in the September 23 issue of the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin and the September 25 issue of the AmLaw Litigation Daily in articles regarding a nationwide class action brought by Rebecca Siegel and Michael Siegel against major gas producers in the Northern District of Illinois. The Siegels made claims of fraud and unjust enrichment, alleging that the gas companies kept prices high by limiting supply, restricting purchases and falsely advertising that gas supplies were scarce. The Honorable Amy J. St. Eve recently denied the motion for class certification on the grounds that the claims of fraud and unjust enrichment would differ from state to state, essentially violating the standard for class certification. Mr. Pope represented Exxon Mobil Corporation in the case.
Michael A. Pope PC, Class Action, Trial
Michael S. Nadel was quoted in the September 19 issue of The Washington Business Journal in an article regarding a class action lawsuit filed against the Metropolitan Cooperative apartments in Washington, D.C. Residents filed a class action lawsuit against the cooperative, which recently filed for bankruptcy, alleging that because the building had not been properly converted to a co-op, it did not have the right to collect co-op fees from its residents. "The tenants were paying rent during this whole period of time. They believed they were paying for a lawful conversion and it turned out not to be a lawful conversion," said Mr. Nadel, who represents the residents in the lawsuit.
Michael S. Nadel, Class Action, Trial
Michael Kendall was quoted on June 12 in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly regarding the increase in class-action litigation, a sizable percentage of which defense lawyers and their clients claim lacks merit. Mr. Kendall noted that many law firms file cases and take "The position that they will just see what happens. It's a huge business where if you prevail in one out of every 20 cases, the payoff is going to be so high that what we've seen is there are a lot of plaintiffs willing to play that percentage." He added that just getting to the class-certification stage of a case can be cost-prohibitive. "I'm not disputing that some of these cases are very meritorious, but if you were to have some sort of control over the numbers, I think you'd see that there are a lot of misses for every hit. What people don't always realize is that a miss costs the client a lot of money to defend, even if they have done nothing wrong."
Michael Kendall, Class Action, Trial
Jeffrey F. Webb was quoted on June 12 in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly. Mr. Webb noted that many companies agree to settle due to the high costs of reaching the class-certification stage. "Anybody who's been down this road before knows how much money it costs just to get to the class-certification stage....so you can understand why companies agree to settle. It definitely has happened that clients who have faced significant class-action litigation have had to declare bankruptcy even long before the point the determination is made of whether they did something wrong," he said. He added that with plaintiffs' lawyers in Massachusetts taking advantage of the Wage and Hour Act, the situation is not expected to improve for corporate clients. "It is a very significant concern because most of these class-action settlements become public where people see the results..." he said.
Nancy G. Ross was quoted in the May 5 issue of The National Law Journal in an article regarding so-called hidden fees in 401k retirement plans. Plaintiffs claim it is difficult for participants to compare costs among similar plans because they see management fees as lump sums that include costs of services from different providers. Ms. Ross, who is defending Northrop Grumman in two class actions, believes that it will be difficult for plaintiffs to prove a company's negligence over excessive 401k fees, even if the company could have paid plan administrators less. "It becomes a battle of experts. Just because one expert would have done it differently does not prove the plan administrators did it wrong. Negligence is very hard to prove in the ERISA world," Ms. Ross said.
Nancy G. Ross, Class Action, Employee Benefits Litigation, Trial
Jeffrey F. Webb was quoted in the April 17 issue of the National Law Journal in an article regarding the passage of a law requiring mandatory triple damages in wage and hour cases in Massachusetts. Mr. Webb commented on the surge in wage and hour cases that the state experienced before the legislation took effect and the likeliness that the new legislation will lead to even more filings. "The difference between now and 2004 is that there's been a real increase in the amount of wage and hour class actions that have been filed, and Massachusetts [now] becomes three times as interesting as it was the year before," Mr. Webb said.
, Class Action, HR & Employment Litigation, Labor & Employment, Trial
Steven S. Scholes was quoted in the April issue of CFO Magazine in an article regarding the unpredictably and complexity of going to trial in class-action shareholder lawsuits. As a partner in McDermott Will & Emery's Trial Department, Mr. Scholes noted that despite uncertainty, the rising costs of settling have made going to court more attractive. "The tremendous increase in the dollar value of settlements has greatly altered the economics of securities class cases. You can see how the balance would tip toward going to trial, if you have a good defense," he said.
Steven S. Scholes, Class Action, Trial
Jeffrey F. Webb was quoted in the March 17 issue of the National Law Journal in an article regarding a spike in employment class actions that has led law firms to expand their employment litigation practices. Mr. Webb, who recently joined McDermott's Boston office, noted that companies are now sending high-stakes employment class actions to larger name-brand firms rather than smaller employment boutiques. General counsel facing federal class actions choose larger firms because they "don't want to be second-guessed by their board," Mr. Webb said.
, Class Action, Employee Benefits Litigation, HR & Employment Litigation, Labor & Employment, Trial
2007
David S. Rosenbloom was quoted in the May issue of Chicago Lawyer in an article regarding recent, significant trends in the practice of law in Chicago. Mr. Rosenbloom commented on major changes in the field of white-collar defense and also on the increasing diversity of Chicago firms. "I like to think that diversity is not just in response to the urgings of our clients—we recognize the need to always strive for excellence, and the more diverse group is a better group," he said.
David S. Rosenbloom, Class Action, Corporate Responsibility and Governance, Trial
Michael Pope was quoted in an April 27 Associated Press story on the settlement of a class-action lawsuit brought by about 900,000 physicians against the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association and 23 affiliated plans. The plans will pay $128 million to settle physicians' claims of unfair payment practices and will make changes to ensure that patients get medically necessary care. Mr. Pope said, "The Blue Cross plans have always worked with their physicians." He was also quoted about the settlement in numerous other publications, including the Chicago Tribune, the Miami Herald and The New York Times.
Michael A. Pope PC, Class Action, Insurance Disputes, Professional Responsibility, Trial
Christopher Murphy was quoted in the February 14 edition of The Christian Science Monitor in an article on the increasing pressure on some companies relating to climate change concerns. Shareholders are asking for increased disclosure of carbon emissions, and companies are facing class actions suits accusing them of contributing to global warming. Mr. Murphy said, "It's not surprising that some groups would take that approach of class action to address a large issue of public interest."
Christopher M. Murphy, Class Action, Trial
2006
Michael Pope was quoted at length in a December 2006 article in Chicago Lawyer on the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA). Among other changes, CAFA will broaden federal jurisdiction in class actions. Mr. Pope said, "In federal court, you can have a multidistrict panel that allows for consolidation in one place. That's a goal that has been enacted."
Michael A. Pope PC, Class Action, Trial
Gordon Greenberg was quoted in the April 7 issue of the Los Angeles Daily Journal in the article, "U.S. Judge Tosses Shareholders' Class Action Suit Against Perot Systems," mentioning McDermott's representation of Perot Systems in its recent class action victory. Mr. Greenberg stated, "Perot Systems is not an energy provider and has never been found to have done anything wrong."
Gordon A. Greenberg, Class Action, Trial
2005
McDermott was mentioned in the September 14 issue of Handelsblatt regarding an article about the decision of the Illinois Supreme Court concerning punitive damages and class actions; our team expect consequences from this decision for the class action against Philip Morris.
Steven P. Handler PC, Michael A. Pope PC, Class Action, Trial
2004
Michael Pope was quoted in the Chicago Tribune on February 29 in an article reporting that U.S. Congress is beginning to step in on class action settlements that pay lawyers millions of dollars and give plaintiffs coupons. Congress is currently weighing changes in the rules governing such awards as part of broader legislation aimed at reforming class action laws, including linking plaintiff attorneys' fees to the value of the coupons redeemed. Mr. Pope commented that it is "quite a possibility" that the legislation could result in fewer coupon deals. If that happens it will eliminate some flexibility from the negotiation of class action settlements.
Michael A. Pope PC, Class Action, Trial
Michael Pope was quoted in the January issue of CFO Magazine regarding the Class Action Fairness Act, which seeks to limit forum shopping, in which plaintiff's attorneys file class actions in small U.S. state courts with a history of plaintiff-friendly decisions. "The legislation deals with the abuse of plaintiffs' attorneys picking judges who are incapable of dealing with national issues," Mr. Pope commented.
Michael A. Pope PC, Class Action, Trial
2002
Michael Pope was quoted in the March 6 issue of the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin in regard to Illinois Senate Bill 1127, which would replace the entire class-action code and introduce more stringent requirements for certifying and maintaining class actions. Mr. Pope told the Senate Judiciary Committee, "The number of cases being filed is too great, the ease with which large national classes are certified is too great…and the amount of money involved in these cases dwindles all prior analysis of who is responsible, who isn’t…"
