Legal Intelligencer Article - The Law Firm of Leisawitz Heller

PAGE 5: HEALTH CARE LAW tgmttt
THE
OLDEST
LAW
0 URN
J
A L
I N
THE
UNITED
PHILADELPHIA, TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2013
S TAT E S
1843-2013
VOL 247 • NO. 63 $5.00
An ALM Publication
- SPECIAL SECTIONS­
Pa.'s Largest Verdicts & Settlements Trendirig Higher
Edilor's /lole: The dala Ihal served as Ihe
basis Jor Ihis article and Ihe accompanying
charlS is based on Ihe wrgesl verdicls alld
setllemenls as reported in The Legal.
Top 10 Verdicts and Settlements Since 1994
c... _
In re National Tobacco Settlement
Policyholders v, Metropoillan Life Insurance
BY ZACK NEEDLES
Of the Legal Staff
Georqine
v.
Amchem Products
Carneqle Melton unlverslly v. Marvell
tecMoIo<jy GrOtlp'
A
IOOk back al Pennsylvania's largesl
verdicts and senlements over Ihe
lasl 19 years reveals a !Tend of larger
awards over Ihe past three years. The dala
also shows an overall average of abOUI $33
million since 1994 - when The Legal began
!Tacking each year's largesl verdicts and
senlements - thanks in parI 10 a few billiondollar-plus resulls.
.
In addilion, there doesn'l appear 10 bave
been any significanl change in the annual av­
erages following Pennsylvania's adoplion of
the c~rtificate of meril requirement in 2003.
Since 1994, The Legal's annual magazine,
PaLaw, has compiled a lisl of the largesl
verdicts and seUlements in Pennsy Ivania as
reporled in Ihe newspaper. A1logether, PaLaw
documenled 834 verdicL. and se((lements be­
Iween 1994 and 2012.
Maddux
M.c~
v.
Einhorn
rruth v. UAW
Attornrp
Mike Fisher
$1.17 bll.
Melvyn Weiss
David Shrager. Shrager, McDaid, Loltus.
Flum & Spivey
.....
- INSIDE THE lEGAl­
2000
2000
1994
David T. McDonald, DOUljl~s B.
Greenswag and Eliza K. Hall, K&L Gales
2012
$907 mil. James R. Beasley, The Beasley nrm
$525 mil. Thomas J. Bender and Roberl C. Drake,
1999
REOIONAL
No MCIIIty. No I..IIwy.r••.• •• _• _.•• _.3
A lawyer who hasn'l been paid.
and has no proSp«t of getting
paid. can withdraw from a case.
!be U.s. Court of Appeals for Ihe "[bitt!
Circuli ruled Ia., t week.
WI!
Littler MendelSOn
Uniled States ex rei. Welt. v. AslraZeneCil
$520 mil. Stephen A. Sheller and Brian J.
2010
HEAUlt CARE lAW
McCormick Jr.. Sheller PC
United Stales v. Novarlls Pharmaceuticals
$422 mil. Karen Marston, frank Coslell0, Marilyn
May. Jacquelln~ Romero and paul
Pioneer Commercial Fundinq
v.
American
The 010 has periodically
Petrakis. Deeb & Blum
$3,2.5 mil. Michael Slftes
)997 •
Source: PaLaw: Annual Report on the LeQal Profession. For complete information on the top 50 results,
see page 10.
A look at iliat dala, in conjunction wiili lhe
verc1icts and settlements documented by The
Legal from lale 2012 to the presenl , shows
Ihal the average of all 834 cases was aboul
$32.8 million.
released Specilil Fraud
Alerts to provide guidance
I
$351 mil. Maurice Mitts and Chrlslopher Day, Frey. 2000
financial Mortgage
Unfted SIales " SmIlM/{". SeechBm Clln/ej/
LabOriltorle5
=-_,'-"-"=_ Alert ................ 5
2010
Kl!olman; Catherine Volalll; patrick
Jasperse; Jessica Champa
However, thai figure is skewed by the four
largesl resulrs, all of which were more Ihan
$1 biUion.
Of the 834 top verdicls and settlements
Verdicts ron/intlff ()rI 8
on tmlds Itt ~ he4lth care induatry and
their potential for violllfioil of the federal
Anti-Kickbai!k Slalute. contributors
Vasllio.~ J. KlilogredJs and Kadlynn
Bayus wrile.
REAl ESTATE LAW
PI. SllIlr DllClOIIIrlUw •.••• •• ••. 7
Disclosing or even deBnlng defect! at
a property prior to transfer. ..~ banal a
task as this may seem. can raise a whole
host of complell questions. conlribulors
Harper J. DimmermJII. James M.
Lammc:ndo.lil lind Bradley J_ Oslxinie
wrilc_
K&L Gates Opens
Delaware Office
BY JEFF MORDOCK
Of Ihe LegalSlaff
IC)EX
ExpllftS a StrYlctls................12
CI...lled .. '" ............... _.. .13
hblic Notices.•......... _...... _.14
Legll U~ng•...................• 17
Piltsburgh-based K&L Gates bas entered
Ihe Delaware market with the opening of its
newesl office in Wilmington. tapping -Cour
former Poner Anderson & Corroon a((orneys
to establish the office, which will focus on
allernati ve entities and transaclions.
Scon E. Waxman, a fonner partner al Polter
K&L Gales
Amount
$1l.3 bll.
$1.7 bil.
$l.3 bil.
C01/tinUff on
www.Thelegallnte lligellcer.com
9
FELDMAN SHEPHERD
WO HLGELERNT"ER TAN~ER WEINSTOCK DODIC LLP
TRIAL LAWYERS
Representing clients nationally.
For you, it's a local call.
WWW.FELDMANSHEPHERD.COMI215-567-8300
9K£·{Hge~
lid 9NI0\I311.
ssa
O"lll A.!l11llB:)
H:JUM~II\I H3113H ZUMVS131
lS3noHON N A31HIHS
CUO ~/90
9990Sl
Ill. W~d kd 0~96~ .u910~ .......m._~ 10 • THE LEGAL INTELLIGENCER
VOL P. 1644
TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2013
Top 50 Verdicts and Settlements Since 1994 t
Year
Rank
Case Name
Amount
Type of Action
Court
Attorneys
1
In re National Tobacco Settlement
$11.3 bil. (settlement}
Fees
C.P. Philadelphia
Mike Fisher
2
Potlcyholders v.
Metropolitan Life Insurance
$1.7 bil. (settlement}
Insurance
U.S. District Court. W.O. Pa.
Melvyn Weiss. Milberg. Weiss. Bershad. Hynes & Lerach
3
Georgine v. Amchem Prooucts
$1.3 bil. (settlement}
Asbestos
U.S. District Court. LD. Pa.
David Shrager. Shrager. McDaid. Loftus. Flum & Spivey
1994
4
Carnegie Mellon University v.
Marvell Technot09Y Group
$1.17 bil. (verdict)
Patent Intringement
U.S. District Court. W.O. Pa.
David T. McDonald. Douglas B. Greenswag and Eliza K. Halt. K&L Gates
2012
v. Einhorn
v. UAW
5
Maddu;t
6
Mack Trucks
7
Unifed Siaies ex rei. Welta
v.
20 00
2000
I
$907 mil. (verdi ct}
Wrongful Death
C.P. Philadel phia
James R. Beastey. The Bea sley Firm
1999
S525 mil. (settlemen\)
Employment
U.S. District Court. E.D. Pa.
Thomas J. Bender and Robert C. Drake. Littler Mendelson
20n
$520 mil. (settlement)
Whi stleb lower
U.S. District Court. LD. Pa.
Stephen A. Sheller and Brian J . McCormick Jr.• Sheller PC
20tO
AslraZeneca
B
Unlled Slales v.
Novartis Pharmaceuticals
S422 mil. (settlement)
Consumer Fraud
U.S. District Court. E.D. Pa.
Karen Marston. frank Costello. Marilyn May. Jacqueline Romero and Paul Kaufman;
Catherine Votaw; Patrick Jasperse; Jessica Champa
2010
9
Pioneer Commercial Funding v.
American Financial Mortgage
S351 mil. (verdict)
Commercial Tort
C.P. Philadelphia
Maurice Milts and Christopher Day. frey. Petrakis. Deeb & Blum
2000
10
Uniled Slales v. SmilhKline Beecham
Clinical Laboralories
S325 mil. (settlement)
fraud
U.S. District Court. LD. Pa.
Michael Stiles
11
Shareholders v. Rite Aid
$200 mil. (seltlement)
Securiti es
U.s. District Court . LD. Pa.
Sherrie Saven, Douglas M. Risen and Shoshana T. Savell, Berger & Montague; Ja son
-
1997
I
2001
Brodsky and Evan Smith. Brodsky & Smith; David Bershad. Milberg Wei ss Bershad
Hynes & Lerach
12
Faloney v. Wachovla Bank
$163 mil. (setllement)
13
United States v.
$155 mil. (settlement)
' RICO
Government
U.S. District Court: LD. Pa.
Howard Langer. Edward Diver. Irv Ackelsberg and Judah Labovltz. Langer Grogan & Diver 2008
U.S. District Court. LD. Pa.
Marc S. Raspanti. George W. Mackuse. Michael A. Morse and Heather C. Giordan ella.
Miller Alfano & Raspanti; David S. Stone. Boies Schiller & flexner; Patrick L. Meehan
and James G. Sheehan; M. Catherine frye. David T. Shapiro. Michael L. Tingle and
Sonya F. Lawrence
2006
C.P. Philadelphia
Richard Sprague and Joseph Podraza Jr.. Sprague & Sprague
2002
U.S. District Court. LD. Pa.
Thomas M. Sobol. Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro; Joseph H. Meltzer. Kessler Topaz
Meilzer & Check
2012
Medco Health Solutions
14
Potamkin
v. Reinke
$150 mil. (verdict)
I Wrongful Use of
Civil Procedure
15
Amerlca~n Sates, Meijer and Meijer
$150 mil. (selilemenl)
1
Antitrusl
Dlslributlon v. GlamSmithKline
16
· 17
lB
v. Corporale LIfe Insurance
Insurance
Commonwealth Court
Jerome J. Shestack and Zachary Grayson. WolfBtOCk
1997
United Slates v. King Pharmaceuticals 5124 mil. (settlement)
False Claims
U.s. DistriCt Courl. LD. Pa .
Joel M. Androphy. Berg & Androphy; Sam Boyd. Boyd & Associales ; Richard M.
Simlns; Arthur McMahon III and Marc S. Rosenberg, Cravath, Swaine & Moore
2005
In re OSS Antllrusl LIliQallon
Antilrust
U.S. Dtstrlct Court. E.D. Pa.
Jeffrey J . Corrigan, J~ S. Cohen and Jonathan M. Jagher. Spector. Roseman. Kodroff
& Willis; Wtlliam P. Butterfield. Patrick A. Tillou and George Farah. Cohen Milstein
Hausfleld & Toll
2008
Kaiser
$140 mil. (verdict)
S120.7 mil. (settlement)
19
Shareholders v. IKON Oll/ce Solulions 5111 mil. (setllement)
Securities
U.S. District Court. E.D. Pa.
Daniel Berger. Berger & Montague
2000
20
Gorelzka v. Wesl Penn Power
Allegheny·[nergy Supply v.
wall Run Mining
S109 mil. (verdict)
Wrongfuf Death
C.P. Allegheny
Shanin Specter. DomInic C. Guerrini and Kila B. Baldwin. Kline & Specter
2012
S104.1 mil. (verdict )
Breach of Contract
c.P. Allegheny
Patricia Dodge. Andrew Noble and Russell J . Ober Jr.• Meyer. Unkovic & Scali .
2011
21
v. Cavarocchi
22
Albr/qhl
$100 mil. (verdict)
Medical Malpractice· C.P. Philadelphia
Andrew J . Stern. Beasley. Casey & Erbs!ein
2001
23
Miller v. Sanlllli
$100 mil. (setl/ement)
fraud
C.P. Philadelphia
Timoihy C. Russell. Spector Gadon & Rosen
2009
24
tn re ClGNA Securllies tl/lqallon
S93 mil. (settlement)
Class Action
U.s. District Court. E.D. Pa.
Sherrie R. Savell. carole A. 8roderlck. Barbara A. Podell. Roslyn G. Pollack and Joshua
2007
C. Schumacher. Berger & Montague; Mel E. Ll/shitz. Keith M. fleishman. francis P. Karam.
Michael S. Bigin and Stephanie M. Beige. Bernstein Llebhard & Lifshitz; Daniel J. Doyle
v.
25
C~monwedlth
$90 mil. (verdict)
Negligence
Commonwealth Co uri
Thomas W. Henderson; Kenneth McClain, Humphrey, Farrington & McClain
2000
26
Prlrlgen v. Avco
SB8.7 mil. (verdict)
Personal Injury
C.P. Philadelphia
Arthur A. Walk. Bradley Stoll and Cynthia Devers of The Walk Law firm
2010
l7
Guslalsson v.
Trlqen-Philadelphi. Energy
$85 mil. (verdict)
Construction
c.P. Philadelphia
Mallhew A. Casey. Thomas N. Sweeney and Joshua Van Naarden of Ross feller Casey
200B
2B
In re Aetna Securllies Liliqation
SB2.5 mil. (setllement)
I Securities
U.S. Dislrle! Courl. E.D. Pa.
Stuart H. Savett. Robert P. Frutkin and Katharine M. Ryan. Savett frutkln Podell &
2001
Ryan; Bernard M. Gross. Deborah R. Gross and Christopher Reyna. Law Offices of
Bernard M. Gross; Melvyn I. Weiss. Keith flelschman. Salvatore J. Graziano and U. Seth
Ottensoser. Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach
29
ID Security Systems Canada v.
Checkpoinl Syslems
$79.2 mil. (verdict)
Antitrust
U.S. District Court. LD. Pa.
William A. Destelano and Kara H. Goodchild. Saul Ewing
Monsanto
v. Wyeth Pharmaceuticals
. 2002
C.P. Philadelphia
Zoe Lilliepage and Rainey C. Booth. Litl/epage Booth
Class Action
c.P. Philadelphia
Michael Donovan. Donovan Searles; Judith Spanier. Abbey Spanier Rodd Abrams &
Paradis; Rodney Bridgers, Franklin D. Azar & Associates
S75 mil. (verdict)
Personallnlury
C.P. Philadelphia
Robert Mongeluzzi. Saltz Mongeluni Barrett & Bendesky
2003
561 mil. (verdict)
I Personal Injury
c.P. Philadelphia
Fred M. Feder, Feder & Associates
2009
Crawley v. DalmlerChrysler
$60 mil. (verdict)
I Class Aclion
C.P. Philadelphia
Joseph C. Kahn and Martin J. D·Urso. Kahn. Swift & Gra~ Isaac H. Green Jr.• Adrian Moody I 1999
35
Gault v. Norwood
555 mil. (verdict)
I Medical Malpractice
C.P. Philadelphia
James E. Beasley Sr., The Beasley Firm
2001
36
Hall v. Babcock [; Wilcox
552.5 mil. (seltlemenll
Frederick M. Baron and Lisa A. Blue. Baron & Blue; William R. Caroselli. Caroselli
BeaChler McTiernan & Conboy; Kaeske Law firm; AUen Stewart; Alicia Butler. Law
Olllees of Alicia D. Buller; Kay Gunderson Reeves
2009
Commonwealth v. Johnson &
55.1.9 mil. (verdict)
I Consumer Fraud
Commonwealth Co urt
Donald L Haviland Jr.• Haviland Hughes; Barry R. Eichen. Eichen Crutchlow & McElroy
2010
$51 mil. (setllement)
I Prolessional
U.S. District Court. E.D. Pa.
Gregory P. Miller. Gaetan J. Alfano and Gregg W. Mackuse. Miller. Aliano & Raspanti
1995
30
Barton
31
Hummel v. Wa/·Mart Stores
S78.5 mil. (verdict)
32
33
Tuskl ~ Ivyland cal4
Mendez v. City 01 Philadelphia
34
37
S7B.7 miL (verdict)
I Products Liability
Itegulalion Vlolal/on U.S. District Court. W;D. Pa.
2009
. 2006
Johnson
3B
Fosler v. Ale.ander & Alexander
Liability
39
Hall v. SEPTA
$51 mil. (verdict)
40
SAJ Dislrlbutors v. GlaxoSmllhKllne
$49 mil. (settlement)
Antitrust
S46.2 mil. (verdict)
Wrongful Death
C.P. Berks
Jay N. Abramowitch and Kenneth Millman, Leisawitz Heller Abramowitch Phillips
20/0
S40.B mil. (settlement)
Defamation
C.P. Philadelphia
Mark B. Sheppard and Jay J . Lambert. Duane Morris
2003
540.5 mil. (settlement)
Wrongful Death
c.P. Philadelphia
Alan Feldman and Da niel Mann, Feldma n Shepherd Wohlqelernter Tanner & We instock; 2004
Thomas R. Kline, Andrew Youman and David Caputo, Kline & Specter; Robert Britton,
Post & ScheU; Jerrold Anders. White & Williams
v. Wachovia Bank
I Negligence
c.P. Philadelphia
Thomas R. Kline, Kline & Specter
2000
U.s. District Court. E.D. Pa.
Joseph f . Roda and Dianne M. Nast. Roda Nast; David P. Gersch. Arnold & Porter
2011
41
Torres
42
Lamberl v. Malal
43
Manlove
44
Gurlner v. Cook
$40 mil. (verdict)
Motor Vehicle
C.P. Allegheny
Edward J. Balzarini
1998
45
United States v. Highmark
$38.5 mil. (settleme nt)
Fraud
U.S. Di st rict Co urt. M.D. Pa.
David M. Barasch; Michael J. Salmanson and Linda P. Falcao, Salmanson & Falcao; Jim
West; Norman Greenspan and Eric Vance, Blank Rome; Rita Grant Ndirika, Gardner
Carton & Douglas
1999
46
MuniauctiOil v. Thomson Filldnclal
S38.5 mil. (verdict)
Intellectual Prop.rty
U.S. District Court. W.O. Pa.
John E. Hall. Eckert Seamans Cherln & Mellott; Sally Wiggins. Raymond P. Niro. John
C. Janka and Douglas M. Hall. Nlro Scavone Haller & Niro
v.
Scully
47
Robley v. PennDOT
48
In
49
Puro/ile
50
Davis ~ Mollva
re Provldlan Financial
v.
Thermax
2006
1
$38.2 mil. (verdict)
Motor Vehicle
C.P. Delaware
Andrew J. Stern, The Beasley Firm
2004
S3B mil. (settlement)
Securities
U.S. District Court. E.D. Pa.
Lester Levy. Robert C. flnkel and Kent A. Bronson. Wall Popper; Andrew J. Entwistle
and Catherine Torrell. Entwistle & Capucci
2002
$38 mil. (verdict)
Intellectual
Property
U.S. District Court. LD. Pa.
Joseph J. McGovern and Shari Shapiro, Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel; Sid 20/0
ney L. Gold, Sidney l. Gold & Associates; Jonathan E. Minsker, Kasowitz Benson Torres
& Friedman
$36.4 mil. (settlement)
Wrongful Death
U.S. District Court. E.O. Pa.
Thomas R. Kline. Kline & Specter
Source: PaLaw Annual Report on the Legal Profession
2003