FIRM PROFILE - Levin Papantonio

FIRM PROFILE
Former Florida Governor Reubin Askew
and David Levin founded the law firm
Levin & Askew in 1955.
Much has changed for the firm in the half
century since it was formed. Reubin Askew
went on to become a two-term governor
for the State of Florida and candidate for
President of the United States. David
Levin brought his brother Fred Levin into
the firm in 1961, and Fred quickly became
recognized as one of America’s premier
trial attorneys.
In its July 2002 edition, the National Law
Journal recognized Levin, Papantonio as the
fourth most successful law firm in America
for jury verdicts. In 2001 alone, Levin,
Papantonio received verdicts in excess
of $500 million.
The National Law Journal also recently
recognized Fred Levin as Florida’s top civil
litigator, and named him one of the “Top
Ten Trial Lawyers in America.”
The Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers
bestowed its highest honor on Mr. Levin
“in recognition for lifetime achievements
in the pursuit of justice.”
In 1999, the University of Florida’s law
school was renamed the Fredric G. Levin
School of Law.
Mike Papantonio joined the firm 20 years
ago, and soon developed one of the most
respected mass torts and complex litigation
departments in America. His work in defective
drug litigation, asbestos, breast implant
litigation, Fen Phen, Rezulin and other
cases firmly placed Mr. Papantonio at the
center of all major mass torts litigation.
Papantonio helped launch a nationwide
organization called Mass Torts Made
Perfect that has attracted the top lawyers
across America, and has helped law firms
develop successful litigation strategies for
confronting wrongdoing by multi-national
corporations.
The law firm is similarly committed to
holding wrongdoers responsible for
environmental pollution. Mike Papantonio’s
love of the outdoors and close friendship
with “Riverkeepers” founder Bobby
Kennedy, Jr. has been instrumental in
building the firm’s environmental law
department. The firm is credited with the
2004 settlement of the $90 Million class
action against Conoco for local
groundwater contamination.
Levin, Papantonio has represented over
100,000 clients since 1955, and litigates cases
throughout the United States. The firm
successfully represents plaintiffs against some
of the larger corporations in the world.
FREDRIC G. LEVIN
MIKE PAPANTONIO
In the fall of 2001, Levin, Papantonio
received a $465 million verdict against an
aircraft manufacturer and a $43 million
judgment against a drug company. In all, the
firm has received more than 75 verdicts in
excess of $1 million and countless others
in excess of $10 million.
Three attorneys are listed in the publication
“Best Lawyers in America,” and fifteen are
board certified trial attorneys.
The firm’s employees have been profiled by
the New York Times, Forbes, Time Magazine,
George Magazine, Newsweek, ABC News,
CNN, The American Lawyer, Lawyer Weekly
and the National Law Journal.
The firm is dedicated to the belief that
America’s legal system should remain open
“for the people,” and that the values of personal
responsibility and civility should extend to the
world’s largest corporations.
Levin, Papantonio has also been recognized
as one of Northwest Florida’s philanthropic
leaders and remains active in the community.
PERSONAL INJURY|WRONGFUL DEATH
$31 Million Verdict
in Medical Malpractice Case
$25 Million Verdict
in Brain Injury Case
$22 Million Verdict
in Brain Injury Case
$18 Million Verdict
in Train Derailment
$13 Million Verdict
in Automobile Accident
$8 Million Verdict
in Medical Malpractice
$8 Million Verdict
in DRAM Shop Case
$5 Million Verdict
in Airplane Crash
$4.8 Million Verdict
in Trucking Accident
$4.3 Million Verdict
in Electrocution Case
$3.8 Million Verdict
in Railroad Crossing Collision
$2.4 Million Verdict
in Death of a Construction
Foremen
$2.2 Million Verdict
in Negligent Sale of Ammunition
$2 Million Verdict
in Toxic Waste Case
$1.8 Million Verdict
Against Federal Government
for Negligence
$1.5 Million Verdict
in Rape Case
$1.5 Million Verdict
against State Government
for Negligence
$1.4 Million Verdict
in Slip and Fall
$1.2 Million Verdict
in Bus Accident
$1.0 Million Verdict
against County Government
for Negligence
Since the late 1960s, Levin, Papantonio has
earned a national reputation in the field of personal
injury/wrongful death litigation. The firm has
received over 75 jury verdicts in the amount of
one million dollars or more, including ten verdicts
exceeding ten million dollars.
At various points in time over the past three
decades, lawyers in the firm have held state or
national records for jury verdicts involving the
wrongful death of a child, the wrongful death of
a housewife, the wrongful death of a wage earner,
and the largest personal injury verdict in the State
of Florida.
The firm has the only member of the Inner Circle
of Advocates within several hundred miles of
Northwest Florida, and has two lawyers listed in
the publication “Best Lawyers in America” in the
field of personal injury/wrongful death litigation.
Levin, Papantonio presently devotes 24 trial
attorneys to the practice of personal
injury litigation.
WORKER’S COMPENSATION
Every year, 10,000 workers are killed in
work-related accidents; 60,000 workers are
permanently disabled; six million are
injured; and 100,000 die from illnesses
related to exposure to products like lead
and asbestos. Levin, Papantonio is
committed to helping injured workers
obtain monetary and rehabilitative relief.
The firm handles a caseload of over 200
workers’ compensation cases at any given
time and is active in lobbying before the
state legislature for changes in and additions
to the laws protecting the rights of the
injured.
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
Environmental cases are brought by the firm on behalf of persons whose properties or other
rights have been affected by toxic contamination or pollution. Often these cases involve
complex scientific issues and thousands of exhibits. Levin, Papantonio has attorneys with
experience in environmental litigation, including the former general counsel of the Florida
Department of Natural Resources, and shareholder Mike Papantonio, who founded Emerald
Coast Keepers.
The firm’s experience in environmental litigation includes the favorable settlement reached
for a class of property owners and residents in Pensacola, Florida seeking damages and medical
monitoring relating to claims of groundwater contamination attributed to a former fertilizer
facility. (Samples, et al. v. Conoco, et al.
(No. 2001-CA-000631), as well as
reaching a jury verdict for the
Plaintiffs in a class action case on
behalf of nearly 7,000 property owners
seeking clean-up costs associated with
zinc smelting facility in West Virginia.
(Perrine, et al. v. DuPont, et al.
No. 04-C-296-2).
MASS TORTS PRODUCT LIABILITY
There are few areas of legal practice which
require more financial backing and support
than the handling of mass tort/product liability
cases. Managing a complex, multi-plaintiff
cases (such as class actions or multi-district
litigation) typically requires the assistance of
numerous attorneys, paralegals, support staff
and in-house computer specialists on each case.
In regard to mass tort litigation, Levin,
Papantonio has represented more than 7,000
asbestos clients, 2,000 breast implant clients,
4,500 diet drug clients, and hundreds of Vioxx,
Fosamax, Rezulin, PPA, Serzone, Zyprexa,
hemophiliac/AIDSs, and Dalkon Shield clients.
The firm’s appointments to lead national
litigation in the field of mass torts include:
• Asbestos Products Liability Litigation (Lead and
Co-Lead Counsel on more than 5,000 individual cases)
• Baycol Products Liability Litigation (Lead and
Co-Lead Counsel on hundreds of individual cases)
• Serzone Products Liability Litigation (Lead and
Co-Lead Counsel on approximately 200 individual
cases)
• In re Accutane Products Liability Litigation, MDL
1626 (M.D. Florida) (Co-Chair Discovery Committee)
• In re Amtrak “Sunset Limited” Train Crash in Bayou
Canot, Alabama on September 22, 1993, MDL 1003
(S.D. Alabama) (Plaintiff’s Steering Committee,
Electronic Depository Repository, Research Committee)
• In re Propulsid Products Liability Litigation,
MDL 1355 (E.D. Louisiana) (Plaintiff’s
Steering Committee)
• In re America Online, Inc., Version 6.0 Software
Litigation, MDL 1412 (N.D. Illinois) (Co-Lead
Counsel)
• In re Rezulin Products Liability Litigation, MDL
1348 (S.D. New York) (Plaintiff’s Steering
Committee, Chair Discovery Committee, Lead and
Co-Lead Counsel on thousands of individual cases)
• In re Bextra and Celebrex Marketing Sales Practices
and Products Liability Litigation, MDL 1699 (N.D.
California) (Plaintiff’s Steering Committee, Co-Chair
Discovery Committee, Science Committee)
• In re Breast Implant Products Liability Litigation,
MDL 926 (Florida Liaison Counsel, Lead and Co-Lead
Counsel on thousands of individual cases)
• In re Cisco Systems, Inc., Securities & Derivative
Litigation, MDL 1527 (N.D. California) (Co-Lead
Counsel)
• In re Conoco, Inc. Class Action, Case 2001 CA
000631 (Escambia County, FL) (Co-Lead Counsel)
• In re Diet Drugs (Phentermine/Fenfluramine/
Dexfenfluramine) Products Liability Litigation, MDL
1203 (E.D. Pennsylvania) (Plaintiff’s Steering
Committee, Science Committee, Lead and Co-Lead
Counsel on thousands of individual cases)
• In re Factor VIII or IX Concentrate Blood Products”
Products Liability Litigation, MDL 986 (N.D. Illinois)
(Plaintiff’s Steering Committee, Settlement
Committee)
• In re Guidant Defibrillators Products Liability
Litigation, MDL 1708 (District of Minnesota) (Plaintiff’s
Steering Committee, Discovery Committee, Trial Team
Committee)
• In re Vioxx Products Liability Litigation, MDL 1657
(E.D. Louisiana) (Plaintiff Steering Committee, CoChair Discovery Committee, Science Committee,
Lead and Co-Lead Counsel on hundreds of individual
cases)
• In re High Sulfur Content Gasoline Products
Liability Litigation, MDL 1632 (E.D. Louisiana)
(Plaintiff’s Steering Committee, Co-Chair Trial
Committee)
• In re Welding Fume Products Liability Litigation,
MDL 1535 (N.D. Ohio) (Plaintiff’s Executive
Committee, Co-Chair Discovery Committee)
• In re Life Insurance Company of Georgia Class
Action, CV 94-002696 (Mobile County, AL)
(Co-Lead Counsel)
• In re Zyprexa Products Liability Litigation, MDL
1596 (E.D. New York) (Plaintiff’s Steering
Committee)
• In re Medtronic, Inc., Implantable Defibrillators
Products Liability Litigation, MDL 1726 (District
of Minnesota) (Plaintiff’s Steering Committee,
Co-Chair Discovery Committee)
• State of Florida v. American Tobacco Company,
CL-95-1466 (AH) (Palm Beach County, FL)
(Founding and Participating Member of Legal Team)
• In re Ortho Evra Products Liability Litigation, MDL
1742 (N.D. Ohio) (Plaintiff’s Steering Committee)
• In Re Phenylpropanolamine (PPA) Products
Liability Litigation, MDL 1407 (W.D. Washington)
(Plaintiff’s Steering Committee, Discovery
Committee, Lead and Co-Lead on
approximately 250 individual cases)
$1 Billion Verdict
in Go-Kart Burn Case
$480 Million Verdict
in Defective Single-Engine Aircraft
$43 Million Verdict
in Prescription Drug Case
$42 Million Verdict
in Rezulin Case
$10 Million Verdict
in Asbestos Case
$7.25 Million Verdict
in Defective Exercise Equipment Case
$3.5 Million Verdict
in Defective Tire Case
$3.2 Million Verdict
in Defective Dump Truck Case
$2.4 Million Verdict
in Mismatched Boat Engine Case
COMMERCIAL CASES & STOCK FRAUD
Every year, more Americans are killed through
medical negligence than die in automobile
accidents. Nonetheless, many doctors claim
to be “victimized” by patients and lawyers
who litter the courts with baseless lawsuits
that drive up the cost of malpractice insurance
and the practice of medicine.
Similar to mass tort cases, the practice of
commercial litigation requires an extraordinary
amount of financial and staff support. In one case
alone, the firm devoted six attorneys, 15 staff
members, one computer specialist, and more than
two million dollars in out-of-pocket costs to try
a single case. The result was a $40 million dollar
jury verdict and the settlement of six similar cases.
These objections are difficult to reconcile
with the fact that numerous executives in
medical-related industries take home personal
incomes of multi-million dollars a year.
Levin, Papantonio attorneys not only specialize
in corporate litigation, they also understand the
practicalities of business. One attorney in the firm
serves as chairman of a regional television network
and is former chairman of Orange State Life
Insurance Company, Western Travelers Life
Insurance Company, and David Fredric’s, Inc., a
regional apparel chain comprised of more than
fifty stores. This attorney is also listed in “Who’s
Who in Finance and Industry.”
Since Levin, Papantonio began accepting securities
claims, over 5,800 claims from victims in all 50
states have been reviewed, with alleged losses
attributed to analyst conflicts of interest and broker
fraud totaling almost $1 billion. With many of
the victims losing their entire life’s savings, the
firm’s attorneys have dedicated their time to
actively pursuing the brokerage houses that caused
the losses. Assisting attorneys across the United
States, Levin, Papantonio has developed a network
of experts in the field of securities law, and the
firm is dedicated to making brokerage houses
reimburse investors for their lost money, and is
committed to changing the way brokerage houses
treat individual investors.
MEDICAL MALPRACTICE
In addition, the doctors’ claims contradict
the results of a United States Congressional
Budget Office report which concluded that
malpractice insurance premiums represent
less than one percent of all national health
care costs.
Levin, Papantonio has committed its
resources to handle medical negligence claims
and to fight against the advancement of
misconceptions too often presented by
the media and argued before the state
and federal legislatures.
CRIMINAL LAW
$42 Million Verdict
in Fraud/RICO Case
$21 Million Verdict
in Discrimination Case
$10 Million Verdict
in Breach of Contract Case
$3.6 Million Verdict
in Negligent Publication of
Toll Free Number
$1 Million Verdict
in Discrimination Case
The firm’s Criminal Law Department is headed
by Leo Thomas. Mr. Thomas is a former agent
with the Federal Bureau of Narcotics and a
former officer with the Florida Department
of Law Enforcement. He is presently listed in
the publication “Best Lawyers in America”
for his accomplishments in criminal law, and
is certified as a Criminal Trial Advocate by
the National Board of Trial Advocacy. Mr.
Thomas was the first lawyer to introduce
battered-women-syndrome testimony in
criminal cases in the State of Florida. He has
served as a member of the Sentencing
Guidelines Commission for the State of
Florida, the Florida Bail Bond Regulatory
Board, the Criminal Law Executive Council
and the Criminal Certification Committee.
He is also past Chairman of the Florida Rules
of Criminal Procedure Committee and Vice
Chairman of the Criminal Jury Instructions
Committee.
LEVIN PAPANTONIO,
FOURTH ‘WINNINGEST’ LAW FIRM
IN UNITED STATES
“The National Law Journal” recently ranked America’s top firms based upon the
amount of jury verdicts recovered during 2001.
According to the Journal, clients represented by the law firm of Levin, Papantonio,
Thomas, Mitchell, Echsner, Rafferty & Proctor were awarded verdicts totaling
$523,605,000 during 2001.
Through the years, Levin, Papantonio has built a reputation as one of the most
successful litigation firms in America. Their success in 2001 followed years
of trial work in the fields of personal injury, wrongful death, mass torts and
environmental law.
Mike Papantonio’s $43 million jury verdict against Pfizer in a Texas Rezulin trial
was followed by Martin Levin’s recent multimillion dollar verdict against Gateway
Computers. Levin and Papantonio’s success against Pfizer and Gateway build on
the firm’s tradition of courtroom excellence.
We believe that in today’s legal climate, the effective
representation of any client often demands more
than what most firms can provide. With that in
mind, we bring not only exceptional experience, but
also superior resources to bear, a practice that has
firmly established us in our profession while bringing
needed assistance to the thousands of plaintiffs who
have placed their trust in us.