Client Successes

Medical Device Class Action

We defended a modest-sized orthopedic device manufacturer faced with a federal court national class action lawsuit involving the company’s hip implant. The plaintiffs’ own implants had not failed but plaintiffs claimed the implant had an excessive failure rate and violated implied warranties, the Massachusetts unfair and deceptive practices statute and similar statutes of other states. Plaintiffs claimed class members had been harmed because the implants were not worth what the class members had paid for them.

To try to spare the company the expense of prolonged litigation, we moved to dismiss the suit immediately. We argued that under the law of the state in which plaintiffs resided, and Massachusetts law, they had not suffered any legal injury because their implants were functioning properly. Our arguments under Massachusetts law were based on interpretations of several decisions by the state’s highest court, in almost all of which we had represented either a party or an amicus curiae (friend of the court). The court accepted our arguments and dismissed the suit.

Asbestos National Counsel

For a number of years we have been national counsel to a major valve manufacturer facing hundreds of asbestos suits involving tens of thousands of plaintiffs in at least 18 different states. Many of the claims involve serious injury or death from respiratory cancers that are linked to asbestos exposure, at least at certain doses. Companies faced with such litigation have frequently decided to conduct a brief defense and then settle, to avoid both further litigation costs and the risk of a judgment greater than the available settlement.

After we investigated the critical scientific and medical literature, our client determined not to adopt the “traditional” strategy, believing the scientific data would not support an adverse verdict and settling meritless claims only encouraged more suits. By thoroughly probing the basis for plaintiffs’ claims, moving for summary judgment and principled negotiating, we have resolved hundreds of suits without payments.

Pharmaceutical Class Action

We defended a major pharmaceutical company against a state court national class claiming the company had committed unfair and deceptive practices and breached patient privacy. The client had contracted with a national pharmacy chain to send informational mailings to customers who, according to the chain’s database, had been prescribed the client’s medication. Plaintiffs also sued the pharmacy chain and several other pharmaceutical companies that had independent agreements with the chain.

After initial discovery, we defeated recognition of a national class, convincing the court that the different issues posed by claims under various states’ laws far outweighed any common issues. Later, we disqualified plaintiffs and their counsel from even representing a class of Massachusetts patients, and ultimately won summary judgment against all remaining individual claims.

Chemical Manufacturer Lawsuit

We defended a major chemical manufacturer in a multi-defendant federal court suit claiming a worker had suffered permanent asthma, lung damage and total disability from automotive spray paints. Acting as defendants’ lead counsel, we were skeptical of plaintiff’s deposition testimony that he had not had any significant symptoms or sought medical treatment until less than three years before he sued, i.e., within the statute of limitations.

After obtaining all of plaintiffs’ known medical records, we spotted a single word that led us to a prior physician whom plaintiff had not mentioned in his testimony and of whom his current treating physician was unaware. We then obtained that doctor’s records, which revealed a lengthy history of prior similar symptoms that plaintiff himself attributed to his work. We therefore moved for summary judgment based on the statute of limitations and for dismissal as a sanction for plaintiff’s perjury, as it represented a fraud on the court. Our victory on both grounds was upheld on appeal.

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