Harris Beach Murtha has been named a national Tier 1 Law Firm for Mass Torts Litigation/Class Action-Defendants by Best Law Firms®. Our Mass Torts and Industry-Wide Litigation Practice Group has represented foreign and domestic clients of all sizes and industry affiliations as national coordinating and local counsel in some of the most complex and precedent-setting actions filed in the past 30 years. It provides clients with the kind of experience and goal-oriented advice needed to achieve efficient, cost-effective results in large-scale litigation.
Our mass tort attorneys are admitted to practice in most states and jurisdictions across the country and are recognized for their ability to handle cases in which complex scientific and legal issues overlap. They hold degrees or licenses in fields such as pharmacology, nursing, industrial hygiene, education, food and beverage operations, law enforcement and computer science. Others have held key positions in government, including United States Attorney. They are also noted thought leaders on emerging issues; active members of industry groups; and sought-after educators who write and speak for bar associations, trade councils, companies and insurers.
Our mass tort clients range from Fortune 500 corporations to closely held businesses, with a focus on companies in the health care, construction, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, aerospace, building products, chemicals, manufacturing and technology industries. We defend manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, retailers, purchasers and property owners (among others) in complex product liability cases and other tort claims for bodily injury, death or property damage in federal and state courts throughout the nation. Many involve fire and explosions, product design and failure claims, toxic substances exposure, environmental contamination, transportation accidents, structural and mechanical failures and chemical and pharmaceutical formulations.
The group regularly litigates emerging and hotly disputed legal issues, including apportionment and contribution, joint-defense and common-defense privileges, confidentiality and tolling agreements, governmental and nonprofit immunities, regulatory violations and hazardous activities liability. Examples of its work include notable mass torts such as In Re: World Trade Center Disaster Site Litigation, In Re: Diet Drugs (Phen-Fen) Litigation and In Re: DES Litigation; litigation involving IBM semiconductor workers, infusion pain pumps, the Happy Land Social Club fire and asbestos; class actions such as NAACP v. American Arms (handgun distribution) and Pelman v. McDonald’s (fast food obesity claims); and multidistrict litigations involving silicone breast implants, Digitek, Zicam, Factor VII and Ephedra.
Harris Beach Murtha has earned a strong, positive reputation for successfully defending companies against claims of toxic exposure to substances such as benzene, perchloroethylene (“PERC”) and trichlorethylene (“TCE”), solvents commonly used in automotive, manufacturing, printing, dry cleaning and other industries. These claims are venued in state and federal courts throughout the United States and, in many cases, have been combined in multi-district litigation (“MDL”).
Mass litigation proceedings, typically coordinated in some fashion, often seek recovery for personal injuries or property damage arising out of a single occurrence or a discrete series of events (i.e. a product recall or an environmental release). They may also seek to modify the defendants’ business practices by asserting novel theories of liability designed to prompt judicial legislation. If the subject matter is compelling, mass torts can even attract significant media attention.
Whatever the plaintiffs’ aim or the media’s interest, mass tort litigation is a complicated and expensive process for defendants. While all cases proceed through the same general stages, mass torts are typically more difficult to resolve. As the number of interested parties increases, so does the volume of filings, disclosures, motions, coverage issues, potential conflicts and confidentiality concerns. Special court rules may apply, judges may exercise their right to control the proceedings, some of the defendants may opt to act as a group, individual defendants may need to manage their defense in multiple jurisdictions, brands may need to be protected, crisis-management strategies may have to be deployed, and various levels of insurance and reinsurance may be implicated. In addition to the cost of the litigation itself, the threat of multimillion-dollar verdicts can cause irreparable harm to a company’s reputation and financial stability.
Our nationally recognized mass torts and industry-wide litigation attorneys bring a wealth of knowledge to bear on every matter they handle. Our attorneys understand the needs of their insured and self-insured clients and craft individualized, goal-oriented litigation plans to satisfy each of them. Group members focus on “shortest route” solutions and use the firm’s broad array of practice groups and professionals to create interdisciplinary litigation management teams that provide comprehensive, personalized defenses within fee structures that maximize their clients’ return on investment.
