Girard Sharp is pleased to announce that Girard Sharp and Lieff Cabraser have won a 2024 “California Lawyer Attorney of the Year” award for their roles as co-lead counsel in In re: Juul Labs, Inc., Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation (No. 3:19-md-02913, N.D. Cal.). The CLAY Awards recognize lawyers for their achievements that have had a major impact on society and the law.
The plaintiffs in the JUUL multidistrict litigation (MDL)—individual consumers, school districts, municipalities, and Native American tribes—pursued their claims on parallel tracks, alleging that the JUUL and Altria defendants intentionally targeted youth and adults, resulting in debilitating addictions and economic losses that not only drained money from consumers but harmed them mentally and physically.
The MDL plaintiffs achieved historic settlements, thanks in large part to the efforts of Dena and the Girard Sharp team with partner Scott Grzenczyk and associate Nina Gliozzo. Juul and other defendants settled for more than $1.7 billion, and the final defendant, Altria settled for $235 million after two and a half weeks of trial. The nearly $2 billion recovered by Dena and her co-counsel compensates individuals who bought and were injured by Juul products, and provides crucial funds and public health resources to school districts, cities, counties, and Native American tribes to address nicotine addiction in their communities. Juul and Altria have also reformed their marketing and other practices, including by stopping their youth marketing and sales of flavors not authorized by the FDA.
Read more about the big win here (subscription required).
