Girard Sharp is pleased to announce that our firm has been named one of the five Practice Groups of the Year by Law360 in the category of Product Liability Litigation. These awards honor the attorney teams behind litigation wins and major deals that resonated throughout the legal industry this past year. The awards were announced January 17, 2022.
In cases across the country, our lawyers have defended the rights of consumers against the world’s biggest companies, recovering hundreds of millions of dollars for plaintiffs. The firm’s recent successes in product liability cases benefiting consumers include the following:
- In re Pacific Fertility Center Litigation: In June 2021, a jury awarded $14.975 million to five IVF patients whose eggs and embryos were damaged or destroyed in a cryopreservation tank failure. The jury found the tank manufacturer, Chart Industries Inc., liable on all claims. Partners Dena Sharp and Adam Polk of Girard Sharp served as co-lead trial counsel for the plaintiffs. (Case No. 3:18-cv-01586-JSC, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.)
- In re Juul Labs, Inc., Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation: Girard Sharp serves as co-lead counsel in this multidistrict litigation seeking to hold accountable entities and individuals who contributed to the national vaping epidemic among youth. Plaintiffs scored an important win in April 2021 when the Honorable William H. Orrick III upheld the plaintiffs’ civil RICO claims against tobacco giant Altria, which holds a 35% stake in JUUL, and against certain JUUL founders and directors for defrauding JUUL customers about the safety and addiction risks of the product. (Case No. 3:19-md-02913-WHO, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.)
- Michael Bentley et al., v. LG Electronics U.S.A., Inc.: In December 2020, Girard Sharp acting as co-lead counsel obtained final approval of a class action settlement benefiting American consumers who bought LG refrigerators that can stop cooling, resulting in spoiled food and medicine. Refrigerator owners were eligible for several thousand dollars in recovery, and those without documentation could recover up to $450. The Honorable Madeline Cox Arleo noted that “the settlement is available to over a million and a half Americans who purchased allegedly defective refrigerators” and “there is no cap on the award that a claimant can get. Claimants will be made whole, plus the additional warranty.” (Case No. 2:19-cv-13554-MCA-MAH, U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.)
- In re MacBook Keyboard Litigation: In March 2021, the Honorable Edward J. Davila granted Plaintiffs’ motion for class certification and appointed Girard Sharp as co-lead class counsel. The Ninth Circuit denied Apple’s petition for review. Plaintiffs are preparing their claims for trial on behalf of the millions of people who bought MacBook laptops with an ultra-thin, failure-prone “butterfly” keyboard. (Case No. 5:18-cv-02813-EJD, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.)
Girard Sharp would like to thank Law360 for recognizing our work.
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