Southern District of New York

G&E was appointed to the Executive Committee of this class action against General Motors based on one of the largest automotive safety crises in recent years, which resulted in the recall of more than 2,000,000 affected vehicles and numerous attributed deaths and injuries.  The vehicles at issue in this litigation are equipped with faulty ignition switches that may slip out of the “on” position while driving which can completely disable the vehicle, powering down the car and rendering safety features, such as airbags, useless.  Plaintiffs alleged that this is a common, uniform, and defective design, resulting in these vehicles being of a lesser quality than GM represented, and class members overpaying for those vehicles.  Plaintiffs also alleged a massive cover up by GM executives who may have kept dangerous vehicles on the road for more than a decade, while concealing their knowledge of the safety defect.

Northern District of Georgia

G&E resolved a class action on behalf of small merchants against card processing companies Mercury Payment Systems and Global Payments Direct, which resulted in a settlement worth over $70 million.

District of New Jersey

As consumer subclass counsel and member of the steering committee, G&E attorneys obtained a $41.5 million recovery on behalf of consumers who overpaid for Merck & Co.’s Vytorin and Zetia, which defendants deceptively marketed as being more effective than other anti-cholesterol drugs. This case was brought on behalf of consumers and insurers who bought, used or paid money toward the purchase of these cholesterol drugs, accusing those companies of marketing the drugs in a misleading manner and failing to disclose the results of a negative clinical study in a timely fashion.

Mississippi Chancery Court, First Judicial District

G&E represented the Attorney General for the State of Mississippi in litigation against pharmaceutical manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline LLC (GSK) for claims arising out of GSK’s misleading marketing and promotion of nine drugs, including blockbuster products Paxil, Wellbutrin, Advair, and Zofran.  Mississippi asserted state consumer protection claims against GSK for its allegedly unlawful practices, including extensive use of off-label marketing, kickbacks and other forms of remuneration to physicians, and failures to disclose adverse safety concerns associated with use of its products.  Mississippi sought monetary relief, including restitution and disgorgement, as well as statutory penalties. The case settled for $25 million.

California Superior Court, Los Angeles County

G&E represented the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore in litigation against e-cigarette company JUUL Labs, Inc. Baltimore alleged that JUUL’s products and deceptive, youth-oriented marketing campaigns have injured the City and its residents in several ways, including by endangering the health of City residents, increasing funding requirements for City agencies and City public schools, and increasing costs relating to youth tobacco enforcement and compliance. Baltimore asserted public nuisance, design defect, failure to warn, negligence, and Maryland Consumer Protection Act claims, while resulted in a $8 million settlement.

Northern District of California

In one of the largest-scale auto industry scandals in history, G&E was a member of the Court-appointed Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee overseeing and prosecuting In re Volkswagen “Clean Diesel” Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation filed in the Northern District of California on behalf of vehicle owners affected by German auto giant Volkswagen’s admitted installation of “defeat devices” in the software of its diesel engine vehicles to cheat on emissions tests in up to 11,000,000 Passats, Jettas, Golfs, Beetles, and Audi A3s. The cheat was allegedly developed after VW managers realized their costly “clean diesel” engines weren’t up to par with pollution standards of the Environmental Protection Agency and regulators in other countries. Plaintiffs claimed that VW executives knew about the diesel engine problem as early as spring 2014 – a full eighteen months before the public was made aware of the issue – and sought economic redress from the steep diminution in value and performance of their affected vehicles. The 2.0 liter vehicle class action case was settled for $14.7 billion, with Volkswagen agreeing to pay $10 billion buying back or repairing the 475,000 VW and Audi automobiles 2.0 liter diesel vehicles.  In addition, and as part of that settlement, between $5,100 and $10,000 in additional compensation was earmarked for vehicle owners and an average of $3,500 for those who leased an affected VW diesel vehicle. The 2.0 liter settlement also includes $2.7 billion for environmental modification, as well as $2 billion geared toward Volkswagen’s “zero-emissions” plan. That settlement has obtained final approval. Volkswagen has also reached agreement to settle diesel-cheating claims concerning its 3.0 vehicles for $1 billion and Bosch has agreed to settle related claims for $338 million. Each of those settlements has been approved by the Court.

California Superior Court, San Diego County

In these three related consumer protection cases G&E represents the City of San Diego in this suit on behalf of the People of California. When people chose health plans they review provider directories to see whether their doctors are in network, and to ensure there is sufficient coverage of providers they might need.  In a classic marketing bait and switch however, the provider directories are widely inaccurate. Once enrolled in a plan and trying to access care, a consumer runs a gauntlet of wrong numbers, providers who are not in network, who no longer practice or who are not taking new patients. The suits seek to recover civil penalties and restitution and to require health plans to ensure the accuracy of their provider directories going forward. Following summary judgment granted in favor of the health plans on the basis of the abstention doctrine, G&E appealed on behalf of the People.  The California Court of Appeal reversed and remanded in favor of plaintiff. Trial is scheduled for next year.

First Judicial District Court, Santa Fe County; District Court for the District of Maryland

G&E currently partners with the New Mexico Office of Attorney General as well as the City of Baltimore in actions against GSK, Pfizer, Sanofi, and other manufacturers of ranitidine (Zantac) seeking damages, consumer restitution, and funding for a statewide medical monitoring program for those diagnosed with cancer after taking the drug—including Medicaid reimbursement and other publicly funded healthcare program losses.

First Judicial District Court, Santa Fe County

G&E is counsel to the State of New Mexico in consumer protection litigation concerning alleged violations of the New Mexico Unfair Practice Act, New Mexico False Advertising Act, negligence, design and/or manufacturing defect, failure to warn or instruct, violations of the New Mexico Public Nuisance statute, and common law public nuisance arising out of defendants’ manufacturing, designing, supplying, marketing, promoting, advertising, selling, and distributing of baby food products contaminated with high concentrations of toxic heavy metals in the State of New Mexico. The lawsuit claims defendants failed to control the amounts of lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercury in their products, which may potentially cause cognitive and developmental problems in infants and children due to exposure to these metals.  The lawsuit further claims defendants failed to disclose that these baby food products would expose consumers to dangerous levels of these heavy metals or to the adverse health effects associated with toxic heavy metal exposure and ingestion. The case survived motion to dismiss, and a jury trial will be scheduled to begin on an available date on the Court’s jury trial docket.