A $600 million class action settlement, negotiated by G&E’s Elizabeth Graham and co-counsel, received final approval on September 25th. The settlement, which is the largest settlement paid by a railroad in U.S. history, was reached on behalf of thousands of households, businesses, property owners, and workers impacted by the environmental catastrophe caused by last year’s Norfolk Southern train derailment and chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio.
Along with monetary payments to residents and businesses within a 20-mile radius of East Palestine, the settlement also provides for past, present and future personal injuries resulting from exposure to the chemicals involved. Ms. Graham, along with co-counsel, and a significant team of G&E attorneys and paralegals, including G&E partner Adam Gomez, and associates Tudor Farcas, Caley DeGroote, worked with the East Palestine community and all class members throughout the course of the intense litigation and compressed settlement process.
The families of three cousins who were critically injured by a motorist fleeing Voorhees Township Police in a high-speed chase are now receiving assistance from the national law firm of Grant & Eisenhofer in their search for answers and accountability from law enforcement, according to the Firm.
The Maryland Supreme Court on September 10th is scheduled to hear oral arguments in a historic civil rights case that will determine the future of the widely-heralded Maryland Child Victims Act of 2023 (CVA). On September 5, a consortium of three law firms (Grant & Eisenhofer, Jenner Law, and Baird Mandalas Brockstedt & Federico), held a comprehensive, pre-argument litigation update-news conference.
Principals Elizabeth Graham, Barbara Hart, and Steve Kelly were recognized for their dedication to plaintiff advocacy in civil rights cases and representing survivors of sexual abuse in this year’s Lawdragon 500 Leading Civil Rights & Plaintiff Employment Lawyers list. In Lawdragon’s 7th edition of the guide, honorees were selected through independent journalistic research, peer reviews, and submissions.
119 institutional investors, accused the French company Vivendi of having disseminated false or misleading information between 2000 and 2002, thereby causing them an important stock market damage. After 22 years of proceedings against Vivendi before American and French courts, the parties have reached an agreement that puts an end to the proceedings pending before the International Chamber of the Paris Court of Appeal.
French law firm Hugo Avocats, assisted jointly by Grant & Eisenhofer, Kessler Topaz, Meltzer Check and DRRT, represented 87 of these 119 investors, based mainly in the United States, in Germany, in the UK and in Sweden. The firms are delighted to have reached an agreement that puts a definitive end to this stock market case which lasted for more than twenty years.
G&E attorneys have filed a complaint with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) on behalf of another misdiagnosed North Carolina breast cancer patient. This filing comes just weeks after filing a similar action for a 32-year-old former Atrium Health patient who unnecessarily underwent radical treatments – including hysterectomy and double mastectomy – as the result of the misdiagnosis of an aggressive form of breast cancer (HER2 Positive).
G&E has been highly ranked by Chambers and Partners in its 2024 guide. The Firm was again ranked in Band 1 in the Chancery: Mainly Plaintiff category, where Principals Christine Mackintosh and Michael Barry were also highly ranked in this category for their achievements in Delaware Chancery Court. G&E was additionally recognized in the USA Nationwide Securities: Litigation: Mainly Plaintiff category as well as in New York Litigation: Securities: Plaintiffs—where Managing Director Jay Eisenhofer and Principal Daniel Berger were also ranked.
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A North Carolina woman in her 30s who underwent radical, irreversible cancer treatment—only to find out she had been misdiagnosed and needlessly treated for HER2 Positive type breast cancer—turns to the medical negligence attorneys at G&E to “find out what went so horribly wrong, and hold accountable all those responsible for shattering her life.”
G&E attorneys have expressed deep disappointment following the April 21st fatal shooting of an 18-year-old visitor to the Delaware State University campus ... “We are dismayed that, through our investigation in this litigation and going back to at least 2007, we have found the University has ignored the need to implement basic, best practices when it comes to safety and security measures."
The mother of the 16-year-old Alabama teenager, who was fatally shot at home by local police during the pre-dawn hours, has turned to G&E's civil rights attorneys to lead the family’s search for answers and accountability. The shooting has sparked intense, widespread political and community outrage, including calls for policing reform amid allegations of a systemic pattern of excessive use of force by Mobile Police against citizens of color.
Court-appointed plaintiffs’ counsel spearheading the litigation against Norfolk Southern, arising out of the Feb 3, 2023 derailment of Train 32N and its aftermath, announced that an agreement-in-principle has been reached with the company via a $600 million class action settlement.
In its inaugural edition honoring plaintiffs’ lawyers on a global scale, eight of G&E’s attorneys were recognized for their work in bringing justice around the world. The honorees focus on a myriad of practice areas including antitrust and competition, investor and shareholder rights, mass torts, and more, and have had significant roles in cases with global impact. Lawyers were selected to the list by reviewing submissions, peer critiques, and journalistic research.
The G&E attorneys recognized on the list include Managing Director Jay Eisenhofer, Principals Jeff Almeida, Robert Eisler, Olav Haazen, Christine Mackintosh, Caitlin Moyna, and Senior Counsel Jonathan Davenport and Alice Cho Lee.
Read the Full 2024 Lawdragon 500 Global Plaintiff Lawyers List
G&E’s birth injury attorneys won a jury verdict against The University of Chicago Medical Center in a wrongful death lawsuit filed on behalf of the estate of a boy who was born at UCMC with catastrophic brain damage. Following a three-week trial before The Hon. James Varga in Cook County Circuit Court in Illinois, the unanimous verdict found UCMC liable for the death of four-and-a-half-year-old Oluwasemilore “Praise” Oyedapo, awarding over $14 million in damages.
G&E principal and head of the firm’s complex & mass tort litigation practice Elizabeth Graham was named to Lawdragon’s 2024 list of Lawdragon Legends, a shortlist recognizing 33 esteemed lawyers nationwide who have been repeatedly selected to Lawdragon’s list of the “500 Leading Lawyers in America”—typically 10 times or more.
Additionally, Ms. Graham and four additional G&E principals – Kyle McGee, Lisa Weinstein, Adam Gomez, and Barbara Hart – were named to Lawdragon’s 2024 list of 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers. The list is comprised of lawyers who have been in practice for 10 years or more and are established leaders in their fields of practice. The firm has a long history of advocating on behalf of consumers, and we congratulate our colleagues on the well-deserved recognition.
View the Full Lawdragon Legends List
View the Full Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers List
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Serving as outside counsel to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania through the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, and the Pennsylvania Game Commission, G&E obtained a $100 million recovery on behalf of the state in litigation against Monsanto Co. arising out of its production, marketing, distribution, and sale of carcinogenic industrial chemicals (polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs), which caused statewide environmental damage.
G&E served as outside counsel to Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares to pursue claims against Monsanto Co. and affiliates relating to statewide contamination of natural resources with toxic polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The parties resolved the dispute without litigation. Under the settlement, Monsanto has agreed to pay $80 million to the Commonwealth of Virginia.
The "Victims’ Rights Gala: Survivor Voices" held annually by the Maryland Crime Victims’ Resource Center (MCVRC) is this year co-presented by sponsors G&E and Jenner Law. The MCVRC fundraising gala will also honor the efforts of the Hon. C.T. Wilson, a survivor of child sexual abuse and champion of Maryland’s Child Victims Act of 2023. G&E principal Steven Kelly, renowned crime victims litigator and survivor, has worked with MCVRC for decades and recently expanded G&E’s efforts in advocating for survivors of sexual abuse/violent crimes.
G&E Baltimore-based sexual abuse and survivors’ rights attorney Steven Kelly, along with co-counsel Christine Dunn of Sanford Heisler Sharp, have filed a landmark wrongful death lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Baltimore (AOB) and affiliated clergy defendants. Mr. Kelly announced the filing at a press conference in Baltimore on behalf of the plaintiffs/children of the late Francis X. Gallagher, Jr., who died following a drug overdose last year. Gallagher, whose lawyer-father was best known as the AOB’s primary outside legal counsel, was the victim of serial sexual abuse when he was 14, working as a night receptionist at St. Mary’s Seminary (a named defendant), in Maryland.
Veteran trial attorney and advocate for sexual abuse survivors Steven Kelly joins G&E as a principal in its Baltimore office. For 20 years, Mr. Kelly has dedicated his career to fighting for justice for crime victims—including those preyed upon by serial sexual abusers enabled by their employers—and is regarded as a pioneer in his field.
For another year, G&E is highly ranked by Chambers and Partners in its annual guide for 2023. The Firm was ranked in Band 1 in the Chancery: Mainly Plaintiff category, and was also ranked in the USA Nationwide Securities: Litigation: Mainly Plaintiff category. G&E Managing Director Jay Eisenhofer was again recognized for his work on behalf of plaintiffs in securities litigation, while Principals Michael Barry and Christine Mackintosh were ranked by Chambers for their achievements in Delaware Chancery Court.
Read G&E’s Chambers USA 2023 Rankings
Read the Ranking Methodology
G&E principals across several of the firm’s practice areas were selected to the top 500 list of plaintiffs financial lawyers by Lawdragon. The list includes attorneys in practice for more than 10 years who have made remarkable contributions in securities, corporate governance and fiduciary litigation; antitrust and competition litigation; consumer fraud; whistleblower and qui tam; financial litigation involving complex financial instruments and related insolvency claims; or other types of class actions rooted in financial loss.
Counsel Ken Massey has been named as National Legal Counsel to the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL). Founded in 1929, the JACL is the nation’s first and largest Asian American civil rights organization whose ongoing mission is to secure and maintain the civil rights of Japanese Americans and all others who are victimized by injustice and bigotry. The JACL also works to preserve the heritage and legacy of the Japanese American community. Mr. Massey previously served as the President of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Pennsylvania and is currently a member of its board of directors.
AMC stockholders reached an agreement with the company to grant one share of common stock for every 7.5 shares held following AMC’s planned 1 to 10 reverse split. The settlement will allow AMC to proceed with its recapitalization and was valued at more than $100 million based on recent pre-announcement trading prices of AMC securities.
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Read the Motion to Lift Status Quo Order
Read the Affidavit in Support of Motion
Following a historic vote, the Maryland Child Victims Act of 2023 has lifted the statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse survivors. G&E, along with Jenner Law and Baird, Mandalas, Brockstedt, Federico & Cardea, are jointly representing survivors of abuse by the Archdiocese of Baltimore, and this breakthrough will finally allow survivors to seek justice.
G&E’s Environmental Litigation team was selected by Law360 as a “Practice Groups of the Year” award winner for 2022. G&E is one of only six firms to have achieved this recognition in the Environmental category.
G&E has filed a wrongful death and negligence civil action on behalf of Angel McIntyre, who was killed in a vehicle collision during a high-speed chase involving Philadelphia-area police. The plaintiffs seek justice and accountability from the officers involved and police departments following this tragedy.
A federal lawsuit has been filed by G&E and co-counsel over the February 3, 2023 train derailment and explosion in East Palestine, Ohio. A Norfolk Southern freight train carrying carcinogenic vinyl chloride veered off track in what plaintiffs contend was foreseeable and preventable, forcing thousands of residents to evacuate or shelter in place. The lawsuit includes Ohio and Pennsylvania residents that were in the 30-mile radius of the incident who have since had their lives upended and fear the future effects of this disaster.
An op-ed piece published in The Washington Post voices frustrations with the continued secrecy of clergy sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. A Maryland Attorney General report detailing eight decades of child sex abuse was hidden from view last year, robbing survivors of the validation they deserve. G&E represents these survivors in making this report public, seeking accountability and transparency to help them heal.
G&E was appointed lead counsel in the federal securities class action concerning the $43 billion merger of media giants Warner Bros. and Discovery Inc. Investors are accusing Discovery of keeping information from them about the struggling financial performance of streaming service HBO Max prior to the merger, and contend that WarnerMedia overstated the number of HBO Max subscribers by at least 10 million.
Our colleagues Barbara Hart and Elizabeth Graham, along with Jenner Law, P.C., are proud to represent the sexual abuse survivors and the community in an important endeavor against the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Following a 4-year investigation by the Maryland Attorney General into decades-long abuse by clergy members, survivors are demanding that the lengthy report detailing the allegations be released. G&E has been retained by Maryland Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), part of an internationally recognized organization supporting sexual abuse survivors worldwide, as part of this effort.
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