Bowman and Brooke is a national leader in handling mass tort actions—including class actions as well as actions consolidated by the federal Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation and state judicial authorities.
Our Class Action and Multidistrict Litigation team has pursued multiple legal strategies and approaches, including removing actions from state to federal courts, consolidating class and other mass tort actions in a more convenient jurisdiction, using arbitration clauses to defeat class certification, pursuing highly strategic electronic discovery with the latest technologies and know-how, developing factual cases which successfully undermine the individual claims of class representatives, and disposing of unreliable and unscientific testimony of plaintiffs' experts with Daubert and Frye challenges. Our trial lawyers have worked to prevent class certification as well as to decertify classes. Though it is rare to go to trial in a class action, our team has taken a class action to verdict.
Several factors set our practice apart from our competitors, including our ability to counsel clients through the often-associated state and federal government investigations and regulatory proceedings, including hearings before the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Food and Drug Administration, and various Congressional committees. Additionally, in response to the ever more aggressive tactics of plaintiffs' counsel, we work closely with public relations and strategic communications professionals to address and mitigate negative media coverage, even as we protect and pursue our clients' legal claims.
CASE RESULTS DEPEND UPON A VARIETY OF FACTORS UNIQUE TO EACH CASE.
CASE RESULTS DO NOT GUARANTEE OR PREDICT A SIMILAR RESULT IN ANY FUTURE CASE.
A Defense Verdict at Trial in $247 Million Class Action
Brought under the California Unfair Competition Law, Lupe Zavala sought restitution of the purchase price of millions of seatbelt buckles, plus an injunction potentially requiring re-testing and replacement of those buckles in California vehicles. Claims ranged as high as $247 million. We served as lead product and trial counsel, opposed class certification and plaintiff’s proposed class notice, and prepared a writ to the California Court of Appeals on the class notice. We tried the case as a class action and prevailed. Zavala v. Takata Corporation, et al., No. 277327, Superior Court of the State of California.
Lead Counsel Defending Osteoporosis Prevention Drug
Bowman and Brooke is National Coordinating, Trial and Discovery Counsel, responsible for global defense strategy for a multi-national pharmaceutical firm defending claims against a drug used to prevent and treat osteoporosis in women. Currently, there are 250 cases filed, with an additional 200 claims. We are scheduled to try the first case in Fall 2013 in the U.S.D.C. New York, Eastern District.
Lead Counsel in Benzene Mass Tort
We serve as National Benzene Counsel to 3M Company, managing and defending all of the company's benzene cases throughout the United States. Involving primarily workplace exposure claims alleging leukemia and wrongful death, the majority of cases are in unfriendly corporate venues such as Texas and California.
Putative Class Action Dismantled
The firm is lead counsel in this putative national consumer class action involving alleged window regulator defects in 1994 to 2007 Honda Odyssey, Pilot, Element, Accord, CR-V, Civic and MDX vehicles. In a February 2013 order, a California judge ruled consumers had not shown Honda was aware of the problem when they bought their vehicles, therefore eliminating core fraud claims. Phyllis Grodzitsky and Jeremy Bordelon, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated v. American Honda Motor Co., Inc., Case No. 12-cv-01142, U.S.D.C. for the Central District of California.
Lead Counsel in Warranty Class Action
Our firm is national and lead counsel in this purported class action involving claims of violation of the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act and Unfair Trade Practices Act in marketing semi-automatic-rifle ammunition. We represent the ammunition manufacturer in In re: Yancey, William v. Alliant Techsystems Inc., et. al.
Lead Counsel in Toyota’s “Unintended Acceleration” Litigation
Bowman and Brooke is lead defense counsel for all personal injury and wrongful death cases in the much publicized “unintended acceleration” litigation. Our role includes handling all technical and product aspects in this mass tort for the Federal MDL, the California JCCP, the Texas MDL, all individual personal injury and product liability claims, and Congressional testimony. It also includes co-lead-counsel in the economic loss class action. In re: Toyota Motor Corp. Unintended Acceleration Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation, MDL number 8:10-ml-02151, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
Bellwether Trial Success Leads to End of Multi-Year Mass Tort
Our firm serves as National Coordinating and Trial Counsel to Yamaha Motor Corporation in their Rhino vehicle litigation. We directed the defense strategy of hundreds of cases nationwide, including cases consolidated in the JCCP in Orange County, California and in the MDL in the Western District of Kentucky. Successes in this litigation include two bellwether defense verdicts: Holt v. Yamaha (2010) and Sand v. Yamaha (2011). Robles v. Yamaha was the tenth defense trial win in a row and, most significantly, signaled the end of this multi-year mass tort litigation. In re: Yamaha Rhino, MDL; and In re: Yamaha Rhino, JCCP 4561.
Lead Counsel in NFL Concussion Litigation
Representing helmet manufacturer Riddell, our firm is defending against claims in this national litigation that repeated concussions and head impacts on football players, during their years in the NFL, caused neurological injuries. More than 800 of these former players have asserted claims against Riddell. The retired NFL player concussion cases are consolidated in a pending MDL. In re National Football League Players' Concussion Injury Litigation, Case No. 12-md- 02323-AB, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Lead Counsel in Medical Device JCCP, Bellwether Success
Several medical device manufacturers, including Breg, Inc., face hundreds of lawsuits nationwide alleging their infusion pain pumps, when placed in the joint space, cause rapid deterioration of joint cartilage. In February 2013, Breg, Inc. received a decisive win in the first bellwether case to go to trial in the California JCCP. McKenna et al. v. Breg Inc. et al., case number 37-2010- 00061603, in the Superior Court of California, San Diego County.