Michael J. Flannery, Katie Van Dyck, and Michael Smith of Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca, LLP and Gary Burger of the Burger Law Firm, a well-known St. Louis trial attorney, announce that they obtained a $113,714,632 verdict for wages that the Missouri Department of Corrections had failed to pay a class of 13,000 Corrections Officers. A jury in Jefferson City, Missouri, agreed that the Department of Corrections had unlawfully refused to pay those employees for hundreds of thousands of hours worked by them since 2007. These men and women had their day in court after six years of litigation, overcoming many legal obstacles. The case is now on appeal.
Provide Or Update Your Information For Hootselle v. MDOC
On August 13, 2018, CGL attorneys Jonathan Cuneo and Joel Davidow filed an amicus curiae brief on behalf of the American Antitrust Institute, Consumers Union and Public Knowledge in United States of America v. AT&T, Inc., et al. This brief supported the Antitrust Division’s challenge to the merger between Time Warner and AT&T.
Automotive Parts Antitrust Litigation Update. On July 23, 2018, Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca, LLP, Larson King, LLP, and Barrett Law Group, P.A. announced a new proposed settlement for Automobile Dealerships.
The American Small Business League (ASBL) has won release of all substantive information contained in the 2013 Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation small business subcontracting plan (plan) filed with the Department of Defense (DOD), after a 4 ½ year Freedom of Information Act battle. Most of the plan was released November 10, 2017, with the remaining substantive portions released March 15, 2018.
On December 7, 2017, DOD and Sikorsky filed a motion for summary judgment (the second) as to the remaining information it had withheld from ASBL. On January 23, 2018, the Court substantially denied the motion, including as to all issues pertaining to purportedly proprietary commercial information, holding that Sikorsky was only entitled to keep from the public images of certain signatures.
Following that decision, DOD elected not to proceed to trial, and to release all remaining substantive information that it had withheld from ASBL, as reflected in a notice filed with the Court on March 8, 2018. DOD then released a substantially complete version of the Plan on March 15, 2018, with the only redactions relating to images of signatures and personal contact information of individuals. Click here for a copy of that document:
Lex Machina’s “2018 Top Law Firm Report” identified Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca, LLP as the second busiest plaintiff-side antitrust firm in the nation from January 2013 through December 2017. The study used data from U.S. district court cases, which were categorized into practice areas such as patent, trademark, copyright, securities, employment, product liability, and antitrust, to identify which firms have filed or defended the most cases.
Among the 168 antitrust cases the study identified that CGL’s antitrust practice handled during the last five years are several massive multidistrict cases, including In re: Automotive Parts Antitrust Litigation, Case No. 12-md-02311 (E.D. Mich.); In re: Packaged Seafood Products Antitrust Litigation, Case No. 15-md-02670-JLS-MDD (S.D. Cal.), and In re: Generic Pharmaceuticals Pricing Antitrust Litigation, Case No. 16-md-2724 (E.D. Penn.). CGL attorneys hold court-appointed leadership positions in all of these cases.
On Friday, February 5, 2018, Judge Madeline Cox Arleo issued an order upholding four of six counts in Noble v. Samsung Electronics America, Inc. (Samsung Gear S Watch Batteries). This first-of-its-kind litigation challenges Samsung’s battery life assertions for the Gear S smartwatch. Judge Arleo’s decision follows a long and unsuccessful appeal by Samsung which sought to force Plaintiff Noble to arbitrate his claims rather than pursue them on behalf of the class. The litigation will now proceed with discovery and active litigation. Should you have any questions about this matter, please contact Charles LaDuca. at 202-789-3960 or charles@cuneolaw.com.
DOJ & Sikorsky update. On January 23, 2018, the U.S. District Court in San Francisco denied, in principal part, a motion for summary judgment filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) & Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation (Sikorsky) in the four-year-long Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigation concerning Sikorsky’s small business subcontracting plan. The Court ruled that the case would go to trial as to whether information being withheld by DOJ & Sikorsky could continue to be withheld from public view on the basis that its release would reveal trade secrets. CGL’s client, the American Small Business League (ASBL) has been seeking an unredacted version of Sikorsky’s small business subcontracting plan since August 2013. The Court held that disputed issues of fact require a trial, and that DOJ and Sikorsky were not entitled to a judgment based on the factual record presented to the Court. 01/23/2018.
WEN: Settlement Final
On December 29, 2017, the final two appeals were dismissed and the Settlement became final. Checks were mailed to all Tier 1 claimants by January 12, 2018. WEN settlement checks will be mailed to all Tier 2 claimants on or before March 9, 2018.
On December 27, 2017, CGL and three other firms filed a massive derivative and taxpayer suit to protect the Kentucky Retirement System. The Plaintiffs in the case are participants in the plan; the Defendants include three large hedge fund sellers as well as advisors to the plan. The Kentucky Retirement System Law Suit is potentially a landmark case.
Pamela Gilbert comments on the record of President Trump’s nominee to chair the Consumer Product Safety Commission in the New York Times.
Pamela Gilbert comments on the pace of regulatory activity in the Trump administration in Bloomberg Government.
Michael J. Flannery, Katie Van Dyck, and Michael Smith of Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca, LLP and Gary Burger of the Burger Law Firm, a well-known St. Louis trial attorney, announce that they obtained a $113,714,632 verdict for wages that the Missouri Department of Corrections had failed to pay a class of 13,000 Corrections Officers. A jury in Jefferson City, Missouri, agreed that the Department of Corrections had unlawfully refused to pay those employees for hundreds of thousands of hours worked by them since 2007. These men and women had their day in court after six years of litigation, overcoming many legal obstacles. The case is now on appeal.
Provide Or Update Your Information For Hootselle v. MDOC
On August 13, 2018, CGL attorneys Jonathan Cuneo and Joel Davidow filed an amicus curiae brief on behalf of the American Antitrust Institute, Consumers Union and Public Knowledge in United States of America v. AT&T, Inc., et al. This brief supported the Antitrust Division’s challenge to the merger between Time Warner and AT&T.
Automotive Parts Antitrust Litigation Update. On July 23, 2018, Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca, LLP, Larson King, LLP, and Barrett Law Group, P.A. announced a new proposed settlement for Automobile Dealerships.
The American Small Business League (ASBL) has won release of all substantive information contained in the 2013 Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation small business subcontracting plan (plan) filed with the Department of Defense (DOD), after a 4 ½ year Freedom of Information Act battle. Most of the plan was released November 10, 2017, with the remaining substantive portions released March 15, 2018.
On December 7, 2017, DOD and Sikorsky filed a motion for summary judgment (the second) as to the remaining information it had withheld from ASBL. On January 23, 2018, the Court substantially denied the motion, including as to all issues pertaining to purportedly proprietary commercial information, holding that Sikorsky was only entitled to keep from the public images of certain signatures.
Following that decision, DOD elected not to proceed to trial, and to release all remaining substantive information that it had withheld from ASBL, as reflected in a notice filed with the Court on March 8, 2018. DOD then released a substantially complete version of the Plan on March 15, 2018, with the only redactions relating to images of signatures and personal contact information of individuals. Click here for a copy of that document:
Lex Machina’s “2018 Top Law Firm Report” identified Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca, LLP as the second busiest plaintiff-side antitrust firm in the nation from January 2013 through December 2017. The study used data from U.S. district court cases, which were categorized into practice areas such as patent, trademark, copyright, securities, employment, product liability, and antitrust, to identify which firms have filed or defended the most cases.
Among the 168 antitrust cases the study identified that CGL’s antitrust practice handled during the last five years are several massive multidistrict cases, including In re: Automotive Parts Antitrust Litigation, Case No. 12-md-02311 (E.D. Mich.); In re: Packaged Seafood Products Antitrust Litigation, Case No. 15-md-02670-JLS-MDD (S.D. Cal.), and In re: Generic Pharmaceuticals Pricing Antitrust Litigation, Case No. 16-md-2724 (E.D. Penn.). CGL attorneys hold court-appointed leadership positions in all of these cases.
On Friday, February 5, 2018, Judge Madeline Cox Arleo issued an order upholding four of six counts in Noble v. Samsung Electronics America, Inc. (Samsung Gear S Watch Batteries). This first-of-its-kind litigation challenges Samsung’s battery life assertions for the Gear S smartwatch. Judge Arleo’s decision follows a long and unsuccessful appeal by Samsung which sought to force Plaintiff Noble to arbitrate his claims rather than pursue them on behalf of the class. The litigation will now proceed with discovery and active litigation. Should you have any questions about this matter, please contact Charles LaDuca. at 202-789-3960 or charles@cuneolaw.com.
DOJ & Sikorsky update. On January 23, 2018, the U.S. District Court in San Francisco denied, in principal part, a motion for summary judgment filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) & Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation (Sikorsky) in the four-year-long Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigation concerning Sikorsky’s small business subcontracting plan. The Court ruled that the case would go to trial as to whether information being withheld by DOJ & Sikorsky could continue to be withheld from public view on the basis that its release would reveal trade secrets. CGL’s client, the American Small Business League (ASBL) has been seeking an unredacted version of Sikorsky’s small business subcontracting plan since August 2013. The Court held that disputed issues of fact require a trial, and that DOJ and Sikorsky were not entitled to a judgment based on the factual record presented to the Court. 01/23/2018.
WEN: Settlement Final
On December 29, 2017, the final two appeals were dismissed and the Settlement became final. Checks were mailed to all Tier 1 claimants by January 12, 2018. WEN settlement checks will be mailed to all Tier 2 claimants on or before March 9, 2018.
On December 27, 2017, CGL and three other firms filed a massive derivative and taxpayer suit to protect the Kentucky Retirement System. The Plaintiffs in the case are participants in the plan; the Defendants include three large hedge fund sellers as well as advisors to the plan. The Kentucky Retirement System Law Suit is potentially a landmark case.
Pamela Gilbert comments on the record of President Trump’s nominee to chair the Consumer Product Safety Commission in the New York Times.
Pamela Gilbert comments on the pace of regulatory activity in the Trump administration in Bloomberg Government.
On July 26, 2017, Pamela Gilbert will be participating in a panel discussion hosted by the Center for American Progress about the devastating implications of President Trump’s deregulatory agenda. Additional information on the event can be found in the link.
Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca, LLP is proud to announce that on December 1, 2016, Charles J. LaDuca was awarded The “Top 100 Plaintiffs Lawyers in America” award from the National Trial Lawyers Association. This award is a peer based award. Over Mr. LaDuca’s career here at CGL, some of the cases he has had a lead role in have helped to recover almost $2 billion dollars for our clients.
Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca, LLP is pleased to announce that effective January 1, 2017, Charles J. LaDuca will be taking over as Firm Chairman. Mr. LaDuca’s 22 year career here at CGL, starting as a messenger in college, has given him the experience it will take to continue CGL’s long history of fighting and winning for our clients.
Pamela Gilbert is quoted in two articles on House passage of legislation that would make it virtually impossible to bring class action lawsuits against corporate wrongdoers. 03/10/2017
Pamela Gilbert is quoted about President Trump’s positions on civil justice legislation pending in Congress in the third and final BNA article on legislation to weaken the civil justice system.
Pamela Gilbert is quoted in the second of three articles by BNA on civil justice legislation pending before Congress.
Pamela Gilbert is quoted in a BNA article discussing President Trump’s position on access to the civil justice system, stating that the working class voters who voted for the President would not be “in favor of rigging the legal system further in favor of corporations.”
On October 28, 2016, Judge Otis Wright, II, of the United States District Court for the Central District of California granted preliminary approval to a $26.25 million nationwide settlement of claims relating to WEN Haircare Products. The settlement provides for payments of up to $20,000 per claimant. For more information, or to file a claim, please visit www.wenclasssettlement.com, or call Charles LaDuca at 202-789-3960.
Legal Superstar Pamela Gilbert Named to Advisory Council of the American Museum of Tort Law
Pamela Gilbert to Speak at Conference on Private Antitrust Enforcement.
The American Antitrust Institute is hosting its annual Private Antitrust Enforcement Conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, November 9.
Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca Partner Pamela Gilbert will speak on the panel “Junior Lawyers Breakfast: Future of Private Antitrust Enforcement.” The panel is tailored to the interests of junior lawyers. Gilbert, an expert on our political system in practice, will discuss the implications of the election results for private antitrust enforcement. A general discussion of topics likely to be of interest to junior antitrust attorneys will follow.
Co-panelists include Andrew C. Curly of Berger & Montague, P.C. and Michelle J. Looby, of Gustafson Gluek PLLC . The panel is moderated by Joshua P. Davis of the University of San Francisco School of Law.
For more information and to register, please visit antitrustinstitute.org/2016PEconference. CLE credits are available.
Pamela Gilbert comments on the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 recall.
Pamela Gilbert is quoted in the Wall Street Journal calling the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 recall “completely unusual” because it did not involve the CPSC from the very beginning.
Pamela Gilbert was quoted in the Philadelphia Inquirer about IKEA’s failure to turn over documents in a product liability case involving a child who was killed by an IKEA dresser that tipped over.
LET’S WORK TOGETHER
CGL is currently engaged in dozens of cases from product defect class actions to antitrust litigation to civil rights advocacy.
If you feel we could represent you in any of our current cases or in a new case, we would love to hear from you.