Torts Class Actions
Community and Personal Exposure Claims
Climate Change Litigation: Crowell & Moring is defending companies in a statewide class action on behalf of Mississippi residents and property owners filed in federal court in the Southern District of Mississippi. Defendants include oil companies, chemical companies, coal companies and electric utilities. Plaintiffs allege that defendants' emissions of greenhouse gases contributed to powerful and more frequent storms, including Hurricane Katrina, which caused damages for personal injury and property loss. The district court granted our motion to dismiss the lawsuit, finding plaintiffs lacked standing and their claims were barred by the political question doctrine. The matter is currently on appeal to the Fifth Circuit.
We are also defending a similar class action on behalf of an Alaskan tribe and village filed in federal court in the Northern District of California. Defendants include oil companies, energy companies and electric utilities. Plaintiffs allege that defendants' emissions of greenhouse gases are reducing Arctic sea ice and causing coastal erosion, which will require the tribe and village to be relocated. Motions to dismiss are pending.
Solvents, Diesel, Creosote and Benzene Class Actions: We have defended a major railroad company over the past five years in a wide range of separate putative class action litigations in federal and state courts in Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia. These cases range from mass environmental neighborhood suits to FELA occupational actions to rail yard tanker spill actions. In none of these cases has a class ever been certified against the Company, or has the Company ever suffered an adverse verdict or judgment. Class certification was denied in federal court in Ohio. Class efforts in Louisiana and Illinois involving alleged noise and contaminants from various rail activities were promptly abandoned by plaintiffs after aggressive removal and briefing by our defense team. West Virginia class efforts by plaintiffs were abandoned after the Company prevailed on motions to dismiss in the federal court. A Michigan attempt at a class action was settled after the federal court ruled that he would not certify the class sought. A Florida environmental toxic tort class litigation was dismissed on a threshold motion, with plaintiffs being offered a chance to replead.
Welding Fumes Litigation: Crowell & Moring has served as national coordinating counsel to a major manufacturer of construction and mining equipment in welding fume litigation since 2003. This litigation spans the country, with thousands of individual and class action suits filed in both federal and state courts from Pennsylvania to California. C&M is also counsel of record in the federal welding rod multi-district proceeding established in Cleveland, Ohio. Plaintiffs in these cases typically assert claims against manufacturers and sellers of welding consumables (such as welding rods), alleging actual or potential neurological injury as a result of exposure to components of welding fumes. We recently obtained a complete dismissal of our client from the MDL proceedings through motions practice.
MTBE Groundwater Contamination Litigation: A member of our team assisted in the defense of three major oil companies in multiple state and federal court litigations involving product liability claims relating to a gasoline additive, methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE). Recognized as the largest nationwide environmental class action ever filed, this Multi-District Litigation involved more than 45 class actions brought by municipalities, private citizens and state attorney generals who alleged that MTBE contamination of groundwater fouled the taste and odor of drinking water supplies and created an alleged health risk.
Consumer Claims
Telecommunications Consumer Class Actions: We are currently defending a major cellular telephone and DSL provider in numerous consumer class actions both in federal and state courts. These class actions involve alleged deficiencies in cellular or DSL services and/or allegedly improper billing practices. Plaintiffs assert claims under the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act and Unfair Competition Law (sections 17200 and 17500) and other states' consumer protection laws.
FACTA Litigation: We are defending a nationwide consumer class action under the Fair & Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) alleging unlawful disclosure of consumer credit card information on printed receipts. We obtained stipulated withdrawal of two of plaintiffs' Rule 23 theories and were litigating the third when the case was stayed in light of an appeal to the 9 th Circuit in a related case.
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Managed Care
In re Managed Care MDL Litigation: We obtained a significant victory for several health insurance companies in nationwide class actions in a multidistrict proceeding in federal court in the Southern District of Florida. Plaintiffs were physicians and health care providers who alleged violations of RICO resulting from the companies denying and delaying payments to providers. Plaintiffs sought injunctive relief to modify the companies' business practices, as well as monetary damages. The court dismissed the physician plaintiffs' claims against our clients with prejudice, while the non-physician health care providers voluntarily dismissed their claims against our clients.
Eating Disorder Coverage Class Actions: We currently represent a national managed behavioral healthcare organization in four putative class action lawsuits in New Jersey federal court and state court that allege the improper denial of insurance benefits for the treatment of eating disorders.
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Miscellaneous
Polybutylene Plumbing Litigation: We represent a major manufacturer in national litigation regarding products in polybutylene plumbing. This litigation has been pending for over 15 years in both state and federal courts and at all appellate levels, including the United State Supreme Court, in the United States, as well as in the lower and appellate courts of Canada. It has included multiple attempted national and statewide class actions. One currently pending case is a purported nationwide class action in Georgia state court making a collateral attack on earlier nationwide settlements, which provided over $1 billion to class members. We have achieved significant victories in the appellate and trial courts, including two cases in which the U.S. Supreme Court denied petitions for certiorari seeking review of appellate decisions in federal and state court upholding dismissals of similar nationwide class actions. One case in this litigation arising out of Texas and then in the Fifth Circuit established precedent in RICO law for the requirement that a RICO plaintiff must show direct reliance on a misrepresentation to establish that a defendant proximately caused its injury. Summit Properties, Inc. v. Hoechst Celanese Corp, 214 F. 3d 556 (5 th Cir. 2000).
Commercial Class Action Litigation: We are counsel to a major telecommunications equipment manufacturer in putative nationwide class action litigation stemming from conduct of a former business associate. The former business associate has been the subject of Attorney General proceedings in several states, and the subject of extensive media scrutiny. We successfully removed this action from New Jersey state court, and are awaiting further proceedings in New Jersey federal court.
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Also see: Class Actions | Environmental & Toxic Tort Litigation