Class Action / Complex Litigation

The team’s clients include small companies up to Fortune 50 companies, public companies as well as privately held and not-for-profit organizations. Our team has been recognized for its extensive experience in CAFA and jurisdiction issues which arise from the filing of class action lawsuits.

• When a national home products retailer was named in a national class action related to defective Chinese drywall, the company retained a national firm and our firm. The case eventually went to multi-district litigation (MDL). In our team’s early case assessment, we determined that to achieve the client’s goals most efficiently and at the lowest cost, it would be best for them to get out of the lengthy and expensive process of the MDL. We negotiated a nationwide class action settlement outside the MDL which achieved the primary objectives of our client. In addition, this nationwide settlement led to the dismissal of many individual claims against our client.
• In a pair of toxic tort class actions brought against an international agrichemical company, Adams and Reese lawyers represented the company and were appointed to the defendant steering committee and as head of the trial team for 300 co-defendants in Louisiana. Though the plaintiff’s demand to our client was originally $40 million, as part of the defense liaison settlement team we helped to devise a group settlement in which the company ultimately paid a tiny fraction of the original demand.
• For a national life insurance company whose policies provide supplemental benefits for insureds treated for cancer, we served as lead national counsel in eight class actions in which the company was alleged to be responsible for certain cancer treatments though the treatments were not specified in the policy documents. We were able to settle the cases for significantly less than the original claims and, moreover, forestall any future claims against the company.
• Adams and Reese lawyers are deeply involved in the antitrust MDL in Birmingham, Alabama against multiple health insurance companies throughout the United States. 

We have also handled consolidated actions for associated companies in Louisiana related to benefits paid at network vs. out of network prices. While other defendants in that litigation remained in this lengthy litigation, we were able to obtain for our client a dismissal on some of the claims and then settled the other claims for a nominal amount.

Summary

When regional, national and international companies need on-the-ground litigators and trial lawyers in the Southeast, they rely on our class action and complex litigation team. Our clients prize the practical business sense and work ethic of our lawyers as well as our determination to align each litigation solution we offer with the business objectives of our client. With early case assessment, clear on-going communication and industry-leading responsiveness, our lawyers bring inventiveness to the litigation strategies they craft.

Working extensively at local, state and federal levels of advocacy and government relations, our attorneys have a broad understanding of the impact which judicial decisions, regulatory action and legislative developments can have on complex disputes.