One of the most substantial litigation threats to corporate America is posed by class actions and other mass-claimant proceedings. To meet the challenge, Burnham Brown has pooled its considerable experience in defending class and other multi-plaintiff actions within its Class Action Group. This interdisciplinary team works closely with leading experts in medicine, product design, human resource and employment, hazardous substances and materials and construction. Burnham Brown serves as regional and national counsel in mass tort actions and has coordinated the defense of numerous state and federal lawsuits throughout the United States.
Our class action lawyers have defended local and national based companies in a broad range of industries, including retail, restaurants, transportation, construction, manufacturing and real estate. We regularly and successfully remove state court class actions to federal court pursuant to the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA). Burnham Brown's experience includes defending numerous complex wage and hour matters, environmental torts, product liability, consumer and unfair business practices claims. Our attorneys are also frequent presenters at local and national seminars on class actions and multi-claimant proceedings, and also regularly author articles on these subjects.
Burnham Brown works with its clients to develop a strategic plan for cost effective litigation, a risk based assessment, and to bring successful results to our clients. For those claims which cannot be resolved voluntarily, our clients are well postured because our class action attorneys regularly try complex cases.
Employment
- Defended national based food chain and defeated certification of purported wage and hour class action involving allegations that over 100 fast food restaurant managers were misclassified as exempt and owed unpaid overtime, and meal/rest break penalties.
- Defeated certification of purported prevailing wage class action involving allegations that employees of a large construction company were improperly classified as laborers and not electrical workers.
- Negotiated favorable settlement for two national retailers of children's clothing from class action claims that managers were not paid for overtime, and missed meal breaks.
- Defended national food distributor in a wage and hour class action and obtained order dismissing the class' overtime claims.
- Negotiated favorable settlement of class action claims made by tow truck drivers alleging multiple violations of California Labor Code.
Mass torts
- West Coast Trial Counsel for Major Chemical Company and Steering Committee Members in Multidistrict Mass Tort and Class Actions Litigation which implicates a number of specialty chemicals used in the semi-conductor industry as causing cancer and birth defects.
- Served as coordinating defense counsel in large nationwide mass tort litigation involving breast implants and Phen-Fen diet pills.
- Represented an apartment complex owner in one of the first toxic mold cases brought on in California on behalf of almost 100 residents.
- Participated in an asbestos class action brought by class of individual property owners who claimed their properties were damaged following construction of an asbestos contaminated levee.
Products liability
- Represented Texas based plastic supplier, the target defendant, in a $2 billion multi-state product liability class action lawsuit involving ABS-DWV plumbing pipe. Appointed defense liaison counsel in case involving 150 defendants and cross-defendants.
- Defended large manufacturer in a product liability class action alleging application of defective window system to thousands of residential and commercial structures.
- Defended an industrial primer manufacturer from dozens of coordinated claims across the mid-west and east coast involving allegations of application of defective primer to trim board on thousands of residential and commercial structures.
Consumer/unfair business practice
- Function as national consulting counsel on California Unfair Competition Law Claims.
- Successfully defended a European-based mobile content provider in a multi-million dollar consumer class action which alleged illegal billing practices.
- Defend multiple manufacturers of consumer automobile and recreational vehicle related products in national class actions.
- Defend businesses targeted with consumer food and health and safety class actions.
Civil rights
- Served as local counsel for a major oil company in a nationwide disability access class action settlement which ended years of individual lawsuits brought on behalf of the disabled community.
- Participated in the Oakland Riders litigation, a complex multi-million dollar police misconduct civil rights lawsuit involving 120 plaintiffs.
- Represented property owners where class of tenants alleged that apartment complex was not habitable.
Burnham Brown welcomes the opportunity to demonstrate that it has the attorneys and resources necessary to successfully solve your problems associated with the defense of class actions and other multi-party tort and commercial litigation.
