Berman
PHILADELPHIA - A prominent plaintiffs law firm is on the defensive, as it now must explain why its actions in a failed group of lawsuits shouldn't result in penalties that could include paying more than 10 years of legal fees incurred by defendants.
Philadelphia federal judge Paul Diamond on Aug. 5 told the firm Hagens Berman to show cause why it shouldn't be sanctioned for bringing frivolous lawsuits over the morning-sickness drug thalidomide.
A group of 52 plaintiffs sued companies like GlaxoSmithKline alleging the drug, used decades ago, caused birth defects. But those plaintiffs had either already sued or suffered genetic problems, and lawyer Steve Berman and others are accused of not thoroughly reviewing their clients' cases before filing them.
The idea of sanctioning the firm has been floating in the case for years, with a special master in 2023 finding Hagens Berman's conduct was "bordering on the criminal," Diamond wrote.
Hagens Berman is a major player in class action lawsuits and also scores government contracts to push litigation over issues like tobacco, opioids and PFAS. But its pursuit of a thalidomide mass tort was undone about a decade ago.
Confronted with this reality (and a $145,000 sanction in 2015), Hagens Berman dismissed many of the suits in what a special master described as a “suspicious” arrangement under which Glaxo also dropped its request for sanctions.
Then in a further development, the law firm informed the court one of its lawyers had falsified a medical expert’s report to convince a client to drop her claims. It has also settled a lawsuit by one disgruntled former client who accused the firm of selling her out to protect its own reputation.
Special master William Hangley was brought on board in 2014 after Hagens Berman obstructed the defendants' efforts to discover whether the cases were barred by the statute of limitations. It seemed the firm did not know when its clients knew thalidomide was possibly to blame for their injuries.
In one case, defendants introduced evidence Mary Sells' injuries were genetic in nature during a deposition. It was the first Hagens Berman had heard of it, Diamond wrote.
"That same Hagens Berman lawyer testified that even if she had seen the records before the deposition, she would not have 'understood the[ir] ramifications' given her lack of medical knowledge," Diamond wrote.
"The firm does not dispute these facts. Accordingly, the firm and Mr. Berman were plainly unaware of Ms. Sells' medical history when they accepted her case because they failed to conduct an adequate pre-suit investigation."
The firm filed cases despite no recent scientific research that could prove causation, Diamond wrote. Hangley, the special master, also recommended sanctions for attempts to "bully the special master, demonize the Court in the eyes of the plaintiff-witnesses, and intimidate the court reporter."
Hagens Bermans' response will also need to address the doctoring of expert reports that convinced two clients to dismiss their claims and the firm's failure to disclose this at a 2017 hearing.
