Class Actions

Our litigation team has defended class actions brought in federal and state court involving various types of claims, including toxic torts, medical monitoring claims, property diminution claims, and nuisance claims, and has vigorously litigated class certification issues. Our experience includes the following cases:

• We represented a large manufacturing client in all litigation in Pennsylvania involving toxic tort claims for alleged occupational and ambient air exposure to respirable particles of beryllium. The claims were filed in federal and state court, and included claims for personal injury, death, and medical monitoring. Included within these claims were four separately filed class actions—two in federal court and two in state court—seeking certification of classes of persons exposed to respirable amounts of beryllium, and seeking medical monitoring under the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's decision in Redland Soccer Club. See, e.g., Pohl v. NGK Metals Corp., 2003 WL 24207633 (Ct. Com. Pl. Phila. County July 9, 2003), aff'd, 863 A.2d 1239 (Pa. Super. 2004) (Table), appeal denied, 582 Pa. 718, 872 A.2d 1200 (2005) (Table) (denying certification of a putative class of persons living within vicinity of former beryllium processing facility who sought medical monitoring under Redland Soccer Club for exposures to above-background levels of beryllium in ambient air).
• We represented a large corporation in a class action filed in state court involving claims that nuisances from operations caused diminution in property values, damages, and compensable annoyance and inconvenience to a class of individuals residing or owning property within a specified distance of the boundary of the client's site.
• We defended a public utility in litigation in state court where plaintiffs sought medical monitoring on behalf of a putative class of residents allegedly exposed to elemental mercury from the removal of regulators.