Shook Partner Victor
Schwartz has co-authored a Law360 article with
Markus Green, assistant general counsel at Pfizer, that explains
how locality lawsuits—in which municipalities and counties
bring lawsuits alleging damages from companies on issues that
affect the state as a whole—are against the public
interest.
"[State] attorneys general understand that allowing local
governments, which do not represent the state, to bring litigation
that affects the entire state and its people can have major adverse
consequences," Schwartz and Green explain. "Instead of a
state attorney general suing for relief on a statewide basis, local
governments that bring lawsuits stand to benefit over those that do
not sue, creating an incentive for every local government to sue
and not miss out on a possible recovery."
"Locality lawsuits provide private contingency fee lawyers
with a new way to bring litigation on the public's behalf
without any of the restrictions put in place at the federal or
state level," the authors note. "In this regard, locality
litigation resembles a vast and untapped Wild West, in which
greater numbers of private contingency fee lawyers may potentially
partner with local governments to wage civil litigation."
Schwartz Partners With Pfizer Counsel To Criticize Locality Lawsuits
Contributor
Shook, Hardy & Bacon has long been recognized as one of the premier litigation firms in the country. For more than a century, the firm has defended companies in their most substantial national and international products liability, mass tort and complex litigation matters.
The firm has leveraged its complex product liability litigation expertise to expand into several other practice areas and advance its mission of “being the best in the world at providing creative and practical solutions at unsurpassed value.” As a result, the firm has built nationally recognized practices in areas such as intellectual property, environmental and toxic tort, employment litigation, commercial litigation, government enforcement and compliance, and public policy.