A Texas jury has awarded a largely symbolic settlement of more than $301 billion in a lawsuit against a Corpus Christi bar
By Rich McHugh and Likhitha Butchireddygari The lawyer who took down Big Tobacco 20 years ago has another intimidating foe in his sights. In the 1990s, as Mississippi's attorney general, Mike Moore launched a lawsuit against 13 tobacco companies that eventually resulted in a $246 billion, 50-state settlement.
By Rich McHugh and Likhitha Butchireddygari The lawyer who took down Big Tobacco 20 years ago has another intimidating foe in his sights. His opponent this time β Big Pharma. In the 1990s, as Mississippi's attorney general, Mike Moore launched a lawsuit against 13 tobacco companies that eventually resulted in a $246 billion, 50-state settlement.
His home state of Mississippi was the first of 10 states to sue the drug companies. Many of the suits name Purdue Pharmaceuticals, makers of the presription painkiller OxyContin, as a defendant.
In September 2021, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights claimed that the pre-trial detention imposed on Donziger was illegal and called for his release. Having spent 45 days in prison and a combined total of 993 days under house arrest, Donziger was finally released on April 25, 2022.
Donziger, who was disbarred in New York last year, was found guilty of criminal contempt in July including for failing to turn over his computer and other electronic devices in connection with his long-running legal battle with Chevron Corp over oil pollution in Ecuador.
Steven Donziger, the US indigenous rights campaigner and lawyer who spent decades battling the energy firm Chevron over pollution in the Ecuadorian rainforest, was sentenced to six months' imprisonment on Friday for criminal contempt charges arising from a lawsuit brought by the oil giant.
Donziger turned himself in to a federal prison in Danbury, Conn., where he will serve his six-month sentence.
Donziger was found responsible for forging evidence and engaging in corrupt practices to win a lawsuit against the well-known oil company Chevron. Evidence showed that the lawyer engaged in bribery to get the Ecuadorian courts to render a verdict in his favor.
Former human rights lawyer Steven Donziger was released on April 25 after serving a combined 993 days in home detention.
In 2011, Chevron filed a civil Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) case against Donziger, initially seeking $60 billion in damages, until they learned the case would include a jury, in which case they scaled back to just targeting Donziger.
Donziger sued Texaco in 1993 on behalf of Indigenous people from Ecuador's Amazon region over pollution and health impacts from oil production. Chevron became the defendant when it acquired Texaco in 2001.
Donziger was sentenced to six months in prison earlier this month after being found guilty of criminal contempt of court in July for withholding evidence in his long-running battle with the energy giant. He was disbarred over the conviction.
Donziger was disbarred last year after being found guilty in July of criminal contempt of court for withholding the evidence in the legal fight with Chevron, which claims that he fabricated evidence in the 1990s to win a lawsuit he filed against the energy giant on behalf of Indigenous people in Ecuador.
Steven Donziger arrives for a court appearance at Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse in Manhattan on May 10, 2021 in New York City. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
In the 1990s, as Mississippi's attorney general, Mike Moore launched a lawsuit against 13 tobacco companies that eventually resulted in a $246 billion, 50-state settlement. His state lawsuit had become a swarm of suits backed by dozens of states and elite private attorneys, and then a victory that Moore proudly called the "most historic public health achievement in history."
Chip Robertson, a former chief justice of the Missouri Supreme Court , said that many have tried to do what Moore is doing and given up. "Mike's not afraid of anybody because Mike believes that he's doing the right thing," said Robertson. A veteran of Moore's winning fight against Big Tobacco, he has now joined Moore's team ...
Plaintiffs' lawyers eyeing big paydays from the $26 billion settlement resolving claims that the three largest U.S. drug distributors and Johnson & Johnson fueled the opioid epidemic were delivered a reality check after a federal judge capped their contingency fees at 15%.
But Polster said a cap on how much lawyers could earn if they enforce their fee contracts against the counties and cities that hired them was necessary to ensure money meant to help address the drug crisis was used for that purpose.
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The proposed deal, announced on July 21, calls for the distributors McKesson Corp, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen to pay a combined $21 billion while the drugmaker J&J would pay another $5 billion .
For plaintiffs: Joe Rice of Mot ley Rice, Elizabeth Cabraser of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, Peter Mougey of Levin Papantonio Rafferty, Paul Geller of Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd, Chris Seeger of Seeger Weiss and others
Paul Geller, a lawyer at Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd who helped negotiate the settlement, said that while Polster correctly noted fee caps are unpopular, "if there ever were a case where a lawyer should agree to a fee cap, this is it."
The decision could impact the willingness of some lawyers to participate in the settlement, though not necessarily, said Elizabeth Chamblee Burch, a University of Georgia law professor who studies mass torts.