Leslie Mitchell Kroeger

Edenville and Sanford Dam Failure Litigation

Edenville and Sanford Dam Failure Litigation (Mich. Crt. of Claims; Cir. Crt., Cty. Saginaw, Mich.): Cohen Milstein represents residents and businesses in two separate property damage lawsuits against Michigan State Government agencies, including the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes & Energy and Michigan Department of Natural Resources for blatantly mismanaging and failing to properly maintain the Edenville and Sandford dams, which catastrophically failed on May 19, 2020.

Edwards v. Tesla, Inc.

Edwards v. Tesla (Sup. Crt. Cal., Alameda Cnty.): On June 25, 2020, Cohen Milstein filed a product liability lawsuit against Tesla, Inc. on behalf of Kristian and Jason Edwards. Ms. Edwards sustained catastrophic injuries as a result of the failure of the airbags to deploy in her Tesla Model 3 during an accident.

Edwards, et al. v. CSX Transportation, et al.

Edwards, et al. v. CSX Transportation, et al. (E.D.N.C.): Cohen Milstein was appointed Interim Co-Lead Counsel in this putative class action against CSX Corporation. We represent a class of businesses and residents in the southern and western portions of Lumberton, NC who have twice suffered catastrophic flooding and damage in connection with a train underpass floodgate.

Flint Water Crisis Litigation

Flint Water Crisis Class Action Litigation (E.D. Mich.): On November 10, 2021, the Court granted final approval of a landmark $626.25 million settlement in an ongoing environmental toxic tort class action brought on behalf of more than 90,000 Flint residents and businesses against the State of Michigan, the former Governor Rick Snyder, and other defendants for their roles in re-directing toxic levels of lead-contaminated water from the Flint River into the City of Flint’s drinking water system in an effort to save money. In total, thus far, plaintiffs have achieved $659.25 million in settlements.

In re Chiquita Brands International Inc. Litigation

In re Chiquita Brands International Inc. Litigation (S.D. Fla.): Cohen Milstein represents hundreds of Colombian citizens who allege that they or their family members were victims of torture or extrajudicial killing committed by the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC), a paramilitary group designated by the United States government as a “Foreign Terrorist Organization,” during armed conflict in Colombia in the 1990s and early 2000s. Plaintiffs allege that the deaths of their relatives were a direct and foreseeable result of Chiquita’s financial support of the AUC. The case is proceeding under Colombian law against Chiquita and under the U.S. Torture Victim Protection Act against individual Chiquita executives and board members. On June 10, 2024, after a six-week bellwether jury trial, the jury found Chiquita responsible for the wrongful deaths of eight men who were murdered by AUC and awarded the surviving family members $38.3 million in damages for their deaths.

Miramar Water Litigation

Miramar Water Litigation (Cir. Crt. Broward Cnty.): Cohen Milstein represents residents of the City of Miramar, Florida in an environmental toxic tort and property damage class action suit against the City of Miramar and its consultant, Kimley-Horn, Inc. The plaintiffs claim that, due to the negligence of the City and the malpractice of its consultant, their water supply has not been properly treated and has caused irreversible and costly damage to the copper piping in their homes.

Ratha, et al v. Phatthana Seafood Co

Ratha, et al v. Phatthana Seafood Co. (C.D. Cal.): Cohen Milstein is representing seven Cambodian plaintiffs in a cross-border human rights lawsuit involving human trafficking, forced labor, involuntary servitude, and peonage by factories in Thailand that produce shrimp and seafood for export to the United States.

Reed, et al. v. USA – Chimney Tops 2 Fire

Reed, et al. v U.S.A (E.D. Tenn.): Cohen Milstein represents plaintiffs in a wrongful death and property damage mass action against the United States Department of Interior and National Park Service for the negligence of its employees to perform their duties during The Chimney Tops 2 Fire in Tennessee, which originated in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and ultimately damaged or destroyed 2,500 homes, buildings and other structures, and killed more than a dozen people.

U.S.A. v. Janssen Biotech, Inc.

U.S.A. v. Janssen Biotech, Inc. (D. Mass.): Cohen Milstein represents the plaintiff-relator in a whistleblower/qui tam lawsuit against Janssen Biotech (a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson), alleging that the manufacturer of the rheumatoid arthritis drugs Remicade and Simponi ARIA violated federal law by engaging in a scheme through which it provided physicians free practice management and infusion business consulting services over an extended period to induce the physicians to purchase Remicade and Simponi ARIA and administer these drugs to patients, including Medicare beneficiaries, via infusions performed in their offices.

Walmart Litigation

Walmart Litigation: Litigation against Walmart Stores has been ongoing since June 2001, in an effort dedicated to ensuring that millions of women who have worked for Walmart over the years receive equal pay and an equal chance at promotion.

Lindsay X-LITE Guardrail End Terminal Litigation

Lindsay X-LITE Guardrail End Terminal Litigation: Cohen Milstein represented a number of families of decedents and victims of catastrophic injuries in a series of individual products liability, wrongful death and catastrophic injury lawsuits in Tennessee and South Carolina state courts against the Lindsay Corporation and several related entities for designing, manufacturing, selling, and installing defective, X-Lite guardrails on state roadways.

Mincey v. Takata

Mincey v. Takata (Cir. Crt., Duval Cnty., Fla.): Cohen Milstein was lead counsel in a lawsuit brought on behalf of Patricia Mincey and her family, a Florida woman who sustained catastrophic injuries that rendered her a quadriplegic in 2014 when the driver’s side airbag in her Honda Civic deployed too aggressively during a collision due to a product defect. Patricia Mincey passed away in early 2016 due to complications from her quadriplegia. The suit charged that Takata, the manufacturer of the airbag system, knew of the airbag defect and hid the problem from consumers. When the defendants removed Ms. Mincey’s case to federal court in an attempt to have it bogged down in multi-district litigation, Cohen Milstein successfully had the case remanded to Florida state court, where it is was resolved in July 2016.

Paz-Orjales v. Ford Motor Company

Paz-Orjales v. Ford Motor Company (Cir. Crt. Osceola Cnty., Fla.): Cohen Milstein successfully settled a catastrophic injury lawsuit against Ford Motor Company. Our client, Mr. Paz-Orjales, asserted that due to a defective design, the roof of the Ford truck, in which he was a passenger, collapsed and crushed him during a roll over accident, resulting in his quadriplegia.

Quinteros, et al. v. DynCorp, et al.

Quinteros, et al. v. DynCorp, et al. (D.D.C.): Cohen Milstein represented over 2,000 Ecuadorian farmers and their families who suffered physical injuries and property damage as a result of aerial spraying of toxic herbicides on or near their land by DynCorp, a U.S. government contractor. A bellwether trial on behalf of the first six Ecuadorian clients came to a conclusion in April 2017, when the ten-person jury unanimously determined that DynCorp was responsible for the conduct of the pilots with whom it had subcontracted to conduct the chemical spraying after April 2003. This resolution allowed for a successful case settlement.

Saori Yamauchi, et al. v. Toyota Motor Corporation, et al.

Saori Yamauchi, et al. v. Toyota Motor Corporation, et al. (Cir. Crt., Dutchess Cty., N.Y.): Cohen Milstein and local New York co-counsel resolved a product liability and personal injury lawsuit against Toyota Motor Corporation, Autoliv, and related entities on behalf of Saori Yamauchi. Mrs. Yamauchi sustained a catastrophic injury during an accident in her Toyota Sienna as a result of the vehicle’s airbag system deploying in a dangerous manner.