Aaron v. Pilgrim’s Pride Corp.
Aaron v. Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. (W.D. Ark.): Cohen Milstein represented 8,000 workers in 11 states in a wage and hour lawsuit, in which the workers sought redress for unpaid overtime. The $10 million settlement allowed class members to recover about 85% of the back pay owed them.
Adhikari v. KBR Inc.
Adhikari v. KBR Inc. (Adhikari I & Adhikari II) (S.D. Tex.): Cohen Milstein represented the families of twelve Nepali men and five additional surviving Nepali men who were lured from remote villages in Nepal to Jordan with the promise of well-paying hotel jobs. Instead of the promised jobs, their passports were confiscated, they were imprisoned, and then taken against their will to Iraq. Twelve of the men were killed by insurgents. The surviving men arrived at U.S. military bases in Iraq and were put to work for U.S. military contractors and subcontractors in the mess hall, stocking warehouses, and collecting garbage.
Allen et al v. Dairy Farmers of America
Allen et al v. Dairy Farmers of America, Inc. et al (D. Vt.): Cohen Milstein served as Lead Counsel for one of two subclasses of dairy farmers challenging anticompetitive conduct in the Northeast which resulted in lower prices paid to farmers. In April 2017 the Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a $50 million settlement between plaintiffs and the remaining defendants, bringing the total settlement to more than $80 million, in addition to industry-changing equitable relief.
Alvarez v. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.
Alvarez et al. v. Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. et al. (D.N.J.): Cohen Milstein represented a class of managerial apprentices at Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurants in New Jersey who were denied the overtime pay to which they were entitled under federal and state law, including the newly enacted 2016 Overtime Rule, which was slated to take effect in December 2016 and would have doubled the salary threshold for executive, administrative and professional workers to be exempt from overtime pay requirements. On September 20, 2021, the Court approved a $15 million settlement against Chipotle to resolve the class claims and end the lawsuit.
Anthem Data Breach Litigation
In re Anthem Data Breach Litigation (N.D. Cal.): Cohen Milstein was co-lead counsel in a certified class action involving the 2015 cyberattack and massive data breach of Anthem, Inc., one of the nation’s largest for-profit managed health care companies, which resulted in the theft of personal identification and health information of 78.8 million insureds. On August 16, 2018, the Court granted final approval to a $115 million settlement in this class action – the largest data breach settlement in U.S. history.
Ariza v. Luxottica Retail North America (LensCrafters)
Ariza v. Luxottica Retail North America (LensCrafters) (E.D.N.Y.): On September 27, 2024, the court granted final approval of a $39 million settlement in this certified class action. Purchasers of LensCrafters’ Accufit Digital Measurement System (Accufit) services alleged that LensCrafters used false, misleading advertising, and deceptive sales practices about Accufit being “five times more accurate” in measuring pupillary distance than traditional methods to induce customers to purchase LensCrafter’s higher-priced prescription lens products. Cohen Milstein was Lead Counsel.
Beacon/Madoff ERISA Litigation
In re Beacon Association Litigation (S.D.N.Y.): Cohen Milstein represented the trustees and participants of ERISA-covered employee benefit plans whose assets were invested by Beacon Associates LLC I and Beacon Associates LLC II (the “Feeder Funds”) in and lost money by investment the investment schemes of Bernard L. Madoff, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, LLC. On March 15, 2013, the court granted final approval of a $219 million settlement to reimburse defrauded investors.
Bear Stearns Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates Litigation
Bear Stearns MBS Litigation (S.D.N.Y.): Cohen Milstein as co-lead counsel represented the New Jersey Carpenters Health Fund in a $505 million landmark settlement (including a $5 million expense fund) of a securities class action suit alleging that Bear Stearns violated securities laws in the sale of mortgage-backed securities to investors. This is the largest recovery ever obtained in a securities class action on behalf of investors in mortgage-backed securities.
Beck, et al. v. Boeing
Bird, et al. v. Barr (D.D.C.): Cohen Milstein represented a group of about 29,000 female employees who had claims of sex discrimination against The Boeing Company, Inc. The certified claims address discrimination in compensation for salaried employees, access to overtime work for hourly IAM employees, and promotions for both. In granting class certification, the court noted that “the data yields statistically significant results of adverse impact on female employees in every facility and at every level within the Puget sound area.”