FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In recognition of their outstanding contribution to antitrust scholarship, the authors listed below have been selected as recipients of the 20th Annual Jerry S. Cohen Memorial Fund Writing Award:

  • Colleen Cunningham, Assistant Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship, London Business School;
  • Florian Ederer, Associate Professor of Economics, Yale School of Management;
  • Song Ma, Assistant Professor of Finance, Yale School of Management.

The award will be presented during the gala luncheon at the American Antitrust Institute’s 23rd Annual Policy Conference on June 15, 2022 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

The authors will be honored for their article, “Killer Acquisitions,” 129 J. Pol. Econ. 649 (2021). The article argues that incumbent firms may acquire innovative targets solely to discontinue the target’s innovation projects and preempt future competition. The authors develop an economic model illustrating this phenomenon and then empirically quantify its prevalence using pharmaceutical industry data. They find that at least 5% of the acquisitions in their sample qualify as “killer acquisitions” and that those acquisitions tend to cluster right below the thresholds for antitrust scrutiny.

The three winners will share a $13,500 prize and will each receive an inscribed original artwork created by Lori Milstein.

In addition, this year’s award selection committee has conferred seven category awards, as follows:

This year’s award selection committee consisted of Zachary Caplan, Shareholder at Berger Montague; Warren Grimes, Professor of Law at Southwestern Law School; John Kirkwood, Professor of Law at Seattle University School of Law; Roger Noll, Professor Emeritus of Economics at Stanford University; Leslie Marx, Professor of Economics at Duke Fuqua School of Business; Robert Lande, Professor of Law at University of Baltimore School of Law; Daniel A. Small, Partner at Cohen Milstein; and Daniel H. Silverman, Partner at Cohen Milstein. (Professor Marx recused herself from deliberations relating to her own article.)

About the Award:

The Jerry S. Cohen Memorial Fund Writing Award was created through a trust established in memory of Jerry S. Cohen, an outstanding trial lawyer and antitrust scholar. The award is administered by the law firm he founded, Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC.

The award honors the best antitrust writing published during the prior year that is consistent with the values that animated Jerry S. Cohen’s professional life:  a genuine concern for economic justice, the dispersal of economic power, effective limitations upon economic power, and the vigorous enforcement of the antitrust laws.

For more information please contact:

Kate Fitzgerald / 202.408.4600 / kfitzgerald@cohenmilstein.com

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PRESS CONTACT

Tammy Mangan, Director of Marketing

press@cohenmilstein.com

STERLING JEWELERS AND COHEN MILSTEIN ANNOUNCE AGREEMENT

 IN CLASS ACTION LITIGATION

Joint Statement

Sterling Jewelers and Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll are pleased to announce an agreement which, subject to approval by the Arbitrator, will resolve a legal dispute initiated in 2008 that involved allegations of gender discrimination in pay and promotions practices on behalf of a class consisting of approximately 68,000 members. Under the agreement, Sterling Jewelers, a subsidiary of Signet Jewelers, agrees to pay $175 million, with payments to class members totaling approximately $125 million and the remainder to class counsel for attorneys’ fees and costs.

“For the past four years, we’ve been successfully transforming Signet’s business model and culture. I want to thank our dedicated team members for helping to create our welcoming and inclusive environment where everyone is invited to be their authentic self. We believe prioritizing diversity, equity and inclusion grows high-functioning teams and fosters a culture of appreciation and development,” said Gina Drosos, CEO of Signet Jewelers.  “This settlement is an important step in bringing closure to a nearly 15-year-old case.  We look forward to continuing our focus on diversity as an important business strategy for Signet, and propelling the innovation, growth, and opportunity that allows our team and company to shine.”

“On behalf of our legal team, we applaud the courage of our clients in the pursuit of this case of singular importance to protecting the rights of women in the workplace.  This settlement provides for significant monetary relief for our clients and ensures that the practices that gave rise to this case will not recur.  And we applaud Sterling Jewelers for undertaking important and meaningful changes to its workplace policies, which have moved it forward as a leader in gender equality,” said Joseph Sellers, of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC, lead class counsel.

As part of the company’s transformation in recent years, Signet has made diversity, equity, and inclusion an integral part of its business strategy. Investing in team members to help unleash their full potential has been, and continues to be, key. This includes structuring development programs around Signet’s Leadership Traits to guide store team members who are interested in promotion to manager-level positions. In addition, Signet has discontinued the pay and promotions practices at issue in the lawsuit. Signet also will continue to offer its mentorship programs and leadership training for women, and its robust system for reporting and investigating workplace complaints.  Today, Signet has a highly engaged team and is proud to be a Great Place to Work-Certified™ company, and for the last four consecutive years, listed on the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index.

More information on Signet’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion is outlined in its recently released 2022 Corporate Citizenship & Sustainability Report. That report also includes an overview of the opportunities for team members to engage in personal and professional learning and development programs, business resource groups and more.

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About Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC

Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC is a premier U.S. plaintiffs’ law firm, handling high-profile and precedent-setting litigation. With over 100 attorneys across the country, Cohen Milstein has offices in Washington, DC, Chicago, IL, Denver, CO, New York, NY, Palm Beach Gardens, FL, Philadelphia, PA, and Raleigh, NC.

Class Counsel also includes:

Burr & Smith

Sam J. Smith

Loren B. Donnell

Thomas A. Warren Law Offices, P.L.

Thomas A. Warren

Goldstein, Borgen, Dardarian & Ho

Barry Goldstein

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – The United States and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (collectively, “the Government”) have reached a settlement (the “Settlement”) of approximately $4.7 million with the Steward Health Care System LLC (“Steward”).  This settlement arose as a consequence of the Government’s investigation of allegations contained in a False Claims Act complaint (“the Complaint”) filed by three relators. Steward is the largest, private, for-profit healthcare network in the country and owns and operates multiple hospitals in Massachusetts and other states.

The whistleblowers, including Stephen M. Zappala, MD, and Olivia Lanna, MD MA, filed their lawsuit on behalf of the Government in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts in 2018. They were represented by Jeanne Markey and Gary Azorsky of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC based in Washington D.C. and Lisa Arrowood and Sarah Sousa of Arrowood LLP based in Boston, MA.

The whistleblowers alleged, among other things, that Steward had both provided payments to specialists, such as urologists, for services which were not performed, and rented space from providers in order to induce patient referrals to its Accountable Care Organization.  Under the terms of the Settlement, neither the federal nor state government takes any position as to the violations of the False Claims Act alleged in the Complaint, and as part of the resolution of this matter the Complaint is being voluntarily dismissed.

As part of the Settlement, Steward admits and accepts responsibility for three categories of conduct which it voluntarily disclosed to the Government. First, Steward disclosed to the Government that it had “failed to charge the proper rent” on leases it had with approximately 50 physicians, physician organizations and non-physician organizations resulting in rent payments below fair market value. It thereby may have violated the anti-kickback statute or the Stark Law prohibiting physician self-referrals. Second, Steward disclosed to the Government that the Steward Good Samaritan Medical Center, Inc., (“GSMC”) entered into a compensation arrangement with Dr. Bahige Asaker for services that Steward cannot confirm were performed and thereby may have violated the anti-kickback statute. Third, Steward disclosed to the Government that GSMC entered into arrangements with two urology centers, Brockton Urology Clinic and Adult & Pediatric Urology Center, P.C. for specified services that were not provided.

“Our healthcare system is meant to function as a dedicated servant to its patients and employees alike,” said Gary Azorsky, partner at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll. “Settlements such as this one serve to facilitate this important goal.”

The Settlement provides that Steward will pay the Government $4.7 million. After receipt of payment, the Government shall pay a relator’s award of approximately $725 thousand dollars to be split among the three whistleblowers. Also under the terms of the Settlement, GSMC and the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services (OIG-HHS) shall enter into a Corporate Integrity Agreement.

“My role as a physician is to uphold the integrity of the healthcare system and provide an environment that is committed to the health of our patients. This settlement will forge a brighter path for healthcare,” said Olivia Lanna, MD MA, one of the three whistleblowers in the case.

Cohen Milstein’s Whistleblower/False Claims Act practice has decades of experience successfully pursuing whistleblower cases under the federal and state false claims act statutes in the healthcare, pharmaceutical, and defense contractor industries, and in other industries that transact business with the government, as well as cases arising under the S.E.C. and I.R.S. whistleblower programs.

In 2016, Cohen Milstein represented one of two whistleblowers in the United States et al. ex rel. Lauren Kieff, v. Wyeth, which resulted in one of the largest qui tam settlements in U.S. history – Wyeth agreed to pay $784.6 million to the U.S. government and the over 35 intervening states.

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About Cohen Milstein

Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC is recognized as one of the premier law firms in the country handling major, complex plaintiff-side litigation. With more than 90 attorneys, Cohen Milstein has offices in Washington, D.C., Chicago, Ill., New York, N.Y., Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., and Philadelphia, Pa.  For additional information, call 267-479-5700.

About Arrowood

Arrowood LLP is a nationally-recognized law firm based in Boston, Massachusetts. Our attorneys are among the most elite and highly respected trial lawyers in the state. We regularly – and successfully – litigate against the largest and best known law firms in the country. Regardless of the practice area, Arrowood LLP provides our clients with the flexibility and efficiency that only a boutique firm can offer.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

On April 18, 2022, the United States partially intervened in a whistleblower lawsuit brought by Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, PLLC on behalf of our clients, Dr. John Pepe and Dr. Richard Sherman, against Fresenius Medical Care North America (“FMCNA”) and one of its business units, Azura Vascular Care (“Azura”), and several related entities. FMCNA is one of the two largest dialysis providers in the United States, operating over 2,500 dialysis units nationwide and treating over 200,000 patients annually. Azura operates more than 60 vascular care facilities across the country.

This lawsuit is brought under the federal False Claims Act and alleges that the defendants have for years performed repeated, unnecessary vascular procedures on end stage renal disease (“ESRD”) patients receiving hemodialysis treatments and have fraudulently charged Medicare, Medicaid and other government health care programs for these procedures. Medicare, the government health care program for the elderly, covers treatment of ESRD patients regardless of their age, spending well over $50 billion annually on their care.

The case is captioned U.S. et al., ex rel. Pepe and Sherman v. Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA et al., Civil Action No. 14-cv-3505, and is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The case remained “under seal,” meaning that under Court order it was non-public, until the Court lifted the seal on May 9, 2022. The federal government is expected to file its own complaint in intervention in July 2022. Eighteen states are included in the lawsuit and have an opportunity to join it in the future as well.

The whistleblowers are highly trained, board-certified nephrologists with decades of experience successfully caring for ESRD patients who receive hemodialysis treatments several times weekly to remove toxins from their blood when their kidneys can no longer do so.

In their complaint, the whistleblowers allege that the defendants have engaged in a fraudulent scheme to receive government payments for unnecessary surgical procedures and testing. ESRD patients typically require a surgically-created access to their vascular system so that adequate hemodialysis can take place and thereby cleanse the blood as healthy kidneys otherwise would. The patient’s dialysis unit is charged with responsibility for monitoring that vascular access regularly and for making a referral to a vascular access facility for possible surgical intervention in the event that clinical evidence indicates that there exists a narrowing (or a “stenosis”) in one or more of the vessels used during hemodialysis that impairs the ability of hemodialysis to occur.

The complaint alleges that for many years, once a nephrologist has initially referred a patient with evidence of a clinically significant stenosis to an Azura facility, and the patient’s vascular access has been treated there, Azura then continues scheduling periodic follow-up visits every 2 to 4 months indefinitely. Almost every time these follow-up visits occur, Azura performs an angiogram on the patient (an X-ray using a chemical dye injected into the patient’s vessels), followed by an invasive surgical procedure called an angioplasty. These procedures are performed without evidence of problems in administering dialysis and without a referral by the patient’s nephrologist.  Thus, the defendants have no reasonable basis for performing these medically unnecessary procedures and they are not reimbursable by the government health care programs. Nevertheless, defendants have submitted, or caused to be submitted, these fraudulent claims for payment and the government has, in good faith, paid them.

As Dr. Pepe, who has successfully treated hundreds of ESRD patients during a distinguished medical career, explains, “Dialysis patients are highly vulnerable and must trust their doctors to look out for their best interests. We believe that Fresenius has acted for financial gain at the expense of the patient and the U.S. taxpayer.”

This partial intervention is the culmination of the federal government’s comprehensive, detailed, and sophisticated investigation of Dr. Pepe’s and Dr. Sherman’s allegations. The government team is led by Jolie Apicella, Chief of the Health Care Fraud Unit for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of New York. The two physicians are represented by Jeanne A. Markey and Gary L. Azorsky, co-chairs of Cohen Milstein’s whistleblower practice, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and their colleague in the practice group, Raymond M. Sarola. Dr. Pepe is also represented by Vincent F. Pitta of Pitta LLP, located in New York City.

About Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC

Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC is recognized as one of the premier law firms in the country, handling complex plaintiff-side litigation. With more than 100 attorneys, Cohen Milstein has offices in Washington, D.C., Chicago, IL, New York, NY, Palm Beach Gardens, FL, Philadelphia, PA, and Raleigh, NC.

Claims about company’s lax data security, which led to breach that impacted over 133 million guest records, moving forward on behalf of nearly 45 million consumers as a certified class  

GREENBELT, Md.– A federal judge in Maryland has granted class certification in a data breach impacting over 133 million American consumers against hotel chain Marriott (NASDAQ: MAR) and its data security vendor Accenture (NYSE: ACN), clearing the way for the litigation to move forward. The Court will allow the case to proceed as a class action on behalf of the first group of claimants the parties selected – an initial group of approximately 45 million consumers in California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, and New York. The lawsuit stems from a data breach Marriott discovered in 2018 after it acquired Starwood, in which, by its own admission, 133.7 million guest records of Starwood customers were compromised. Marriott acknowledged in 2019 that the records included approximately 5.25 million unencrypted passport numbers and 20.3 million encrypted passport numbers, among other sensitive personal information regarding hotel stays.

In granting class certification, Judge Paul Grimm of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Maryland issued a 70-plus page opinion that made clear he was certifying the case for potential trial, rather than for a pending settlement (as occurs in most other data breach cases). The opinion allows the plaintiffs to seek damages related to overpayment for hotel rooms, as well as statutory and nominal damages. The Court also found that consumers might be able to recover damages for the inherent value of their personal information stolen during the breach based upon Marriott’s own valuation of that same data.

DiCello Levitt Gutzler partner Amy Keller, Hausfeld partner James Pizzirusso, and Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll partner Andrew N. Friedman are Co-Lead Plaintiffs’ counsel in the case. They issued the following joint statement:

“After three years of hard-fought litigation, the Court issued a well-reasoned opinion which provides a path forward to hold Marriott accountable for its egregious, four-year data breach. While many companies do the right thing and work to help their customers after a data breach, Marriott and Accenture chose to deny responsibility, vigorously attempting to convince the Court that they cannot be held liable to anyone impacted by the breach. We look forward to presenting our evidence to a jury.

The valuation of personal information is still fairly new territory for many Courts, and this is the first case to reach class certification on the issue. While the Court precluded our expert on this point, it also recognized that we might have the ability to introduce the value that Marriott itself derived from its customers’ data at trial as a component of damages the class sustained. The Court also accepted our experts’ damages methodology that Marriott and Starwood guests overpaid when making hotel reservations because of substandard security. Finally, the Court found that we could seek to recover nominal damages and statutory damages in some states. Marriott and Accenture are facing significant liability here, and we look forward to holding them to their legal and moral responsibilities.”

Filed in January 2018, the lawsuit alleges that Starwood, and later Marriott, took more than four years to discover the long-running data breach. Marriott became the world’s largest hotel chain when it acquired Starwood that same year.

Beginning in 2014 or earlier, and continuing through November 2018, hackers exploited vulnerabilities in Starwood’s network to access the guest reservation system and steal customer data. Marriott discovered the breach on September 8, 2018 but failed to publicly disclose it until nearly three months later, on November 30, 2018, when it admitted that there had been unauthorized access to the Starwood guest reservation database. This database contained personal customer information, including names, mailing addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, passport numbers, Starwood Preferred Guest account information, date of birth, gender, arrival and departure information, reservation dates, and communication preferences. For some customers, the information also included payment card numbers and payment card expiration dates.

The case is In re: Marriott International, Inc. Customer Data Security Breach Litigation, MDL No. 19-md-2879 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Maryland. See the Court’s opinion.

About DiCello Levitt Gutzler

At DiCello Levitt Gutzler, we’re dedicated to achieving justice for our clients through class action, business-to-business, public client, whistleblower, personal injury, and mass tort litigation. Our lawyers are highly respected for their ability to litigate and win cases – whether by trial, settlement, or otherwise—for people who have suffered harm, global corporations that have sustained significant economic losses, and public clients seeking to protect their citizens’ rights and interests. Every day, we put our reputations—and our capital—on the line for our clients.

About Hausfeld

Hausfeld is a leading litigation law firm with offices in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., as well as in the UK and continental Europe. In the last decade, Hausfeld has won landmark trials, negotiated complex settlements, and recovered billions of dollars for clients both in and out of court. Hausfeld lawyers consistently apply forward-thinking ideas and creative solutions to the most vexing global legal challenges faced by clients. As a result, the firm’s litigators have developed numerous innovative legal theories that have expanded the quality and availability of legal recourse for claimants around the globe.

About Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC

Cohen Milstein is a premier, nationally renowned plaintiff-side law firm. With over 100 attorneys in six offices in Washington, D.C., Chicago, Ill., New York, N.Y., Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., Philadelphia, Pa. and Raleigh, N.C., the firm engages in groundbreaking and high-stakes class action litigation concerning social and economic justice. Through the courts, we have helped our clients hold bad-actors accountable, while establishing legal precedent that may have a lasting and positive impact for future generations. These efforts have led us to be recognized by the industry as: “The most effective law firm in the United States for lawsuits with a strong social and political component” by Inside Counsel Magazine and a “Class-Action Powerhouse” by Forbes.

Contacts

Media:
Jason Milch
Baretz+Brunelle
jmilch@baretzbrunelle.com
312.379.9406

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Children as Young as 10 Years Old Forced to do Labor in Service of Scientology Instead of Receiving Basic Schooling; Isolated from Parents and Endured Verbal Abuse for Minor or Fabricated Transgressions

Plaintiffs Were Compelled to Join the Crew on Scientology’s “Freewinds” Ship, Forced to Work Under Extreme Conditions With No Way Out

TAMPA, FLORIDA – Three individuals who were raised in Scientology and forced to work in its service from childhood today filed a groundbreaking lawsuit against Scientology’s leader, David Miscavige, and five Scientology-affiliated corporations, alleging violation of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA). The filing details the horrific mistreatment the plaintiffs endured under the control of Scientology, including forced labor, verbal and physical abuse, intimidation and coercion at Scientology’s primary hub of activity in Clearwater, Florida and for more than a decade on board Scientology’s cruise vessel, the Freewinds.

The plaintiffs allege that, beginning in childhood, they were required to commit to a lifetime of service to Scientology, enduring regular verbal abuse, crowded living conditions and sleep deprivation. Children were repeatedly told that those who attempted to leave Scientology could suffer awful fates, including death.

Beginning as young as 10, the plaintiffs were forced to work in Scientology’s Cadet Org and Sea Org, providing unpaid and extremely low-paid labor, including landscaping, food service and janitorial work. The plaintiffs allege that Scientology employs numerous psychologically devastating tactics to achieve coercive control over members, including lengthy interrogation sessions in which individuals who have been abused are compelled to take full blame for those abuses and agree to make amends to their abusers.

“For years, Scientology has exploited defenseless children and groomed them for a lifetime of servitude. Our clients were subjected to systematic indoctrination and manipulation that normalizes extremely abusive treatment. Throughout their formative years and into adulthood, they were forced to perform labor under unimaginable conditions,” said Neil L. Glazer, an attorney for the plaintiffs and shareholder at the law firm of Kohn, Swift & Graf, P.C. “Their lives have been forever altered by this mistreatment.”

“Growing up in Scientology, being separated from my family and subjected to severe verbal and physical abuse has scarred me in ways that I am still working through and uncovering.  Sometimes it feels like it will never end.  All the while, Scientology continues to abuse and exploit its members, including young children, and does so with virtually unchecked power,” said plaintiff Gawain Baxter. “To this day, there are completely defenseless minors being mistreated by Scientology leadership. Just as I was, they are isolated from family and have no way to protect themselves. Scientology must be held accountable for the human rights abuses and trauma it has inflicted without a shred of remorse.”

Plaintiff Gawain Baxter was required at age six to sign a contract pledging to serve Scientology, and by extension David Miscavige, for one billion years. Beginning at age 10, he alleges he was forced to attend expensive indoctrination sessions, the costs of which he was continually told were recorded as a mounting financial debt he would have to repay if he ever left the Sea Org.

As a teenager, Gawain Baxter was allegedly transported from Clearwater to Curacao and compelled to board the Freewinds, where his identification documents were immediately confiscated. There, he was forced to provide manual labor with few breaks and little sleep. Tasks were often incredibly dangerous, such as when he was ordered to squeeze inside fuel tanks to clean them from the inside, without a respirator to protect him from the fumes. When the Freewinds underwent extensive renovations, he worked more than 18 hours per day and was exposed to blue asbestos and concrete dust. He was not provided any protective equipment and soon became ill, coughing up blood.

“Scientology cannot be allowed to continue exploiting the labor of its members and inflicting emotional and physical abuse without facing justice,” said Ted Leopold, an attorney for the plaintiffs at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC. “Our hope is that this lawsuit will assist the plaintiffs in holding Miscavige and Scientology accountable for this egregious mistreatment.”

The second Plaintiff, Laura Baxter, grew up in Scientology in Germany. At age seven, her mother signed her up to take Scientology courses. By 15, she worked as a staff member for Scientology in Stuttgart, which required her to undergo frequent “auditing” and “security checks.” Her mother eventually signed over guardianship to a senior Scientology officer, after which she was transported to the Freewinds. Her identifying documents were also confiscated and she was forced to do labor and endure punishment for minor or fabricated transgressions.

In 2004, a prominent Scientologist celebrated their birthday aboard the Freewinds. At the celebration, the plaintiff was allegedly falsely accused of monopolizing their attention and, as punishment, was confined to the hot engine room for three days and was only allowed to leave for a few minutes at a time for meals and a few hours of sleep in her room. During her time on the Freewinds she continued to endure further abuse, such as being forced to confess to alleged crimes against Scientology, having her meager pay withheld, being confined and under constant surveillance.

Gawain and Laura Baxter met aboard the Freewinds and ultimately married. Eager to escape the Sea Org, they made the decision to become pregnant, which would give them the opportunity to leave due to a policy change following unfavorable news coverage of the Sea Org’s forced abortion policy. When Laura became pregnant, the two were offered a choice to terminate the pregnancy or leave the Sea Org. When they declined to terminate the pregnancy, they were isolated from the ship’s staff, put under full-time surveillance and required to undergo ethics handlings and security checks as punishment. Gawain was also interrogated and berated for not forcing Laura to terminate her pregnancy. After weeks of punishments and isolation when it became clear that they were not going to comply, Gawain and Laura were permitted to leave the ship.

To this day, they are traumatized as a result of what they endured since childhood. They regularly receive intimidating phone calls from Scientologists as a reminder that they continue to be monitored.

The third plaintiff, Valeska Paris, was subjected to Scientology indoctrination beginning when she was just four years old. During this training, which continued throughout her childhood and adolescence, she was regularly interrogated by adults who asked graphic questions about sexual acts for hours at a time. When she was six years old, Valeska’s parents deposited her with the Cadet Org in England, where she was provided minimal schooling and was forced to work for hours every day.

When she was 14 years old, Valeska was pressured into going to work in the Sea Org at Scientology’s “Flag Base” in Clearwater, Florida. There, among other things, she was punished for reporting having been sexually assaulted by a senior Scientology officer. After several years of mistreatment, Scientology’s leader, David Miscavige ordered her to be put to work on the Freewinds, where she toiled under extreme conditions for many years.

“Because of the horrors I experienced at the hands of Scientology from childhood and throughout my adolescence, I still have nightmares. Scientology is a system that is designed to perpetuate fear, and I continue to struggle with the trauma. No person – child or adult – should have to go through the daily abuse and manipulation I faced. Though bringing this lawsuit is a great personal risk, I could not stand by while countless children continue to be trained for a lifetime of slavery and abuse,” said plaintiff Valeska Paris.

TVPRA is a 2008 law that strengthened the federal trafficking laws established in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000.

The lawsuit also names Church of Scientology International Religious Technology Center (RTC), International Association of Scientologists Administrations (IASA), Church of Scientology Flag Service Organization, Inc., and Church of Scientology Flag Ship Service Organization, Inc. as defendants.

The lawsuit has been filed on behalf of the three plaintiffs, who are represented by Neil L. Glazer of Kohn, Swift & Graf, P.C., Ted Leopold of national plaintiff firm Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll,  Gregory Hansel of Preti Flaherty, and Warren A. Zimmerman.

Media Contact: Berlin Rosen / cohenmilstein@berlinrosen.com

About Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC

Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC is recognized as one of the premier law firms in the country, handling complex plaintiff-side litigation. With more than 100 attorneys, Cohen Milstein has offices in Washington, D.C., Chicago, Ill., New York, N.Y., Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., Philadelphia, Pa. and Raleigh, N.C. For additional information, call 202.408.4600.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Engineering Firms Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam and Veolia Allegedly Failed to Identify Corroding Pipes as Thousands of Children and Families Grew Sicker

Environmental Protection Agency Failed to Notify Residents of Significant Lead Poisoning Risk

FLINT, MI – On the eighth anniversary of the water supply tragedy that resulted in the deadly Flint Water Crisis, attorneys representing more than 5,000 Flint residents in their class action lawsuit against Veolia North America (Veolia) and Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam (LAN), as well as a parallel lawsuit against the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), demanded a full measure of justice.

“The residents of Flint have endured unimaginable pain, loss and illness as a result of the reckless negligence of the EPA and the two engineering firms that advised the City of Flint, Veolia and Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam,” said Ted Leopold, court-appointed co-lead counsel and partner at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll. “Though we have made important progress toward holding accountable the bad actors that enabled this public health disaster, our fight to win full justice for the thousands of children and families whose lives have been irreparably damaged continues.”

“We believe a Michigan Jury will find that the evidence proves that the two engineering companies acted negligently and the EPA acted recklessly, thus endangering the lives of the children and adults of Flint,” said Michael Pitt, court-appointed co-lead counsel and founding partner at Pitt McGehee Palmer & Rivers. “Our work will not end until these responsible parties are brought to justice and made to pay for the harm they caused.”

In 2014, the City of Flint hired LAN and Veolia to advise on the City’s decision to switch its water supply from the highly contaminated Flint River. As citizens began raising concerns about the water’s smell, color and taste, and even after a deadly outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease, the engineering companies failed to take even basic steps required of professional engineers, and failed to identify corroding pipes as the root cause.

Instead, both companies recommended that the City double the water system’s dose of ferric chloride, a highly acidic chemical, which only compounded the water pipes’ corrosion issues. These negligent actions cause irreparable damage to residents’ health, including and especially to young children who must forever live with the damage of lead poisoning. Additionally, pipes in homes throughout Flint have been permanently corroded, making it nearly impossible for families to leverage or sell their homes.

The EPA, which was aware of these dangerous issues and their long-term impacts on health, never warned Flint residents, even as the public health crisis quickly escalated.

In 2020, plaintiffs in the Flint class action lawsuit won a landmark $626.25 million settlement against multiple government defendants, including the State of Michigan, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and former Governor Rick Snyder.

Media Contact: Berlin Rosen / cohenmilstein@berlinrosen.com

About Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC

Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC is recognized as one of the premier law firms in the country, handling complex plaintiff-side litigation. With more than 100 attorneys, Cohen Milstein has offices in Washington, D.C., Chicago, Ill., New York, N.Y., Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., Philadelphia, Pa. and Raleigh, N.C. For additional information, visit www.cohenmilstein.com or call 202.408.4600.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

RALEIGH – Jay Chaudhuri has been selected for the Core Rodel Fellowship in Public Leadership, joining a bipartisan cohort of 24 state and local-level elected officials from across the United States.  In addition, he has been selected for the E Pluribus Unum Fellowship, joining a cohort of 10 Southern state legislators.

The Rodel fellowship defines its purpose as to “examine new leadership approaches, deepen self-criticism and self-awareness, and learn how to work together across party lines to identify shared values and find solutions to common problems.” The program exists within the Rodel Leadership Institute, an independent nonprofit with the mission to strengthen democracy and public leadership in the United States.

The Unum fellowship will focus on advancing racial and economic equity in the South through sustainable change and collaboration.  The fellowship is hosted by E Pluribus Unum, a nonprofit founded by former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu.

“I am honored to be selected for both fellowships,” said Chaudhuri. “I’m excited to work together with other state and local leaders to focus on the issues of race and democracy – two important issues that we must address together as a country.”

For more information about the E Pluribus Unum Fellowship, visit Unum Fund.

Appointment recognizes nationally renowned class and collective action civil rights and employment litigator and industry thought leader

Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC, a leading U.S. plaintiffs’ law firm, has appointed Christine E. Webber co-chair of the firm’s nationally recognized Civil Rights & Employment practice.

A civil rights and employment class and collective action law dynamo, Ms. Webber is a partner at Cohen Milstein and has played a principal role in managing the Civil Rights & Employment practice alongside founder and Co-Chair Joseph M. Sellers since the two joined the firm in 1997 from the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, an organization providing pro bono representation in civil rights cases.

Ms. Webber is also the co-chair of the National Employment Lawyers’ Association’s Class Action Committee, the nation’s pre-eminent employee-side legal association, a position she has held since 1999, and a member of Law360’s Employment Editorial Advisory Board since 2020.

“I am honored to help lead this team of incredible attorneys who have distinguished themselves as some of the most innovative advocates for civil rights and workers’ rights in the country,” said Christine Webber, co-chair of the Civil Rights & Employment practice at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll. “I am so proud to work with this team to represent our brave clients who fight to ensure equal rights and end workplace injustices, seeking a more inclusive future and end to invidious discrimination based on gender, race, age, or other personal characteristics. Their cause and an unwavering belief in the justice system are cornerstones of our Civil Rights & Employment practice. I look forward to building upon these foundations and expanding the firm’s role in advancing justice.”

Ms. Webber is one of the country’s leading voices in addressing novel artificial intelligence (AI)-related discrimination claims under federal fair housing and other civil rights and employment laws. She is currently lead trial lawyer in CFHC, et al. v. CoreLogic Rental Property Solutions (D. Conn.), a cutting-edge civil rights case challenging CoreLogic’s algorithmic background check which allegedly discriminates against African-American and Latinos seeking rental housing in violation of the Fair Housing Act. Trial is currently scheduled for March 2022. Because of the novel AI-related discrimination claims, the case has been identified by Law360as one of “3 Real Estate Cases to Watch in 2022.”

Ms. Webber frequently speaks on AI-related discrimination issues, including most recently to Fortune, “A New Law Governing the Use of A.I. in Hiring May Trigger Lawsuits,” (December 2021) and at Yale Law School’s ISP/WIII AI Governance Symposium (November 2021).

Ms. Webber is also recognized by the legal industry for her work. In 2022, The Best Lawyers in America named Ms. Webber the “Lawyer of the Year” in the Washington, D.C. metro area in the category of “Employment Law – Individuals.” In 2019, Ms. Webber was the recipient of the “Roderic V.O. Boggs Award” for her “sustained commitment” to the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs’ values and clients. Annually, she is recognized by Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Employment Lawyers, The Best Lawyers in America, and Super Lawyers.

With the appointment of Ms. Webber, nine out of the ten practice groups at Cohen Milstein are now led or co-led by women.

“Having worked with Christine for nearly 30 years, I am thrilled that she agreed to serve as co-chair of the practice group with me,” said Joseph M. Sellers, Co-Chair of the Civil Rights & Employment practice at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll. “She is an exceptional litigator and a tremendously collaborative and creative leader who is as dedicated to our clients as she is to the growth and wellbeing of our practice. She will be an invaluable asset to the future of our practice.”

Cohen Milstein’s Civil Rights & Employment practice includes civil rights and employment law visionaries and innovators who have litigated and tried several landmark civil rights discrimination class actions, including Keepseagle v. Vilsack (D.D.C.), resulting in a historic settlement of $760 million for Native American farmers and ranchers; and Department of Homeland Security, et al. v. Regents of the University of California, et al. (U.S. Supreme Court), blocking the Trump Administration’s plan to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and preserving immigration protections for approximately 650,000 current DACA recipients. The Court’s 5-4 ruling upheld the partial summary judgment in Cohen Milstein’s case: NAACP, et al. v. Donald J. Trump, as President of the United States, et al. (D.D.C.)  – one of three cases consolidated before the Supreme Court; as well as National Association of the Deaf v. Harvard & MIT (D. Mass.), which resulted in two landmark settlements on behalf of deaf and hearing-impaired individuals. The ruling required two of the most lauded academic research institutions in the world to include closed captioning in all online content, establishing a precedent for academia and business worldwide.

Alongside the NAACP, the firm is currently litigating Thompson, et al. v. Trump, et al. (D.D.C.), brought under the “Ku Klux Klan Act” of 1871 against Donald J. Trump, in his personal capacity, and others for conspiring to prevent members of Congress from discharging their official duties to approve the counted results of the Electoral College in order to elect the next President and Vice President of the United States on January 6, 2021.

In 2021, Cohen Milstein’s Civil Rights & Employment practice was named Law360’s “Practice Group of the Year – Employment.” Similarly, the practice and team members are ranked among the top in the industry nationwide by Lawdragon, The National Law Journal, and Legal 500 among others. In the area of employment law, the team continues to focus on litigating novel, cutting-edge cases involving the FLSA, Title VII, Equal Pay Act, Pregnancy Discrimination Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, and Family and Medical Leave Act; procedural issues related to class certification and class arbitration; and novel joint employer liability issues.

About Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll

Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC is recognized as one of the premier law firms in the country handling major, complex plaintiff-side litigation. With more than 100 attorneys, Cohen Milstein has offices in Washington, D.C., Chicago, Ill., New York, N.Y., Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., Philadelphia, Pa. and Raleigh, N.C. For additional information, visit https://www.cohenmilstein.com or call 202.408.4600.

FOR IMMEDITE RELEASE:

NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / December 3, 2021 – Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC (“Cohen Milstein”) today announced that its ongoing investigation has led to the filing of a class action complaint against Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (“Bristol Myers”) and several of its senior executives and directors. The case was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Case No. 21-cv-10351.

The action was brought on behalf of all former Celgene Corporation (“Celgene”) (CELG) shareholders that received Contingent Value Rights (“CVRs”) in exchange for their Celgene shares pursuant to Bristol Myers’ $74 billion acquisition of Celgene on November 20, 2019, and were damaged thereby, and all persons who purchased CVRs between November 20, 2019 and December 31, 2020 (the “Class Period”), and who were damaged thereby (the “Class”).

The action arises from Bristol Myers’ alleged subversion of the FDA approval process for the purpose of avoiding a $6.4 billion payment to CVR holders. By Bristol Myers’ own design, the CVR payout required approval of three blockbuster therapies, including the cancer therapy Liso-cel, by specified dates (“Milestones”). From the outset of the Merger, Bristol Myers allegedly knew it would not take diligent efforts to obtain FDA approval for Liso-cel by the Milestone date of December 31, 2020. Accordingly, the statements in the Joint Proxy, Registration Statement and in various other SEC filings, on conference calls and in press releases concerning the efforts Bristol Myers would make to meet the Milestones, the likelihood that the Milestones would be met and the purported value of the CVRs were materially false and misleading when made.

The complaint asserts claims under Sections 10(b), 14(a) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rules 10b-5, 14a-9 promulgated thereunder, and Sections 11 and 12(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933. See a copy of the complaint.

If you wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in this matter, you must file a motion with the Court no later than December 6, 2021. Any member of the proposed Class may move the Court to serve as a lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or they may choose to do nothing and remain a member of the Class.

Cohen Milstein has significant experience representing investors in securities class actions, having acted as lead counsel in hundreds of cases and recovered billions of dollars for plaintiffs since 1969. With more than 100 attorneys in offices in Washington, D.C., New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., and Raleigh, N.C., the firm is active in major litigation pending in federal and state courts throughout the nation.

If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, please contact: Michael B. Eisenkraft, Esq. of Cohen Milstein at (212) 838-7797 or via e-mail at meisenkraft@cohenmilstein.com.

Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. This may be considered Attorney Advertising.

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