Diana L. Martin is of counsel at Cohen Milstein and a member of the Complex Tort Litigation practice. She handles complex legal issues and crafts innovative strategies for emerging liability theories in the areas of product liability, environmental toxic tort, consumer class, mass tort, False Claims Act, and managed care litigation. She provides appellate support at the trial stage and handles interlocutory and final appeals in state and federal courts throughout the country.
As a vital member of the trial team, Diana strategizes optimal approaches for case presentation, drafts and argues complex and case dispositive motions, handles jury instruction charge conferences, and guides trial counsel in preserving and protecting the record for potential appeals. At the appellate level, Diana has successfully defended multi-million-dollar judgments and has obtained reversals of orders disposing of class actions and mass tort litigation, ensuring that hundreds of plaintiffs have the opportunity to prove their cases in court.
- American Association for Justice
- Federal Bar Association
- Florida Bar Association
- Civil Procedure Rules Committee (2021–Present)
- Chair, Journal/News Editorial Board (2012-2013)
- Journal/News Editorial Board (2007-2013)
- Florida Justice Association
- Palm Beach County Bar Association
- Palm Beach County Justice Association
- Florida Association for Women Lawyers
- Taxpayers Against Fraud
- Public Education Committee (2023–Present)
- Board Member, Florida Bar Foundation (2015-2016)
- Juvenile Solitary Confinement Class Action: H.C., et al. v. Ric Bradshaw, et al.
- Named Most Effective Pro Bono Lawyer by the Daily Business Review in 2018
- Staff Attorney, the Hon. Judge Martha C. Warner, Court of Appeals, Fourth District of Florida
- Audit Committee Chair, Families First of Palm Beach County (2008-Present)
- Board of Directors, Families First of Palm Beach County (2005 – 2008)
- President, Florida Legal Services (2015-2016)
- Board of Directors, Florida Legal Services (2007-2016)
- Florida
- University of Florida, J.D., High Honors, Order of the Coif, 2002
- Flagler College, B.A., summa cum laude, Departmental Honors, 1999
- Law Clerk, Hon. Martha C. Warner in Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal, 2002-2005
Current Cases
Baxter, et. al. v. Church of Scientology International
Baxter, et. al. v. Church of Scientology International (M.D. Fla.): Cohen Milstein represents plaintiffs in a human trafficking and forced labor lawsuit against David Miscavige; Church of Scientology International; Religious Technology Center, Inc.; International Association of Scientologists Administrations, Inc.; Church of Scientology Flag Service Organization, Inc.; and Church of Scientology Flag Ship Service Organization, Inc., for violations of the United States Code Chapter 77 of Title 18 and the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act.
Cape Fear River PFAS Litigation: Nix, et al. v. The Chemours Company FC, LLC et al.
Cape Fear River Contaminated Water Litigation (E.D.N.C.): Cohen Milstein is representing North Carolina residents and homeowners along the Cape Fear River in this certified toxic tort class action against DuPont and Chemours for allegedly dumping toxic GenX chemicals, a form of PFAS aka “forever chemicals,” into the Cape Fear River, impacting the drinking water and homes of more than 770,000 residents throughout the region.
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.
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.
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.
Past Cases
Caterpillar, Inc. Engine Products Liability Litigation
Caterpillar Product Liability Litigation (D.N.J.): Cohen Milstein was co-lead counsel in a nationwide product liability class action lawsuit alleging Caterpillar sold diesel engines with defective exhaust emissions system that resulted in power losses and shutdowns. The case was settled in September 2016 for $60 million.
Gillig v. United Healthcare
Gillig v. United Healthcare (Cir. Crt., Palm Beach Cnty., Fla.): Cohen Milstein represented Philip Gillig in this Managed Care Abuse lawsuit against United Healthcare for failing to provide Mr. Gillig with timely access to medical care and treatment, thereby failing to administer medically necessary benefits, despite Mr. Gillig’s declining condition. As a result, Mr. Gillig fell into septic shock and suffered significantly.
H.C., et al. v. Ric Bradshaw, et al.
H.C., et al. v. Ric Bradshaw, et al. (S.D. Fla.): Cohen Milstein, in conjunction with the Human Rights Defense Center and the Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County, successfully represented juvenile offenders against the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office and the Palm Beach County School Board, challenging the practice of placing juvenile offenders in solitary confinement and for allegedly denying mandated educational services to juvenile offenders held at the Jail, “including services needed to address their disabilities,” in violation of the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Cohen Milstein and its co-counsel resolved the matter in 2018 by obtaining a settlement that was first-of-its-kind in Florida, as it ended the systemic practice of holding juveniles charged as adults in solitary confinement and ensures the provision of educational services to such juveniles.
Hand et al., v. Scott et al.
Hand et al., v. Scott et.al (N.D. Fla.): Cohen Milstein and Fair Elections Legal Network, a national voting rights organization, achieved a major victory in 2018 on behalf of former felons in Florida, who claimed their constitutional rights had been infringed by Florida’s Clemency Board. The court ruled that the Clemency Board’s process to grant or deny former felons’ restoration of voting rights applications was unconstitutionally arbitrary and violated the U.S. Constitution’s First and Fourteenth Amendments.
Herrera et al v. JFK Medical Center Limited Partnership and HCA, Inc.
Herrera v. JFK Medical Center and HCA, Inc. (M.D. Fla.): Cohen Milstein was lead counsel in a class action lawsuit alleging that four Florida plaintiffs and others like them were billed inflated and exorbitant fees for emergency radiology services, in excess of the amount allowed by law, covered in part by their mandatory Florida Personal Injury Protection insurance. When the district court struck plaintiffs’ class claims, Ms. Martin successfully petitioned the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals to accept immediate appellate review and obtained a reversal of the district court’s order. Cohen Milstein resolved the case and secured final approval of a $220 million injunctive relief settlement.
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.
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.
- Palm Beach Illustrated’s Top Lawyers List (2021-2023)
- The Best Lawyers in America (2021-2025)
- Daily Business Review’s Most Effective Lawyers: Pro Bono (2018)
- South Florida Legal Guide Top Lawyers (2012-2022)
November 1, 2024
Office of the Attorney General Provides Update on Washington Bridge Litigation Team
Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll will work with Savage Law Partners under the direction of the Attorney General’s Office, to represent the State in the Washington Bridge lawsuit.
Articles | State of Rhode Island, Attorney General Peter F. Neronha
August 17, 2023
Wildfire Lawsuits Against US Over 2016 Tennessee Blaze Revived
A U.S. appeals court on Thursday revived lawsuits against the federal government by victims of the 2016 Great Smoky Mountains wildfires, which killed 14 people and caused over $1 billion in damage. A three-judge panel of Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a lower-court judge’s dismissal of lawsuits alleging that park officials failed […]
In the News | Reuters
March 10, 2023
Janssen Must Hand Over Records In Kickback Case
Janssen Biotech Inc. must hand over its communications with federal agencies regarding a former employee’s claims filed on behalf of the government that the company paid doctors kickbacks to boost its drug sales, a Boston federal judge ordered. Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge M. Page Kelley settled a crossfire of discovery motions in an order Thursday […]
In the News | Law360
December 16, 2022
Janssen Thwarting Docs Order in Kickback Suit, Court Told
Pharmaceutical giant Janssen is refusing to comply with previous orders for discovery, impeding the progress of a suit alleging that it paid kickbacks to doctors to boost sales of certain drugs, attorneys for a relator told a Massachusetts federal judge Thursday. In a memorandum to U.S. District Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor, relator Julie Long […]
In the News | Law360
September 7, 2022
11th Circ. Revives Bellwether Cases in Chiquita Murder MDL
The Eleventh Circuit has revived a bunch of bellwether cases in a massive multidistrict litigation alleging Chiquita Brands International funded a Colombian paramilitary group that killed thousands of people, ruling on Tuesday that a Florida district court wrongly precluded the cases from going to trial. In a 104-page unanimous published opinion, the court reversed much of a summary judgment […]
In the News | Law360
September 11, 2020
Judge Refuses to Extinguish Wildfire Lawsuits Against US Government
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park cases, filed in 2018, allege that National Park Service failed to warn local officials and the area community about a fire that broke out Nov. 23, 2016, eventually charring more than 10,000 acres. As wildfires ravage the West Coast, victims of a 2016 wildfire in Great Smoky Mountains National […]
In the News | Law.com
September 9, 2020
Judge: US Park Hasn’t Shown Enough Done to Inform of Fire
U.S. park officials have failed to show enough was done to keep the public updated as a deadly wildfire spread from Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 2016, a judge ruled. The decision Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Ronnie Greer in Knoxville keeps lawsuits by survivors of the blaze on track for a potential trial, […]
In the News | Associated Press
March 19, 2020
Artificial Ethics: Self-Driving Cars Making Life and Death Decisions
As we begin a new year, we are all no doubt grateful for the blessings in our lives, including the ability to achieve justice for our clients through the legal system. But, to be honest, aren’t you a little disappointed that it is now 2020 and there is no real prospect of traveling by flying […]
Articles | FJA Journal
October 25, 2019
What’s in a Defect?
The title of the section of the Journal is Products Liability. Each month, various types of defective products and corresponding litigation are described in hopes of educating you and warning you about what’s literally in your backyard. But, regardless of your legal acumen or experience level, it’s often good to take a step back and […]
Articles | FJA Journal
September 9, 2019
“Child Safety,” FJA Journal
The article “Child Safety” originally appeared in the Florida Justice Association Journal (Summer 2019). Please contact any of the authors if you’d like to learn more about Cohen Milstein’s experience in product liability claims related to products specifically designed for babies and young children. The field of child safety is always evolving. With changing federal […]
Articles
November 16, 2018
Juvenile Incarceration Changes: Solitary Confinement and Education
The first of its kind settlement in Palm Beach County is ending the practice of holding juveniles charged as adults in solitary confinement. Reported by Terri Parker: Police of the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office agreed to end the practice of putting juveniles in solitary. And Palm Beach County School Board will make sure that all jailed juveniles get the […]
In the News | WPBF 25 ABC
November 9, 2018
Sheriff to End Solitary Confinement for Teens at Palm Beach County Jail Under Settlement
Young offenders called it “the box.” It’s where their world at the Palm Beach County jail shrank to a 6-by-12 foot cell — for months. In solitary confinement, no music was allowed. No television. No human contact. If they complained, they were subject to verbal and sometimes physical abuse by sheriff’s deputies. Some of these […]
In the News | The Palm Beach Post
June 29, 2018
Recovery for Injured Workers Outside Florida’s Workers’ Compensation System
Florida’s Workers’ Compensation Act sets up a self-executing system under which an employee injured in a workplace accident can receive medical care and lost wages without filing a civil lawsuit. This system, however, does not provide all the remedies that would be necessary to make an injured worker whole. For instance, noneconomic damages, such as […]
Articles | Florida Justice Association Journal
June 21, 2018
Practice of Holding Juvenile Offenders in Solitary Confinement Challenged in Palm Beach County
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Palm Beach, FL – Today, the Human Rights Defense Center (HRDC), the Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County and the law firm of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, PLLC, filed suit in federal court challenging the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office’s practice of placing juvenile offenders in solitary confinement. The complaint, which […]
Press Releases
January 13, 2017
Former Takata Executives Indicted for Fraud and Conspiracy
A federal grand jury in Detroit has indicted three former employees of Takata, charging them with concealing deadly defects in the Japanese company’s automotive air bag inflators. The indictments on six counts of conspiracy and wire fraud were returned Dec. 7 and unsealed Friday, January 13 just hours ahead of a Justice Department news conference […]
In the News | CBS Evening News
July 15, 2016
Takata Settles Airbag Suit, Averting Testimony by Its Chief
The airbag maker Takata settled a closely watched lawsuit involving the injury and eventual death of a woman whose car crashed in 2014. The settlement was announced moments before a critical hearing in which a judge in Jacksonville, Fla., could have ordered the company’s chief executive, Shigehisa Takada, to testify in the case. Even the […]
In the News | The New York Times
January 1, 2015
Florida’s New Smoke Alarm Law Falls Short
“Effective January 1, 2015, a battery-powered smoke alarm that is newly installed or replaces an existing battery-powered smoke alarm [in a one-family or two-family dwelling in Florida] must be powered by a nonremovable, nonreplaceable battery that powers the alarm for at least 10 years.” § 553.883, Fla. Stat. As three out of every five home […]
Articles | Florida Justice Association
July 1, 2014
GM’S Ignition Switch Recalls: The List Keeps Growing
General Motors has recalled over 20 million vehicles in 2014 – more vehicles than it sold last year. Astounding. Even more astounding is that many of these recalls should have occurred long ago, but GM failed to act on information that it was using a defective ignition switch component in many of its vehicles. According to […]
Articles | Florida Justice Association Journal
April 1, 2014
Supreme Court Passes Up Opportunity to Further Chip Away at Class Relief
In what was a surprise to many who have come to believe the agenda of the Roberts Court is to completely eviscerate the class action as a vehicle for obtaining relief for consumers on a large scale, the United States Supreme Court has passed up the opportunity to further chip away at the viability of class […]
Articles | Florida Justice Association Journal
January 1, 2013
Should Your Kids be Playing With That?
As joyous as the holiday season is, every parent of young children experiences some anxiety over children’s toys in December. Will your children receive too many toys, cluttering up the house? Will your children like their new toys and play with them for more than 5 minutes? Did your children receive toys that are bound […]
Articles | Florida Justice Association Journal
May 1, 2012
Is There a Products Liability Case Without the Product?
A relatively unique aspect of products liability cases is that the event giving rise to a claim for product defects often also destroys the central evidence in the case—the defective product. Even if the product is not destroyed, the event may so damage the product that it is discarded as garbage by someone who fails to recognize its significance as evidence […]
Articles | Florida Justice Association Journal