Hagens Berman

Hagens Berman is an American plaintiffs' law firm headquartered in Seattle. The firm was founded in 1993 by Steve Berman. The firm is frequently rated as one of the top trial law firms in the United States, and Steve Berman has been named a "Titan of The Plaintiffs Bar" by Law360. Hagens Berman has been involved in municipal climate change litigation, suing oil companies on behalf of cities. The firm has been subject to an ethics investigation and sanction over its handling of thalidomide litigation involving alleged birth defects.

Hagens Berman
HeadquartersSeattle, Washington
Date founded1993
FounderSteve Berman
Websitewww.hbsslaw.com

Municipal climate change litigation

Hagens Berman employed the strategy of having cities sue oil companies over damages attributed to climate change.[1] The tactic was based on the tobacco litigation of the 1990s.[2][3] The firm represented the cities of San Francisco, Oakland, New York, and Seattle in suing five global oil companies over climate change. Hagens Berman negotiated a 23.5% contingency fee in these lawsuits. The editorial page of The Wall Street Journal referred to this strategy as "the climate-change tort racket," writing that "liberals want to use racketeering laws to prosecute so-called climate-change skeptics. But the real conspiracy may be between plaintiff lawyers and Democratic politicians who have ganged up to shake down oil companies."[4]

Ethics investigation and sanction

In 2011, Hagens Berman filed numerous lawsuits on behalf of plaintiffs who claimed to have suffered congenital injuries because their mothers took the drug thalidomide while they were pregnant in the 1950s and 1960s. In 2014, the firm became the subject of a court-ordered investigation of its handling of thalidomide lawsuits. Special master William Hangley was assigned to lead the investigation of Hagens Berman. Hangley found evidence that a Hagens Berman lawyer had altered a document he sent to a client. Another client sued the firm for allegedly deceiving her about the progress of her case; she settled with Hagens Berman for an undisclosed amount.[5]

As a result of the ethics investigation, in 2015 a federal court sanctioned the firm and found that Hagens Berman had acted with "bad faith and dishonesty" in continuing to litigate thalidomide lawsuits after discovery showed the plaintiffs' claims to be baseless or ineligible due to the statute of limitations. In sanctioning the firm, Judge Paul S. Diamond wrote that the firm had "felt no obligation to remain tethered to the truth. Clear and convincing evidence shows that the firm's bad faith and intentional misconduct undoubtedly and unnecessarily increased the costs of litigating the claims" and that "unfortunately, the firm's dishonesty in resisting sanctions and its objections to Mr. Hangley's report and recommendation only confirm his findings."[5][6]

In November 2021, five more clients of the firms sued the firm over its handling of their thalidomide claims, alleging that the firm "betrayed its thalidomide clients, sacrificing their claims and obstructing the special master's investigation in an attempt to hide its own misconduct."[5]

References
  1. Howe, Savannah (October 25, 2021). "As private lawyers try to muscle climate change cases into state courts, King County drops its federal case". Legal Newsline. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  2. Harder, Amy (January 22, 2018). "The flawed climate gambit against big oil". Axios. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  3. Flaherty, Scott (September 7, 2017). "Eying Climate Change Cases, Hagens Berman Beefs Up Environmental Group". The American Lawyer. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  4. The Editorial Board (8 June 2018). "The Climate-Change Tort Racket". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  5. Frankel, Alison (29 November 2021). "Thalidomide morass deepens for Hagens Berman as more clients sue firm". Reuters. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  6. "Johnson v. Smithkline Beecham Corp" (PDF). Thompson Reuters. U.S. District Court for Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
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