Baron & amp; Budd, P.C. is one of the largest plaintiffs law firms in the United States, having won "some of the largest recorded lawsuits and legal settlement cases". Founded in 1977, the company focuses on individuals, cities, and entities harmed by environmental toxins, fraud, or neglect of safety, and various other fields. Their work includes representatives of victims of the September 11 attacks and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Opponents of mass tort litigation have criticized the company for the persistence it represents by its clients, and for the political activities of some of its lawyers.
Video Baron & Budd, P.C.
History
Initial establishment and practice
Baron & amp; Budd started his practice in 1977. The company's first major case involved a tin smelter adjacent to one of Dallas's largest public housing projects. Baron & amp; Budd represented over 200 families in a lawsuit that eventually closed the smelter and awarded considerable damage to the court-controlled trust in favor of several hundred children. For the most part, Baron & amp; Budd has maintained a substantial presence in "litigation against former asbestos producers and companies using asbestos products", becoming one of the first US law firms to successfully test cases of mesothelioma. The company's clients in this practice have included celebrities such as actor Paul Gleason, who died of mesothelioma in 2006.
The company has also been practicing widely in other areas of mass demands, including such things as "Benzene exposure, Fen-Phen diet drug litigation and water contamination". In 1985, Baron & amp; Budd filed suit on behalf of more than 1,600 residents of the Tucson area against aircraft manufacturers, Tucson City, and Tucson Airport Authority for trichloroethylene contamination (TCE) from groundwater communities. Throughout the next 21 year legal battle, where Baron & amp; Budd finally wins, law firms help define Arizona's law on pollution coverage. This case is widely regarded as the most important in US history involving personal injuries caused by water pollution. In 2006, Baron & amp; Budd's attorneys are honored with the Trial Lawyer of the Year award by Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, "in recognition of their company working in a precedent-setting litigation involving groundwater pollution in Arizona".
When the Halliburton subsidiary filed for bankruptcy reorganization in the late 1990s, Baron & Budd stepped up to protect the rights of the company's asbestos victims. In 2002, Russell Budd, the company's managing shareholder, negotiated with Halliburton and became the principal architect in building a trust fund that will protect current and future asbestos victims throughout the United States. The agreement was reached between Halliburton and Baron & amp; Budd creates the largest asbestos trust fund of its kind anywhere in the world.
Another key development for the company occurred in 1997, when the United States Supreme Court ruled Amchem Products, Inc. v. Windsor . In this case, the plaintiff is represented by various lawyers, including from Baron & amp; Budd, objected to the justice of the completion of the class action agreed by the district court on behalf of the aggrieved party who were not effectively represented before the court. Notes for successful appeals are developed "[t] hanks mostly to lawyers at Baron & Budd, a company that represents several opponents" who insure that "there are over 30 deposition, other discoveries, and 18 days of hearing justice". These results are reinforced in the next few years in a case also borne by Baron & amp; Budd, Ortiz v. Fibreboard Corp. The decision in this case "forces the appellate court to look skeptically at the settlement of the class action that frees the defendant from the claim by the absentee claimant". During this period, the company received both criticism and praise for the persistence that its client represented. Developments in 2000 and 2010s
In 2003, Baron & amp; Budd represents the City of Santa Monica in the settlement of MTBE contamination with major oil companies. MTBE pollutes five of the 11 Santa Monica wells, forcing the city to begin importing water in 1996 for $ 3 million a year. In 2006, company founder Russell Budd "helped secure a $ 3.9 billion settlement with United States Gypsum Co. on behalf of the asbestos creditor committee in one of the largest bankruptcy settlements on record". Other famous cases by Baron & amp; Budd currently includes a "$ 13.5 million verdict in the name of the family of an East Texas man who died of mesothelioma from exposure to asbestos in his childhood, and a $ 15.5 million jury verdict in a Mississippi suit involving emissions of dioxide." In 2008, Baron & amp; Budd plays a major role in negotiations with major oil companies that have polluted drinking water through the use of MTBE as a gasoline additive. Baron & amp; Budd efforts resulted in a historic settlement, requiring oil companies to pay substantial cash payments, nearly $ 1.5 billion, to 153 public water providers in 17 states, as well as a number of private well owners.
In August 2010, environmental lawyers and Baron & amp; Budd Burton LeBlanc shareholders from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Baron & amp; Budd was retained by the state of Louisiana to advise the designated state of the guardian in relation to issues related to the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill. In October 2010, Scott Summy, head of Baron & amp; Budd's water contamination team, is one of four nationally selected lawyers to serve on the Plaintiffs Executive Committee for Gulf Multi-District Tailings Litigation (MDL) and as a member of the Plaintiffs Control Committee (PSC). In 2011, Baron & amp; Budd, along with co-advice, represented the first Chinese drywall client to be fixed by Knauf, Chinese Cinrock manufacturer.
Some corporate lawyers develop political connections from time to time. Partner Russell Budd and his wife, Dorothy, host President Barack Obama at their home in August 2010. Partners Fred Baron served as co-chair of the Kerry '04 Victory Committee, a joint effort of the Democratic National Committee and President John Kerry's campaign. The New York Times listed Bar & amp; Budd as the sixth largest source of contributions for the public prosecutor's general campaign from 2004 to 2014.
Baron & amp; Budd also received much praise from the legal organization. In September 2014, The Journal of National Law identified Baron & amp; Budd as "Trial Elite Lawyer", notes that "Baron & Budd is best known for his asbestos work but his interests run much more than that". Baron & amp; Budd was named "The Plaintiff 'Hot List" from the National Law Journal from 2003 to 2006, in 2008, and again in 2011 and 2012, and lawyers from the company have repeatedly been named "The list of best lawyers in America, received this honor for four consecutive years, from 2013 to 2017.
Recent developments
In September 2017, Baron & amp; Budd is one of two companies hired to represent Brunswick County, North Carolina in a chemical drinking water contamination investigation taken from the Cape Fear River, which allegedly involves the manufacture of perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) by Chemours, DuPont and Kuraray at a facility. in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
Baron & amp; Budd has twice represented the plaintiffs against Wells Fargo regarding practices by the company. In November 2016, Baron & amp; Budd represents a homeowner whose home valuation fee is allegedly marked by the bank, and negotiates a $ 50 million settlement after winning the claim certification as a class act. In July 2017, the company filed a lawsuit alleging that the bank had charged an auto customer loan for unnecessary insurance, causing some customers to have their car taken over.
The company represents the cities of Louisville, Cincinnati, and Birmingham, among counties and other cities, in litigation against opioid distributors, in response to the opioid addiction crisis. Their Environmental Litigation Group represents public entities, including the cities of Spokane and Seattle, as well as the State of Washington, in litigation against related Monsanto PCB contamination.
In 2017 Baron & amp; Budd investigated the potential lawsuits associated with allegations that pharmaceutical distributors "deliberately failed to monitor and report suspicious opioids." This failed monitoring and reporting, according to the company, has the potential to play a role in the opioid epidemic. The law firm had previously won a $ 177 million settlement against GlaxoSmithKline for the Avandia drug, arguing that the company misinterpreted the drug by saying that it reduced the heart's bad effects, when in fact it was not.
Maps Baron & Budd, P.C.
Philanthropy
Baron & amp; Budd is described as a "generous giving back to the community", engaging in activities such as giving holiday gifts to underprivileged children, supporting local food, and building Habitat for Humanity homes, and providing free legal services to help people in need in drafting wills and simple contracts, and resolve landlord/tenant disputes and family law matters. Baron & amp; Budd's lawyers also provide representations of victims of the September 11 attacks as part of their philanthropic efforts. To support the victims of mesothelioma, "[i] 2005, Baron & Budd have promised up to three million dollars for the International Pleural Mesothelioma Program at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston to honor asbestos exposure victims".
References
External links
- Official website
- Baron & amp; Budd's YouTube channel
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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