Meites, Mulder, Mollica & Glink has built a reputation as a leader in large, complex class actions and multi-plaintiff lawsuits. We have handled dozens of class actions suits, winning certification in the majority and successfully negotiating creative and wide-reaching settlements.
The firm’s tenacity and long history of expertise in class action litigation began with Romasanta v. United Airlines, Inc., 537 F.2d 915 (7th Cir. 1975), aff'd, 432 U.S. 385 (1977); 587 F.2d 357 (7th Cir. 1978), cert. denied, 442 U.S. 934 (1979); 717 F.2d 1140 (7th Cir. 1983), cert. denied, 466 U.S. 944 (1984); 745 F.2d 1081 (7th Cir. 1984), cert. denied, 471 U.S. 1065 (1985), a sex discrimination class action on behalf of 1,661 class members who worked as flight attendants for United Airlines. In that case, which made its way through several appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court, the firm won a $37 million settlement that included reinstatement for about 800 class members. The district court stated:
"There isn't any question at all that none of that would have happened without the competence, the tenacious and conscientious efforts of class counsel that have gone on for 12 years. If class counsel had not come in when they came in, the whole thing would have ended 12 years ago with no recovery to the class, to anyone. I say without hesitation that the services have not been merely competent; I think they have been extraordinary."
Since that victory, the firm has continued to deliver the highest-quality work on behalf of plaintiff classes in large, complex cases. For example, in Nauman v. Abbott Laboratories and Hospira, Inc., No. 04-C-7199, 2005 WL 3601696 (Dec. 30, 2005, N.D.Ill.), 37 Employee Benefits Cas. 1875, we achieved class certification against Abbott and Hospira on behalf of some 8,000 class members who lost retirement benefits when Abbott spun them off to a new company. In Mattson v. Montana Power Company, 309 Mont. 506 (Mont. May 30, 2002) (NO. 01-781), we won certification of a class of approximately 3,000 landowners in Montana who allege that the power company’s operation of a dam is causing them to lose shoreline property. In Hill v. Shell Oil Company, 2002 WL 663583, No. 98 C 5766 (Mar. 28, 2002, N.D.Ill), we achieved class certification and later secured injunctive relief via settlement for a nationwide class of African-American customers who alleged they were required to prepay for gas purchases while white customers were not. We have also won recent class certification victories in cases against the pharmaceutical company Baxter International (Rogers v. Baxter Intern. Inc., 2006 WL 794734, No. 04 C 6476 (Mar. 22, 2006, N.D.Ill.), 37 Employee Benefits Cas. 2523), financial services giant Tyco (unreported opinion of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Chancery Division, March 14, 2006), and machinery manufacturer Caterpillar (Winnett v. Caterpillar, 2007 WL 2044098 (July 12, 2007, M.D.Tenn.), 182 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2419, 41 Employee Benefits Cas. 1621.
We are currently litigating several class actions in state and federal courts, including claims based on sex discrimination, loss of employee benefits, and violation of consumer-protection statutes.
We welcome the opportunity to build co-counsel relationships with attorneys who find themselves with a potential class action or multi-plaintiff lawsuit and seek a partner with experience in class action litigation. We have partnered with many solo practitioners and firms to develop and successfully prosecute large class actions. We also welcome referrals. Please contact us via email or call us at 312-263-0272 to discuss potential class action claims.
