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Mass Tort, Multi-District,
and Class Action Litigation


Over the past decade and half, Helmsing Leach’s mass torts defense lawyers have served as national, trial team, science team, regional or State of Alabama counsel for defendants in more than 20 separate multi-district litigations (MDLs) involving pharmaceutical products, medical devices, chemicals and other products, and in the process have helped dispose of more than 2,000 individual plaintiff cases and 30,000 unfiled claims. We have acted as lead defense counsel and as State of Alabama counsel in numerous class actions involving both nationwide and regional/state classes. We also regularly defend individual mass tort cases and claims throughout Alabama and the southeastern United States.

  • Kumho Tire Co v. Carmichael, 526 U.S. 137 (1999)
  • Tillman v. R. J. Reynolds Tobacco, 340 F. 3d 1277 (11th Cir. 2003)
  • Wyatt v. Matrixx Initiatives, Inc., 2007 WL 7238402 (N.D. Ala. 2007)
  • Benkwith v. Matrixx Initiatives, Inc., 467 F. Supp. 2d 1316 (M.D. Ala. 2006)
  • Sutherland v. Matrixx Initiatives, Inc., 2006 WL 5185611 (N.D. Ala. 2006)
  • Hester v. Bayer Corporation, 206 F.R.D. 683 (M.D. Ala. 2001)
  • Wakeland v. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp., 996 F. Supp. 1213 (S. D. Ala. 1998)
  • Patterson v. DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc., 2011 WL 3047794 (N.D. Ohio 2011)
  • Courtaulds Fibers, Inc. v. Long,. 770 So.2d 198 (Ala. 2000)
  • Tillman v. R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., 89 F. Supp. 2d 1297 (S.D. Ala. 2000)
  • Woodward v. NOR-AM Chemical Co., 1996 WL 1063670 (S. D. Ala. 1996)
  • Served as co-national counsel for leading pharmaceutical company in hormone therapy MDL
  • Served as Alabama counsel for international hip manufacturer in litigation involving metal-on-metal hip prostheses
  • Represented oil services contractor and cement provider in more than 30 class actions filed in Alabama arising out of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill
  • Served on trial team for major international pharmaceutical company in fraud pricing case tried for two weeks in Montgomery, Alabama, ending in dismissal of all claims after appeal
  • Defended international tobacco manufacturer and regional distributors and retailers in numerous Alabama product liability cases, obtaining dismissal of all claims and cases
  • Defended multiple significant personal injury claims against major railroad carrier arising out of major accident in Marengo County, Alabama
  • Defended several multi-plaintiff wrongful death and catastrophic injury claims arising out of separate aviation accidents
  • Served as lead counsel in settlement of nationwide consumer class action involving fraud claims against telecommunications company
  • Acted as Alabama counsel in settlement of nationwide toxic tort class action involving exposure to herbicide; handled class notification, opt-outs and other issues.
  • Served as lead counsel in settlement of state-wide opt-out class in fraud and antitrust litigation against major telecommunications provider.
 

Attorneys

Joseph P. H. Babington, Russell C. Buffkin, Patrick C. Finnegan, William W. Watts, III.

Litigation

Corporate