JANUARY 2007
•Michael Caddell and Cynthia Chapman were selected as two of the 500 Leading Plaintiffs' Lawyers in America by Lawdragon
FEBRUARY 2007
• As the Plaintiff Steering Committee member tasked with overseeing the Plaintiffs' legal briefing, Ms. Chapman was instrumental in Plaintiffs' success in defeating Medtronic's motions to dismiss hundreds of cases on the grounds of preemption and unmanifested injury.
• In bankruptcy court and federal district court in the District of Connecticut, Caddell & Chapman is pursuing legal malpractice and fiduciary-duty claims on behalf of a debtor against the debtor's former counsel, one of the world's largest law firms. The debtor owned 28 acres of industrial property in the Bronx, New York ideally‑suited to house a large power plant. The debtor alleges that its former counsel - due to negligence and conflicts with more prominent clients - needlessly advised it to file for bankruptcy protection. This resulted in a distress sale of the debtor's property in bankruptcy for much less than it otherwise would have sold for outside bankruptcy.
• In California state court, Caddell & Chapman is representing farmers from Zacatecas, Mexico in pursuing product liability claims against the manufacturer of allegedly defective irrigation drip tape. The farmers are seeking to recover damages based on substantial crop losses.
MARCH 2007
• The management company for Hotel Icon sued the owners of the hotel for a substantial sum of money for breach of the management agreement. Caddell & Chapman took the case on a "reverse" contingent fee basis, meaning its fee was to be calculated on a percentage of the amount sought by the management company in the lawsuit that the owners did not have to pay at the end of the lawsuit. The case was settled for $0.
• On March 6, 2007, the Court ruled in favor of a client and putative class represented by Caddell & Chapman when the Court denied a motion for preliminary approval of a class action settlement in Acosta, et al. v. Trans Union and Pike v. Equifax. Caddell & Chapman filed in California a nationwide class action case entitled Hernandez v. Equifax, et al against the three largest credit reporting agencies in the country, Equifax, Experian and Trans Union. Caddell & Chapman contends that these Defendants violate federal law when they publish inaccurate credit reports concerning consumers who receive a Chapter 7 bankruptcy discharge of their debts but whose pre‑discharge debts continue to appear on their credit reports as due and owing with an outstanding balance.
After Caddell & Chapman filed Hernandez, plaintiffs in Acosta and Pike entered into a settlement with two of these defendants, filed similar cases in the Central District, and sought court approval of a settlement. Caddell & Chapman opposed this settlement, and the Court agreed that this settlement should not be approved. The Court stated that "In conjunction with the serious structural defects inhering in the Settlement and the fact that the Settlement delivers grossly insufficient relief to the class, the Court is unequivocal in concluding that it cannot be approved. Following the Court's ruling, Caddell & Chapman has aggressively prosecuted its case against the Defendants. On May 15, 2007, Caddell & Chapman and its co‑counsel, filed a motion to certify a nationwide class in Hernandez and is awaiting a hearing.
MAY 2007
• Michael Caddell and John Scofield successfully resolved a products liability lawsuit for $2,625,000. The lawsuit alleged that an electronic component failed and caused a house fire and personal injuries. After the firm conducted a thorough investigation and two full‑scale burn tests to prove its theory of how the fire started, the defendant agreed to settle the case for approximately three times more than any prior personal injury claim. (Note: Under terms of the settlement, the firm cannot identify or allude to the name of the electronics company.)
• Los Angeles Superior Court gave final approval in the Toshiba class action involving Satellite A70, A75, M30X, and M35X notebook computers where 34,100 repair claims have already been honored under the new extended warranty, which was negotiated by Caddell & Chapman to commence before final approval.
• Two lawsuits for New Century Financial, Inc., a Houston based factoring company, were recently tried. The first case, against construction giant CB&I Howe Baker, was a breach of contract case tried in front of Harris County District Judge Joseph "Tad" Halbach. Judge Halbach rendered a judgment awarding New Century 100% of its claimed damages, plus all of its attorney's fees. The second case, another breach of contract case, was against Hisaw & Associates, General Contractors, a Dallas based construction company. The Dallas jury also awarded New Century its contract damages and all of its attorney's fees.
• A case was recently tied on behalf of_Austin Industrial in Brazoria County in a suit brought by a partnership between Chevron and Philips Chemical Company ("CPChem"). CPChem, claiming over $2 million in property damages, argued that Austin Industrial caused the rupture of one of its propylene lines. The jury found Austin industrial only partially responsible (and CPChem equally at fault), and only awarded $57,000 in damages.
• Caddell & Chapman participated as co‑counsel with associate general counsel for SEIU (Service Employees International Union) in representing_numerous_janitors in Texas and Illinois in class action litigation against their employer. Plaintiffs' claims arose out of the defendant's wrongful classification of the janitors as independent contractors and underpayment of wages, including failure to pay overtime and wrongful deductions for insurance. A settlement with defendants was reached and preliminarily approved by the court on May 16, 2007. Final approval was granted September 17, 2007.
• Michael Caddell and Cory Fein are also licensed to practice in California after having passed the California Bar. Michael Caddell was sworn in on May 31, 2007 by the Honorable Anthony J. Mohr, Judge, Superior Court of California.
AUGUST 2007
• In McKinney, Texas, a woman and her two young children were injured in a sequence of rear‑end collisions. In the accident, the family's two‑year‑old suffered an injury at the base of his brain which ultimately required surgery. Michael Caddell and John Scofield represented the family in claims against three drivers and obtained a favorable settlement that was approved by the 380th Judicial District Court in Collin County.
• Leading a group of Objectors, Caddell & Chapman opposed final approval of a nationwide class action settlement in a New Mexico case that challenged First Colony's charging of modal premiums to its life insurance customers. Objectors moved to intervene in the case and objected to the settlement as being neither fair, adequate, nor reasonable. Objectors also requested limited discovery into the settlement negotiations between First Colony and Class Plaintiffs because Class Counsel conducted no formal discovery before entering into the settlement. After the trial court denied Objectors' opposition to the proposed settlement and request for discovery of the settlement negotiations, it approved the settlement.
The Objectors, again led by Caddell & Chapman, appealed the denial of these requests and the order granting final approval to the New Mexico Court of Appeals. The court of appeals reversed and remanded the case, concluding-in an issue of first impression in New Mexico-that unnamed class members may appeal the approval of an opt‑out class action settlement. The opinion also is the first to establish the standards by which New Mexico courts are to evaluate the fairness, reasonableness, and adequacy of class action settlements in the state.
• Michael Caddell and Cynthia Chapman were successful in bringing about a positive resolution to a products liability lawsuit against Bridgestone Firestone. The lawsuit alleged that a catastrophic accident in Mexico involving deaths of two children was the result of a defective tire. On August 7, 2007, the settlement was approved by the Court. (Note: Under the terms of the settlement, the firm cannot state the amount of the settlement.)
SEPTEMBER 2007
• In Houston, Texas, a woman died after her Mitsubishi sedan was struck from behind and burst into flames. Michael Caddell and John Scofield successfully represented the mother of the decedent in a products liability lawsuit in which it was alleged that the car's unreasonably dangerous design had caused the post‑collision fuel fed fire. The terms of the settlement are confidential.
• In Houston, Texas, John Scofield successfully represented the family of a man who was killed in an automobile-pedestrian accident. The 165th Judicial District Court in Harris County approved the settlement, which included recoveries for the man's surviving minor daughters.
• Caddell & Chapman participated as co‑counsel with associate general counsel for SEIU (Service Employees International Union) in representing numerous janitors in Texas and Illinois in class action litigation against their employer. Plaintiffs' claims arose out of the defendant's wrongful classification of the janitors as independent contractors and underpayment of wages, including failure to pay overtime and wrongful deductions for insurance. A settlement with defendants was reached and preliminarily approved by the court on May 16, 2007. Final approval was granted September 17, 2007.
OCTOBER 2007
• In Edinburg, Texas, Michael Caddell and John Scofield prosecuted claims against a deceased man's employer, after the company's grossly negligent policies and business practices had endangered the man's health and ultimately caused his death by electrocution. The Firm obtained a favorable settlement for the worker's family.
• Michael Caddell was appointed co‑lead counsel of a certified national litigation class against LexisNexis in a case involving claims under the Fair Credit Reporting Act pending in federal district court in Richmond, Virginia.
• On the eve of trial, attorney defendants Mike Miller of Virginia and Nancy Armstrong of Mississippi declared bankruptcy to avoid trial with Caddell & Chapman centered on allegations of fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and breach of contract. Caddell &Chapman's clients provided the two defendant attorneys (and others) with over $3 million to fund the medical testing for thousands of individuals who ingested and were harmed by the diet drug fen‑phen. Caddell &Chapman's clients also provided another $3 million to finance the prosecution of these individuals' cases. The defendant attorneys eventually obtained a global settlement with fen‑phen's manufacturer, however, they refused to pay Caddell &Chapman's clients their share of the attorneys' fees and reimburse the $6 million advanced. The case was set for trial on Monday, August 13, 2007 in federal district court in McAllen. To avoid the Monday trial, however, the defendants declared bankrutpcy in Mississippi on Thursday, August 9, and waited until Friday at 5 PM to so advise Caddell & Chapman and the McAllen federal court. Caddell & Chapman is currently working to lift the automatic stay and return to McAllen for trial.
• Settlement documents have been filed with the Orange County Superior Court of California in a class action against Nissan for tire roar and abnormal tire wear on Nissan's 350Z sports car. Caddell & Chapman is co-lead settlement counsel. Preliminary approval was granted by the Court on October 25, 2007.
NOVEMBER 2007
• Caddell & Chapman is lead counsel for Plaintiffs in a nationwide class action against the Hartford insurance companies pending in federal district court in Arizona. The litigation centers on Hartford's underpayment of certain homeowner's insurance claims by failing to pay general contractor's overhead and profit. Caddell & Chapman successfully negotiated a national class settlement with Hartford, which is in the process of being finalized and presented to the Court for approval.
• Cynthia Chapman has been recognized by H Texas magazine as among "Houston's Best Lawyers for the People."
• The Los Angeles Superior Court gave final approval in May 2007 in the Toshiba class action involving Satellite A70, A75, M30X, and M35X notebook computers. At that time, there were 34,100 warranty repair claims which had been honored under the new extended warranty, negotiated by Caddell & Chapman to commence before final approval. As of November 6, 2007, an impressive 66,906 warranty claims had been fulfilled by Toshiba.
• More than 300,000 homes across the United States have been replumbed at no cost to the homeowners in Cox v. Shell Oil, the plastics class action (polybutylene plumbing (PB) system) certified by the Tennessee state court in June 1995 as a national class action. The Consumer Plumbing Recovery Center (CPRC), which was created to ensure that the settlement be properly administered and class members informed of their rights, has reported that the PB settlement reached $1 billion in notice and relief to the class exclusive of administrative costs and legal fees. Since the inception of its creation, Michael Caddell has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors and President of the CPRC.
DECEMBER 2007
• Caddell & Chapman represented the mother and father of a 23 year old man who suffocated to death when he became engulfed in grain while working at the Port Elevator grain facility in Brownsville, Texas. The employer failed to take adequate safety precautions or provide safety equipment which would have prevented Mr. Casados' death. The family elected to try the case to a jury when Port Elevator offered only $50,000 to settle the case. Caddell & Chapman obtained a $2.8 million verdict for the family.
• Caddell & Chapman secured an $11.5 million settlement on behalf of its client, the sovereign Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma, against ASARCO LLC, a mining company. ASARCO has filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Corpus Christi, Texas, and this settlement requires the approval of the bankruptcy court. The Quapaw claimed that ASARCO's mining activities caused natural resource and subsidence damages to the Quapaw's historic reservation. Caddell & Chapman separately is prosecuting claims on behalf of the Quapaw in the Northern District of Oklahoma against several other mining companies, a railroad, and the United States. The Quapaw's land is located on the largest Superfund Site in the nation, the Tar Creek Superfund Site consisting of 40 square miles of Northeastern Oklahoma. Lead and zinc mining activities over several decades left the Quapaw's land riddled with over 300 miles of underground tunnels, over 1,320 mine shafts, and thousands of drill holes. Mining tunnels and shafts have collapsed or are at risk of collapsing resulting in a subsidence problem that has damaged the Quapaw's land, homes, and buildings. To date, there have been over 119 subsidence events in this area. Over 34 million tons of toxic mining waste called tailings or chat, much of which is piled in large hills, also remain on the Quapaw land. Hazardous mining waste, such as lead, cadium, zinc, and sulfuric acid have polluted the Quapaw's soil and surface water and destroyed or damaged much of the Quapaw's natural resources. A hearing to approve the settlement between ASARCO LLC and the Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma is scheduled for January 30, 2008 in the United States District Court, Southern District of Texas, in Corpus Christi, Texas.
• Cynthia Chapman served as a key member of the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee in coordinated multidistrict litigation against Medtronic involving a defective battery in certain models of Medtronic implantable defibrillators. In December 2007, Plaintiffs were able to reach a nationwide settlement for $95.6 million in damages and $18.5 million in attorneys' fees after Ms. Chapman and Plaintiffs' counsel successfully defeated Medtronic's attempts to dismiss Plaintiffs' claims. Ms. Chapman served as the Steering Committee member in charge of legal briefing and took the lead role in drafting and overseeing the Plaintiffs' joint briefs in response to Medtronic's motions seeking dismissal of the claims of individual patients' claims. Ms. Chapman and the rest of the plaintiffs' team were successful in defeating both of Medtronic's key motions, one seeking dismissal on preemption grounds and one seeking dismissal due to lack of a manifested defect.
