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Headquarters | Pensacola, Florida |
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Major practice areas | mass tort |
Key people | David Levin, Reubin Askew |
Date founded | 1955 |
Website | Official website |
Levin, Papantonio, Proctor, Buchanan, O'Brien, Barr, & Mougey, P.A. is an American law firm based in Pensacola, Florida, founded in 1955 by David Levin, Reubin Askew, and Fred Levin, originally under the name Levin & Askew. [1] It is best known for its prominent role in the field of mass tort litigation, where it started and continues to host the biannual conference called Mass Torts Made Perfect. [2] In 2016, the National Law Journal recognized Levin Papantonio as one of America's Elite Trial Law Firms. [3]
The law firm received national recognition in 1980 after receiving an $18 million jury verdict against Louisville & Nashville Railroad after one of its trains derailed in Pensacola, Florida, killing a young doctor and his wife, and leaving their two young children orphaned. The jury verdict was the largest compensatory damage verdict in U.S. history at the time. Because of the size of the verdict, the firm was featured in an April 1981 issue of US magazine. [4]
The law firm again made national news in 1989 with its creation of the first live, prime-time talk show to air lawyers providing free legal advice. [5] The show became a lightning rod for potential legal ethics issues, with critics stating: "It's obviously advertising for that law firm that is slanted at having the public believe in higher verdicts, more rights of the injury party and anti-doctor." [6] The show resulted in two separate Florida Bar investigations, and one prosecution, when a law firm attorney admitted on-air: "I used to enjoy betting on the football games, and now they've arrested my bookie." Another time, a lawyer ranted about the medical profession and accused doctors of having a "God complex – they think they are above the law." [6]
The law firm's most controversial act occurred in 1993 when it rewrote a Florida statute that allowed the state of Florida to sue the Tobacco Industry, and then orchestrated its passage through the state legislature. [7] After the law was upheld by the US Supreme Court, the Tobacco Industry settled with Florida for an unprecedented $13 billion. The secretive legal maneuvering became part of the national debate on whether personal injury law was negatively impacting the American business environment, including a July 2000 article in Time magazine titled "Are Lawyers Running America?" that included a photo of Fred Levin wearing a red blazer and sunglasses and leaning on a vintage Rolls-Royce. [8]
In a 2014 book about the firm and the topic of personal injury litigation, Josh Young wrote, "It's rare that any major mass tort in the country does not present itself to Levin Papantonio. The firm clearly is considered one of the very few 800-pound gorillas in the field. It has earned that reputation over many decades . . . ." [9] The magazine Action Report wrote in 2014, "The restrictions on the rights and recoveries of victims of "single injury" cases ultimately moved many firms into mass torts, with the Levin Papantonio firm leading the way in Florida." [10]
Notable members of the firm have included Reubin Askew, Fred Levin, Mike Papantonio, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and Joe Scarborough.
Champerty and maintenance are doctrines in common law jurisdictions that aim to preclude frivolous litigation:
Reubin O'Donovan Askew was an American politician, who served as the 37th governor of Florida from 1971 to 1979. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 7th U.S. Trade representative from 1979 to 1980 under President Jimmy Carter. He led on tax reform, civil rights, and financial transparency for public officials, maintaining an outstanding reputation for personal integrity.
Medical malpractice is professional negligence by act or omission by a health care provider in which the treatment provided falls below the accepted standard of practice in the medical community and causes injury or death to the patient, with most cases involving medical error. Claims of medical malpractice, when pursued in US courts, are processed as civil torts. Sometimes an act of medical malpractice will also constitute a criminal act, as in the case of the death of Michael Jackson.
James Michael Papantonio is an American torts lawyer, television presenter, radio talk show host and writer. He has been inducted into the Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame.
Fredric Gerson Levin was an American plaintiffs' lawyer who served as chairman of Levin, Papantonio, Rafferty, Proctor, Buchanan, O'Brien, Barr, Mougey, P.A., a law firm in Northwest Florida. The Fredric G. Levin College of Law at the University of Florida is named for him because of a monetary donation he made to the school in 1999.
Ring of Fire is a progressive syndicated American talk radio program hosted by Mike Papantonio, Sam Seder and Farron Cousins. The three hosts focus on: "exposing Wall Street thugs, environmental criminality, corporate media failure and political backstories rarely found in the mainstream media". The show has been on the air since 2004 and is currently aired on 43 radio stations across the United States.
Attorney's fee is a chiefly United States term for compensation for legal services performed by an attorney for a client, in or out of court.
The University of Florida Fredric G. Levin College of Law is the law school of the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest operating public law school in Florida and second oldest overall in the state.
A personal injury lawyer is a lawyer who provides legal services to those who claim to have been injured, physically or psychologically, as a result of the negligence of another person, company, government agency or any entity. Personal injury lawyers primarily practice in the area of law known as tort law. Examples of common personal injury claims include injuries from slip and fall accidents, traffic collisions, defective products, workplace injuries and professional malpractice.
Louis Frey Jr. was an American lawyer and politician who served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1969 until 1979. He represented Florida's 5th congressional district from 1969 to 1973 and the 9th district from 1973 to 1979, until he ran unsuccessfully in 1978 for the Republican nomination for governor to succeed the term-limited Democrat Reubin Askew of Pensacola.
Tort reform consists of changes in the civil justice system in common law countries that aim to reduce the ability of plaintiffs to bring tort litigation or to reduce damages they can receive. Such changes are generally justified under the grounds that litigation is an inefficient means to compensate plaintiffs; that tort law permits frivolous or otherwise undesirable litigation to crowd the court system; or that the fear of litigation can serve to curtail innovation, raise the cost of consumer goods or insurance premiums for suppliers of services, and increase legal costs for businesses. Tort reform has primarily been prominent in common law jurisdictions, where criticism of judge-made rules regarding tort actions manifests in calls for statutory reform by the legislature.
Donald Marsh Middlebrooks is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
The American Museum of Tort Law is a museum developed by Ralph Nader, located in his hometown of Winsted, Connecticut. The museum focuses on topics of civil justice and "aspects of the legal system that handle wrongful actions that result in injury". The museum opened to the public in September 2015. It is the first law museum in the United States.
Cipollone v. Liggett Group, Inc., 505 U.S. 504 (1992), was a United States Supreme Court case. In a split opinion, the Court held that the Surgeon General's warning did not preclude lawsuits by smokers against tobacco companies on the basis of several claims. The case examined whether tobacco companies could be liable for not warning the consumer "adequately" of the dangers of cigarettes as well as ultimately held the stance that smoking was in fact a free choice. The ruling also questioned the Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act of 1965 to determine whether the warning labels on the cigarette products by law had to be less or more alarming than the warning issued.
David Lycurgus Middlebrooks Jr. was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida.
David A. Jagolinzer was an American litigation attorney best known for mass mesothelioma tort cases against companies such as Honeywell International and Union Carbide.
John Eddie Williams Jr. is a pharmaceutical injury and mass tort attorney and founding partner of Williams Hart based in Houston.
Ervin A. Gonzalez was an American civil trial attorney whose practice focused on wrongful death, personal injury, medical negligence, product liability and class action torts. He was a partner with the law firm Colson Hicks Eidson in the firm's Coral Gables office.
Levy Konigsberg is an American-based law firm that was established in 1985. The company is known for a number of high-profile cases in the United States. Its practice areas include asbestos litigation, qui tam, lead poisoning, sexual abuse, tobacco litigation, medical malpractice, and negligence. In 2015, Levy Konigsberg was recognized as one of the 50 Law Firms in the 2015 Elite Trial Lawyers list by The National Law Journal.
Within the United States, the use of asbestos is limited by state and federal regulations and legislation. Improper use of asbestos and injury from exposure is addressed through administrative action, litigation, and criminal prosecution. Injury claims arising from asbestos exposure may be tried as mass torts.