Mass Tort and Class Action Litigation Defense

Kean Miller LLP defends class action litigation with aggressive and creative representation. We work closely with in-house counsel and business executives to develop strategies, establish goals and keep costs contained. We diligently advocate solutions that enable our clients to meet their objectives.

While we are Louisiana-based, our litigation, arbitration and dispute resolution practice is global. We frequently develop "first-ever" strategies when cases require it. Our history of success has ensured lifetime relationships with many of our clients.

Representative Experience
  • Representation of a global energy refiner in a large toxic tort class action involving their Lake Charles, Louisiana facility.
  • Representation of former New Orleans hotel owner in class actions involving allegations of injuries to guests and employees arising out of exposure to mold.
  • Representation of Fortune 500 manufacturer in class action litigation involving alleged product defects in barges.
  • Local counsel to a worldwide computer company in class action litigation alleging that its operating system was defective, and as local counsel in a purported class action alleging that its operating systems was not Y2K compliant.
  • Representation as Louisiana counsel for a major technology company in class actions asserting various alleged antitrust and state unfair trade practice violations.
  • Representation of a a major chemical company in class actions filed as a result of three releases within a four month period. Our representation included an eight week trial of six representative claims. The jury awarded less than 5% of the plaintiffs requested amount. After the trial, the claims were settled for a fraction of the plaintiffs’ initial demand.
  • Representation of global refining and chemical company in over 200 separate suits, involving over 30,000 plaintiffs, as a result of explosions and fires at the Baton Rouge refinery and chemical plant. The cases involved claims for personal injury, property damage, fear of cancer, exposure to numerous chemicals and substances, including benzene.
  • Representation of a multi-national a pesticide manufacturer in a class action lawsuit involving the alleged contamination of crawfish farming facilities.
  • Representation of global gasoline refiner in a class action case in which it was alleged that there was deceptive advertising concerning the benefits of premium gasoline.
  • Representation of a forest products company in a 1,000,000 member class action involving a claim for $160,000,000 arising out of a discharge into the Mississippi River. This suit alleged fear of cancer, cancer, and inconvenience.
  • Representation of a forest product company in a suit by neighborhood plaintiffs alleging exposure to various chemicals from a former facility in Plaquemine, Louisiana. The chemicals involved included VC, AN, and other toxic substances. The claims centered on fear of cancer from air contaminant exposure.
  • Representation of a global chemical company in connection with national litigation involving research and marketing claims on the drug Synthroid. Our role was to advise the company in connection with amendments to the Louisiana class action statutes, which permit “settlement classes” under certain circumstances.
  • Representation of a international fertilizer company in a class action suit in connection with an explosion at a nitroparaffins plant in Sterlington, Louisiana. The explosion resulted in several deaths and hundreds of individual claims for personal injury and property damage.
  • Representation of global fertilizer company in six class action lawsuits that were filed following a release of ammonia from a Geismar, Louisiana facility. The plaintiffs claimed they are entitled to recover damages for numerous injuries allegedly sustained from exposure to ammonia. The release resulted in a shelter in place being ordered by local authorities.
  • Representation as local counsel defending a power tool manufacturer in a proposed consumer fraud class action regarding the packaging of a product.
  • Representation of a national pharmacy chaing in phen-fen and PPA (phenylpropanolamine) class action claims that were initially filed in Louisiana and transferred to the Multi-District Litigation Panel.
  • Representation of seven chemical companies in the Combustion, Inc. litigation. In this action we represented the companies on a joint defense basis. This litigation was a class action suit involving over 9,900 plaintiffs in connection with alleged exposure from the Combustion, Inc. "Superfund" site.
  • Representation of over 30 defendant companies in a class action involving alleged contamination of air, soil and groundwater from a Superfund site in Bayou Sorrel, Louisiana. We were successful in removing the pending litigation to federal court and defeating a motion to remand.
  • Representation of the successive owners of a Chalmette refinery in a number of class action cases involving air emissions from a refinery. The cases involved thousands of plaintiffs who had multiple complaints from alleged exposure to both permitted long-term and emergency discharges.
  • Representation of a transportation company and its former parent company in connection with two separate truck roll-over and chemical spill incidents and resulting class action litigation. The first incident was a spill of 2000 gallons of molten sulphur on Chippewa Street in Baton Rouge, resulting in 2300 claims by area residents for personal injury, fear and fright, and inconvenience. The second incident was a spill of 2400 gallons of “heavy ends” from ethylene dichloride on Interstate 110 in Baton Rouge, resulting in 1000 claims by area residents for personal injury and fear of cancer.
  • Representation of a bulk vitamin producer as local counsel in a purported class action raising claims for alleged price fixing and market allocation conspiracies in the vitamin market.
  • Representation of a pharmaceutical manufacturer in connection with personal injury claims for heart valve and other damages allegedly associated with a prescription medication. We served as Louisiana counsel for all cases pending in the state, as well as for all cases initially filed in Louisiana and transferred to the Multi-District litigation Panel in Philadelphia.
  • Representation of telecommunications company in a statewide class action litigation alleging fraud and misrepresentation in the sale of PCS phones.
  • Representation of a chemical company in a “Superfund nominated site” near Shreveport, Louisiana, where over 2,000 neighbors alleged property damage and personal injury exposure from ground water migration and air contamination.
  • Representation of a chemical company in over 150 lawsuits filed in Louisiana and Mississippi as a result of a rupture of a nitrogen tetroxide railcar at the Gaylord Chemical Corporation facility in Bogalusa, Louisiana. The incident resulted in the evacuation of part of the city.
  • Representation of a worldwide oil producer in a class action oilfield contamination case involving approximately 800 acres. Our representation included securing expert testimony on behalf of the defendant and trial preparation. The plaintiffs demanded over $25,000,000 for clean-up and the case was settled during negotiations after jury selection at an advantageous amount for defendant.
  • Representation of a global chemical refinery in a class action involving over 6,000 claims arising out a leaking transport trailer containing boron trifluoride which resulted in an evacuation and shelter-in-place of a residential neighborhood near Interstate 12 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
  • Representation of a global chemical refinery in a class action invoking over 8,000 claims arising out a valve malfunction at a chemical manufacturing facility located adjacent to a residential area in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
  • Representation of global chemical refinery in a class action involving several thousand claims arising from an accidental release of antimony pentachloride at a chemical facility. The class action was denied.