Recognized asbestos litigation authority and W&L partner Charles M. Ferguson has once again been invited to serve as co-chair for the upcoming Perrin Asbestos Litigation…
Read MoreThe Detroit, Michigan, office of Weitz & Luxenberg was opened by Paul Novak and his colleagues Diana Gjonaj and Gregory Stamatopoulos in 2017. Their tightly knit team allows for a close working relationship, to better serve our clients.
Opening the Detroit office allows Weitz & Luxenberg to have a physical presence in the middle – the heart, if you will – of our great nation. We have boots on the ground to continue our long history of achieving major financial verdicts and settlements for our clients.
It also puts us in proximity to where some of today’s worst water contamination situations are occurring. Weitz & Luxenberg is dedicated to standing up for people who have been hurt by corporate greed and negligence.
Our office opened to expand the fight on behalf of tens of thousands of victims of water contamination in the Flint Water Crisis. We continue to fight on behalf of the babies who were first exposed to lead in their mother’s wombs when pregnant women drank the water in Flint, the schoolchildren whose water fountains were tainted with lead, and the Legionella victims who contracted the disease due to the State of Michigan’s concealment of an avoidable public health crisis.
The U.S. federal district court judge overseeing the federal litigation has appointed us to the Plaintiffs Steering Committee to coordinate the litigation. Working with our partners, the Flint Water Class Action Team, we have won several battles in these hotly contested lawsuits, including appeals in the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and the Michigan Court of Appeals.
Less than a year after the Michigan office opened, we filed the first class action lawsuit against Wolverine World Wide, 3M Corporation, and Waste Management Inc. for dumping toxic waste and polluting groundwater in Kent County and exposing residents in several communities to dangerously high levels of toxic contaminants in their drinking water.
We’re seeking money damages, medical testing, and monitoring for residents whose lives have been shattered by the pollution.
Working hand in hand with our New York office, Weitz & Luxenberg represents more than two dozen Michigan cities and counties in the battle against pharmaceutical manufacturers, distributors, and retailers whose deceptive marketing and reckless distribution of opioids has led to a national epidemic. We seek to forever change the practices of these pharmaceutical defendants to stem the countless overdose deaths and addiction that have ripped through communities across Michigan.
After investigating Wells Fargo’s automobile lending practices, we learned that customers who received car loans from the bank were also being deceptively charged for extra car insurance that they did not need.
We filed a class action against Wells Fargo, and the U. S District Court in California has appointed Weitz & Luxenberg to the Executive Committee representing thousands of consumers in that lawsuit. Wells Fargo has already admitted that its insurance practices were improper.
Insulin is a lifesaving drug for diabetics across our country, but over the five years prior to 2017, retail prices for the drug nearly tripled. Weitz & Luxenberg has brought a class action lawsuit to combat these price increases on behalf of consumers who don’t have insurance as well as insured consumers whose copayments have exploded or who hit the Medicare “donut hole” because of the massive insulin price hikes.
Other Litigations
The Detroit, Michigan, office also works closely with Weitz & Luxenberg’s other locations on the cases the firm chooses to handle, including asbestos-related lung cancer and mesothelioma, personal injury & medical malpractice , and defective drugs & medical devices.
As Managing Attorney of our most recently opened office, we asked Paul Novak to discuss how his team feels positioned to help our clients in the Midwest and what Weitz & Luxenberg can offer our clients that smaller, less established firms cannot.
Weitz & Luxenberg has a formidable presence in markets throughout the country and this simply extends that presence to the Midwest in a new and more pronounced way.
We’ve had clients in the Midwest for years, but this office establishes our presence here to indicate we’re committed to this region.
What we do here is part of what is really a national practice. However, it says a couple of things.
Number one, it says we’re committed to the city of Detroit at a time when I think this city is positioned to grow significantly. Number two, we have a commitment to environmental justice, particularly as it relates to the Flint water case, which we have been involved in for some time now.
The Flint Water Crisis, which has really captivated the attention of the country, is emblematic of the type of case where Weitz & Luxenberg has come into a community – particularly an underdog community – that has been threatened by an environmental crisis or disaster. These are communities where the people’s health has been threatened, their economic lifeblood has been threatened, and their homes have been threatened.
We come in and let that community know they have an advocate. And that advocate is ready, willing, and able to take on powerful governmental forces and also powerful private companies. These powerful adversaries are economically advantaged, so we try to level the playing field for these communities. We let people in the community know we have the strength and wherewithal to have their backs.
There may not be a city in the country that crystalizes the idea of representing the common person more than the city of Detroit – a city that’s taken it on the chin and is coming back.
That is very much the persona of the people Weitz & Luxenberg fight for. Throughout the history of this firm, we’ve taken on the cases of the common man and made those our struggle and our fight.
I was born in Flint and grew up there. I began my legal career working for the Michigan Attorney General’s (AG) office. There was no more impassioned advocate for the working people than Attorney General Frank Kelly, who I consider my mentor. He took on the struggles and issues that confront working families.
Consumer protection, environmental regulations, and antitrust cases – all of these were areas where I gained experience in the AG’s office and that I’m expanding on in my career at Weitz & Luxenberg.
As an attorney in our Detroit, Michigan office, Gregory Stamatopoulos is always available to work with clients. He’s happy to walk our clients through the answers to many of the basic questions individuals have when pursuing a lawsuit:
The first step with any litigation is to sit down and talk with an experienced lawyer. That lawyer can help you think through your situation and determine the best way to proceed. Your lawyer’s goal is to get you any compensation you deserve. It could be compensation for pain and suffering or it could be for property damage – or needing to relocate your home or business, among other things.
Yes. The time varies by state and injury, but usually it is 2-3 years after you have been injured or your property’s been harmed. A lawyer can help you figure out how many months, or even days, you may have to file your lawsuit.
No. In both a class action and mass tort, groups of people who have been injured in the same way or by the same corporation are put together into a group to sue. This saves court time. But in a class action, class representatives serve as plaintiffs to wage the fight on behalf of all the class members. In a mass tort, each individual files their own lawsuit. Good attorneys know which are the best lawsuits to pursue for their clients.
Diana Gjonaj has been serving clients in Michigan for years and is recognized in Michigan Super Lawyers as a Rising Star. She points out the things you need to consider when you’re selecting a lawyer:
Choosing the right lawyer is critical to having your case end successfully – receiving any compensation you deserve. You want a lawyer who has experience with your type of case. That lawyer needs the backing of a strong firm that has the resources to pursue your case – and experience in winning.
Many people are afraid to ask about costs, because they fear they won’t have enough money to get justice. If you choose Weitz & Luxenberg as your law firm, that is not an issue. At our type of firm, you don’t have to pay us anything up front. When we win your case, we receive a portion of the verdict or settlement. We’re in this together.
In most lawsuits, lawyers from each side get together to review evidence and evaluate how it proves or disproves your claim. You’ll be asked lots of questions. The questions may be about an injury or how you were damaged – such as how and when the incident occurred and what medical care you are receiving. For property damage or compensation for other losses not dealing with your health, we may request records such as tax or assessment bills, proof of salary and wages, or even replacement living costs.
That depends on how your case proceeds. But no matter what, you’ll be required to tell us what happened to you under oath. This type of testimony is called a deposition. You’ll be asked questions by the lawyer who works for the company we are suing on your behalf. You are the plaintiff. The company being sued is called the defendant. We will be with you at all times and help you prepare for the deposition.
We just wanted to extend our deepest thank you to all the people who are working on our case, the diligence of everyone involved is appreciated. The last check was a blessing… Thank you all and God Bless.
I want to thank W&L and all their staff for the award I recently received from you. Keep up the good work.
W&L, a quality firm producing fast, fair and accurate results. I would choose no other.
You always have the client’s interest in mind all the time.
I want to thank W&L for the thousands of dollars they have gotten for me. It has helped me so much after my husband passed away.
The lawyers at Weitz & Luxenberg believe that everyone deserves justice. They are dedicated to using their skills and experience to help people who need assistance in getting that justice. Your Weitz & Luxenberg lawyers treat you as if you are their most important client – because you are.
For more than 30 years, the lawyers at Weitz & Luxenberg have used their strategic abilities and legal background to win verdicts and settlements for thousands of clients, including many in Michigan.
