Weitz Speaks at Oil Spill & Asbestos Conferences
Weitz & Luxenberg P.C. partner, attorney and firm co-founder Perry Weitz, who has over 25 years’ experience practicing law, has been invited to share his legal expertise in two upcoming events in June 2010: the Asbestos Bankruptcy Conference, and the Oil in the Gulf—Litigation and Insurance Coverage conference.
Given his comprehensive environmental and toxic tort experience—for example, his role as co-counsel for Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) litigation in which refiners agreed to a settlement, paying more than $435 million to remove contamination from wells that served 1.8 million people nationwide—Weitz was an ideal choice to be invited as a Conference Chair for Gulf oil spill conference, which takes place on June 24-25 in Atlanta. He is looking forward to speaking with colleagues and sharing strategy on the oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico, which in many cases has cost families their means for financial survival, depreciated the value of homes, and contaminated property.
“This mammoth spill has affected the lives of so many people—from the idled fisherman standing helplessly on the dock to the waitress who has been laid off because vacationers are steering clear of restaurants on the coast. I’d like to help these people,” said Weitz. “I am looking forward to lending my knowledge base on this complex environmental litigation.”
Topics at the Gulf oil spill conference will include theories of liability, D&O liability, relevant precedent; coverage claims; business interruption; economic loss; unique state law issues; personal injury lawsuits, economic loss claims and property damage litigation; environmental impairment; calculating damages; case management and consolidation; community impact and government involvement; reinsurance implications; and policy exclusions.
Pioneer of Asbestos Litigation
Weitz, who has helped thousands of mesothelioma and lung cancer plaintiffs and their families seek justice for the harm caused by exposure to asbestos, will also participate in a panel discussion titled “Asbestos Bankruptcy Primer: The Management & Operation of an Asbestos Bankruptcy Trust” on June 21 in Chicago at the Asbestos Bankruptcy Conference. The panel will discuss putting a trust agreement into action; the role of the Technical Advisory Committee and management of the trust; the fiduciary duties of asbestos bankruptcy trustees; and investment management of the trust’s finances, among other topics.
A pioneer of asbestos litigation in New York City and throughout New York State, Weitz is liaison counsel in both State and Federal Court. He has tried some of the most significant cases in the New York Asbestos Litigation, and was lead counsel in the first major consolidated trials. Weitz has led the firm in successfully obtaining asbestos verdicts and settlements totaling well over one billion dollars. He has settled thousands of asbestos cases under his Privatization Theory, and has spearheaded the National Settlement Program of Owens Corning/Fibreboard, negotiating the first settlement and implementing his theory on Privatization. As chairman of the Halliburton Bankruptcy Committee, Weitz negotiated a $5.1 billion settlement for present and future claimants. He is on the Trust Advisory Committee for more than a dozen Asbestos Bankruptcy defendants.
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