Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, LLP

Thank you to Community Overcoming Relationship Abuse (CORA) chair, Linda Adler, for your leadership, hard work, and commitment to helping the organization achieve their mission. Congratulations to CPM's Duffy Magilligan as the incoming CORA chair.

Earth Island Institute, represented by Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, received a momentous court order this week allowing its landmark lawsuit to proceed against major consumer goods companies for allegedly creating a public nuisance from their plastic packaging, polluting California waterways with plastic trash. Judge V. Raymond Swope of the Superior Court of California of the County of San Mateo denied the defendants’ demurrers seeking to dismiss the case, finding that Earth Island’s complaint properly alleged that the plastic producers could be held liable for creating a public nuisance based on allegations that they promoted their products as recyclable while knowing that it was difficult if not impossible to do so, and by doing so also contributed to a public hazard. After over four years of litigation, this major decision means that Earth Island’s claims can proceed on its merits toward trial in California. “Through our work, we see firsthand the immense public harm caused by plastic packaging,” said Sumona Majumdar, Earth Island Institute’s chief executive officer. “And we believe corporations must do more than talk about recyclability when it comes to their plastic pollution along our waterways and coasts.” Read the full story here - https://lnkd.in/gCyubzY3

Mark your calendars! Don't miss CPM's Tamarah Prevost speak at the American Association of Justice 2024 Annual Convention as she discusses Tackling Discovery Requests for Social Media and heads up a Voir Dire Workshop: Connecting with the Jury Panel. There's still time to register: https://lnkd.in/gMhUsD8c

CPM IN THE NEWS: The Mercury News | Landmark Supreme Court ruling in Chevron case could curb environmental protections in California “This is an outrageous decision,” said Joe Cotchett, a prominent trial attorney based in Burlingame. “Congress passes a law, and they give it to an agency to carry it out. Congress can’t write the details of specific environmental laws. This is part of a conservative movement to get corporate America out from environmental laws. It is going to affect clean air, our environment, even when consumer agencies can say, ‘You can’t sell a harmful product or drug.’ It is devastating.” Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/d-8b4Vxp

CPM IN THE NEWS: San Francisco Chronicle | Investor suit reveals allegations against Sonoma developers: ‘Like a friend stabbing you in the back’ It’s unclear how many people invested with the men, though plaintiffs attorneys have already identified “hundreds,” said Blair Kittle, an attorney with Burlingame-based Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, one of three law firms suing Mattson and LeFever. Part of the problem, he said, is that Mattson failed to properly document many of his transactions with clients. “We’re still uncovering it,” Kittle said. “Records were not kept correctly. So the people we know about are only those people who have self-organized to get together (sue the developers). … That’s already in the hundreds. So we expect it to be more than that.” Investors ranged the spectrum, from schoolteachers to attorneys, according to the lawsuit, with savings that ranged from “high five figures up to several million dollars.” Read the full article here - https://lnkd.in/gWc_xn-y

Three major California Law Firms filed a class action lawsuit in the Northern District of California on behalf of investors across the United States who invested in the various investment properties owned by the real estate corporation LeFever Mattson, Inc., founded by partners Kenneth Mattson and Timothy LeFever. The suit alleges that Mattson and LeFever used a “complex web of corporate entities” to effectuate one of the largest real estate investment schemes in Northern California to deprive investors of their savings. Mattson and LeFever tricked investors into believing that their investments were sound by promising and making consistent payments of interest. These regular payments masked growing disarray and illegal commingling of investor funds across a series of unidentified real estate properties. Further, unbeknownst to these investors, the investment properties were largely dilapidated and neglected. The photograph below is just one of many examples of the properties LeFever and Mattson left abandoned in Sonoma County. Read the full story and complaint here - https://lnkd.in/g9XP54SQ

Flashback Friday // June 18, 2024 - CPM's Gary Praglin, Anne Marie Murphy, David Hollenberg and Theresa Vitale attended the Legal Assistance for Seniors 18th Conference on Elder Abuse at UC Law San Francisco. Special thanks to Gary and Anne Marie who were featured speakers sharing their knowledge and inspiration.

Today we celebrate the land of the free and the home of the brave. Wishing everyone a safe and joyful Independence Day! 🗽✨

CPM is thrilled to announce that several of our partners have received recognition as 2024 Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers. - Joseph Cotchett - Julie Fieber - Nabilah Hossain - Duffy Magilligan - Niall McCarthy - Anne Marie Murphy - Nanci Nishimura - Frank Pitre - Gary Praglin Lawdragon selected members of this guide through their time-honed process of submissions, independent research and vetting with friends and foes. Congratulations to our partners and everyone who was recognized! 🎉

CPM law clerks taking over Oracle Park! Go Giants! 🧡⚾️