Helping the Underdogs: Motley Rice named to 2014 Plaintiffs’ Hot List

Motley Rice has again been selected to The National Law Journal's Plaintiffs' Hot List, highlighting the firm’s work in environmental and securities fraud litigation. The firm was one of 12 firms across the nation receiving the accolade in 2014.

“Motley Rice has made it to the top by helping underdogs,” states reporter Sheri Qualters in the profile. The feature goes on to discuss the firm’s work in the 13-year California lead paint public nuisance litigation in which Judge Kleinberg ruled that three companies must pay $1.15 billion into a lead paint abatement fund. Also highlighted in the feature are firm’s securities fraud practice and role in the BP Deepwater Horizon litigation. 

The Plaintiffs’ Hot List is The National Law Journal's annual take on the top plaintiffs’ practices in the country, identified from readers’ nominations and through its own research. According to The National Law Journal, firms on the 2014 list “landed groundbreaking verdicts, negotiated big settlements and, in many cases, paved the way for the resolution of other disputes” between Feb. 1, 2013 and Jan. 31, 2014, and that possessed an impressive track record of wins within the past three to five years.  

Read more about the firm’s 2013 Plaintiffs’ Hot List profile.

UPDATE: On Nov. 14, 2017, The California Court of Appeals, 6th appellate District, affirmed the majority of a lower court ruling that found three lead paint companies created a public nuisance by promoting toxic lead paint for interior residential use. The case was then remanded to the Santa Clara Superior Court to decide how much defendants should pay to establish an abatement fund that will be used to clear toxic lead paint from homes in plaintiffs’ jurisdictions that were constructed prior to 1951. Homes built after 1951 were also excluded in the settlement.