Hagens Berman appeals to 3rd Circuit over federal judge’s DOJ referral
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A federal judge’s extraordinary decision to refer Hagens Berman to the Justice Department for possible illegal conduct went to the appeals court this week, marking one of the toughest challenges yet for a high-profile law firm known in part for aggressive climate litigation.
The referral came as part of a lawsuit filed by Hagens Berman on a separate matter, involving allegations of drug-related injuries and prompting Judge Paul Diamond to take the rare step of asking the Justice Department to review whether Hagens Berman acted illegally.
In a Dec. 2 order, Diamond said a court-appointed attorney known as a special expert found Hagens Berman engaged in a years-long effort to file “fraudulent” complaints in the case in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The special master found that Hagens Berman also obstructed discovery and “tampered with evidence.” The decision stated that the company’s apparent “criminal misconduct” required the intervention of the Ministry of Justice.
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Department of Justice headquarters in Washington, DC, February 19, 2020 (Drew Angerer)
Hagens Berman aggressively denied the allegations and appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit for relief. The firm recently stated that it wanted Diamond to withdraw from the case, accused the judge of bias and claimed that the judge could retaliate.
“Refuting the charge in court below risks further aggravating the district judge’s ire, which would be disastrous for petitioners’ clients,” Hagens Berman’s attorneys wrote. “To remain silent is to allow the unfounded accusation leveled by the Article III judge to hang like a dark, disgraceful cloud over the petitioners’ professional reputation.”
The conflict arose as Hagens Berman continued to position itself as the go-to firm for high-stakes litigation, including environmental cases; yet its performance in this area shows mixed results.
Last month, the firm filed a class-action lawsuit against ExxonMobil, Shell, Chevron and other fossil fuel companies on behalf of homeowners in Washington State. The lawsuit alleges that the companies increased homeowners’ insurance premiums, leading to an increase in natural disasters, and that they engaged in a “coordinated and deliberate scheme to hide the truth about climate change and the effects of burning fossil fuels.”
Fuel prices at the Shell gas station in Burien, Washington on Wednesday, March 9, 2022. (Chona Kasinger/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
But in addition to the Justice Department’s guidance, Hagens Berman has so far struggled to achieve clear victories or settlements in climate cases and has suffered some legal blows in that area in 2018.
Efforts to reach a Hagens Berman representative for comment were unsuccessful at press time.
Judge William Alsup, a Clinton appointee, threw out Hagens Berman’s San Francisco and Oakland lawsuit against fossil fuel companies over the alleged effects of climate change. Alsop called the scope of the cities’ claims in this case “breathtaking.”
“It will reach the sale of fossil fuels anywhere in the world, including all past and other legal sales where the seller knows that the burning of fossil fuels contributes to the phenomenon of global warming,” Alsup wrote.
Cities fell Hagens Berman They are representing themselves following a series of adverse decisions in the case.
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People march as they join a strike to demand action against the global climate crisis on September 20, 2019 in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
The law firm lost a similar case in New York the same year. During that impeachment, the late Reagan appointee Judge John Keenan once again found Hagens Berman’s case to be overly broad.
“The city did not file suit under New York law over allegations related to fossil fuel production in New York,” Keenan wrote. “The City claims damages caused by Defendants’ global greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of fossil fuels produced and used ‘worldwide’.”
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The DOJ review, if approved by the 3rd Circuit, could now overshadow the firm’s more recent efforts and raise the bar for practice as it continues to take on ambitious cases.
