California Appellate Court

In this coordinated class action, Natural Gas Anti-Trust Cases I, II, III & IV, 2006 Cal. App. LEXIS 296 (March 6, 2006), the court reversed the lower court's declaraction of attorney Earnest Thayer as a vexatious litigant based on his history of objecting to attorney's fees in class action settlements.  Judge rejected Thayer's argument that the vexatious litigant statutes (Cal. Civ. Proc. sections 391-391.7) did not apply to him because he was not a class representatives in the actions to which he objected, but nonetheless held that the trial court erroneously declared Thayer a vexatious litigant because his behavior did not rise to the level required by the statute; in certain of the class actions in question Thayer was acting as an attorney for class members, and overall there was not sufficient evidence that he repeatedly engaged in conduct prohibited by the statute.  - L.C.

Former Milberg Weiss Expert Witness Plea Agreement Does Not Include Promise to Cooperate with Prosecutors

John Torkelsen, formerly an expert witness for Milberg Weiss, pled guilty to making false statements to the Small Business Administration, and in return prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney's Office recommended a 70 month prison term.  Despite expectations that Torkelsen's plea agreement might include a promise to help Los Angeles prosecutors in their suit against Milberg Weiss, there was no clear language in the agreement to that effect.

ABA Class Action Conference

The American Bar Association will be holding a conference on The Future of Class Action Litigation in America from November 9-11 at the Ritz Carlton in Washington, D.C. 

Lerach opens NYC office

Lerach Coughlin, the San Diego-based class action firm that split with Milberg Weiss last year, opened an office in New York City this week, run by Patrick Daniels.  Prior to the split, Milberg Weiss was the largest firm in the country to specialize in class action shareholder suits.  The two firms are now stubborn competitors.  After the split, Lerach Coughlin came away with the Enron shareholder class action, through which it has collected settlements of $7 billion.  Lerach Coughlin has approximately 150 attorneys.  Milberg Weiss has over 120.  Lerach Law Firm Lands in City, New York Sun.