AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS

Jonathan has been repeatedly recognized for his litigation and trial achievements in some of the most high-profile product liability and mass tort litigations nationwide. The American Lawyer named him a “Young Lawyer of the Year” finalist for Litigation in the publication’s 2022 Industry Awards, which recognizes lawyers under the age of 40 who have made an impact that goes “above and beyond” in their area of legal practice. Law360 named Jonathan a 2022 “Rising Star” in Product Liability, the Daily Journal named him to its “Top 40 Under 40” list in 2022, and The Recorder recognized him as a “Lawyer on the Fast Track” in its 2022 California Legal Awards. In 2021, Jonathan was recognized by The American Lawyer in its “Litigation Daily” column for winning a significant defense verdict at trial. Jonathan has also been recognized by The Legal 500 US in the Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Action – Defense: Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices category.

EXPERIENCE

Jonathan has significant experience litigating complex cases in federal and state courts nationwide, including at trial and on appeal, with a focus on high-stakes mass tort and product liability litigations. He has particular experience litigating the admissibility of expert testimony, winning key Daubert motions excluding plaintiffs’ experts’ general causation testimony that led to summary judgment for Pfizer and Allergan in three major products liability litigations. The decisions in these litigations are routinely cited by the courts and litigants across the country.

Jonathan’s select experience includes:

PHARMACEUTICALS

• GlaxoSmithKline in a California Judicial Council Coordinated Proceeding involving thousands of claimants who allege that Zantac, an antacid medication, has carcinogenic properties.
• Johnson & Johnson in product liability litigation where the plaintiffs alleged that J&J’s talcum-based baby powder products contained asbestos that caused the plaintiffs to develop mesothelioma.
• Allergan in product liability cases involving novel claims that maternal use of an antidepressant during pregnancy causes autism in children, obtaining the exclusion of plaintiffs’ general causation experts and securing the affirmance of the decision in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
• Pfizer in several significant litigations, including in:
  • a California Judicial Council Coordinated Proceeding involving thousands of cases alleging that Lipitor, a cholesterol-lowering medication, causes diabetes. Jonathan obtained the exclusion of plaintiffs’ general causation expert under Sargon Enterprises, Inc. University of Southern California, 55 Cal. 4th 747 (2012);
  • an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit involving thousands of cases that alleged that Lipitor causes diabetes. Jonathan obtained affirmance of the exclusion of plaintiffs’ general causation experts under Daubert and summary judgment for Pfizer in all cases; and
  • a federal multidistrict litigation involving claims that maternal use of Zoloft, an antidepressant, during pregnancy causes birth defects. Jonathan obtained the exclusion of plaintiffs’ general causation of experts under Daubert and summary judgment for the company in all cases, and secured the affirmance of the decision in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

OTHER PRODUCT LIABILITY CASES

• 3M as trial counsel, notably securing multiple favorable trial verdicts, in a multibillion-dollar product liability litigation involving allegations that a product sold to the military is related to hearing loss suffered by servicemen and women. The case is recognized as the largest federal multidistrict litigation in history.
• Intuitive Surgical at trial in the first product liability trial in the country involving Intuitive’s robotic surgical device, the da Vinci.
• The Washington Legal Foundation as counsel of record on amicus briefs filed in the U.S. Supreme Court related to product liability cases concerning Rule 702 and the admissibility of expert testimony, and the application of non-mutual, offensive collateral estoppel in multidistrict litigations.

CLASS ACTIONS

• GlaxoSmithKline in a putative nationwide class action involving claims that Chapstick products were misleadingly labeled as “100% Natural” and containing “Naturally Sourced Ingredients.”
• A major global technology company in winning summary judgment on all claims based on federal preemption in a putative nationwide class action involving misleading marketing and medical monitoring claims related to consumer electronics devices.

Jonathan maintains an active pro bono practice. In 2022, he partnered with the American Civil Liberties Union in filing a federal class action and moving for preliminary injunction to obtain emergency relief to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Connecticut’s Department of Corrections facilities. He also co-authored an amicus brief in one of the most significant cases in the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2019 Term, June Medical Services LLC v. Russo, 140 S. Ct. 2103 (2020). Representing Whole Woman’s Health, the amicus brief argued that medical clinics have third-party standing to protect the constitutional rights of women seeking to have abortions, and the Supreme Court agreed. In 2022, after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, Jonathan helped file and prosecute a lawsuit in the Oklahoma Supreme Court that challenged two total abortion bans with criminal penalties for healthcare providers.