Kline & Specter, PC

We are proud to share Shanin Specter’s essay, “What Practitioners Can Do for Law Students and What Law Students Can Do for Practitioners”, recently published in UC Law Journal. Click the link to read more.

What Practitioners Can Do for Law Students and What Law Students Can Do for Practitioners | UC Law Journal What Practitioners Can Do for Law Students and What Law Students Can Do for Practitioners by [email protected] | Jun 29, 2024 | Volume 75, Issue 5 Shanin Specter Volume 75, Issue 5, 1449-1478 Full Article

We are proud to share Shanin Specter’s essay, “What Practitioners Can Do for Law Students and What Law Students Can Do for Practitioners”, recently published in UC Law Journal. Click the link in our bio to read more.

Congratulations to Dave Inscho and Lorraine Donnelly on their $8 million recovery on behalf of a teenage victim of s*xual abuse. “It was our honor to represent our brave client in her quest to hold Woodward Camp and its gymnastics director accountable for allegedly knowingly re-hiring a s*xual predator and attempting to silence our client when she came forward about the assaults,” Inscho and Donnelly stated.

Pa. Gymnastics Camp Agrees to Pay $8M to Minor Sexually Assaulted by Coach | The Legal Intelligencer The plaintiff alleged that the Woodward Camp in State College knew that her abuser had a history of inappropriate behavior toward minors but continued to hire him as a coach anyway.

Last night at the National Squash League playoff finals, Shanin Specter presented the championship trophy to New York Knights team owner Elisabeth Hill and most valuable player award to Sebastien Bonmalais on behalf of presenting sponsor Kline & Specter.

Tom Kline, along with Drexel Kline School of Law Dean Dan Filler and President Judge Nina Wright Padilla of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas posed for a photo following the Professional Oath ceremony held in the James T. McDermott Ceremonial Courtroom in City Hall. Judge Wright Padilla administered the oath, and all three in their remarks gave words of wisdom and encouragement to the incoming 1L summer starting class.

Panera’s Charged Lemonade is removed from the menu after Kline & Specter attorneys Tom Kline, Elizabeth Crawford, Michelle Paznokas, and Wyatt Larkin filed multiple lawsuits alleging that the drink was dangerous and caused serious injuries and deaths. Though Panera's decision to pull this product will not revive Sarah Katz or Dennis Brown, nor will it return Lauren Skerritt to her previous way of life— it will help save future lives.

Panera to phase out Charged Lemonades after families file lawsuits due to deaths Stephanie Ramos sits down exclusively with the family of Sarah Katz, who allege their daughter died after consuming Panera’s Charged Lemonade. Subscribe to A...

"Could you create another scenario that sounds more sinister?" Nadeem Bezar spoke to NBC News about their investigation into how s*xual abusers are able to bypass Uber's and Lyft's terms of service to transport unaccompanied children.

Sexual abusers have used Uber and Lyft to bring teens to their doorsteps, prosecutors say Lawsuits and prosecutions reviewed by NBC News say s*xual abusers were able to bypass Uber’s and Lyft’s terms of service to transport unaccompanied children.

Congratulations to Priscilla Jimenez, Jim Waldenberger and Lisa Dagastino on their $32 million settlement against Hahneman University Hospital after a delay in performing a cesarean section resulted in severe brain damage.

Kline and Specter Reaches $32 Million Settlement With Hospital | The Legal Intelligencer The suit, filed by the child's parents, alleged Hahnemann University Hospital delayed in performing a cesarean section, despite the child being in distress, resulting in severe, life-long brain damage.

Tobi Millrood, Chair of the firm’s Mass Tort Department, is featured in The Legal Intelligencer regarding the success and winding down of the Elmiron Mass Tort Program in Philadelphia. In addition to his representation of the firm’s clients for the very serious injury of Toxic Retinal Macuolopathy from usage of the interstitial cystitis drug Elmiron, Tobi Millrood served as Liaison Counsel in the Philadelphia litigation and helped to bring the program to its resolution.

Phila. Mass Tort Over Janssen Bladder Drug Winds Down Without Bellwether Trial | The Legal Intelligencer The first trial in the mass tort had been scheduled to begin Monday, but most of the program’s cases were resolved through confidential settlements in the last six months, according to Kline & Specter partner Tobi Millrood, who serves as plaintiffs liaison counsel in the matter.

An arbitrator awarded $24.5 million to two women who were trafficked in a Philadelphia hotel. Nadeem Bezar who, along with Emily Marks, represents the victims commented, “What these women went through was horrible. We applaud their bravery in coming forward and vocalizing their experiences."

Arbitrator awards $24.5 million to two women who were s*x trafficked as minors from Philadelphia hotel The North American Motor Inns and its former owner Ramara Inc were aware of a “culture of criminal activity," and were negligent in not working to prevent it from happening, a lawsuit said.

Tom Kline is quoted in the most recent Associated Press article on the Roundup litigation which features the $2.25 billion jury verdict won by the trial teams at Kline & Specter and Arnold & Itkin.

Bayer fights string of Roundup trial losses including $2.25B verdict in Philadelphia The Bayer Corporation has spent more than $10 billion to settle lawsuits that claim the popular w**d killer Roundup causes cancer.

Kline & Specter has become the go-to firm in Pennsylvania for the wrongful death and catastrophic injury appellate practice. The firm’s Chip Becker and Andra Laidacker have increasingly been asked to help other firms with their high-stakes appeals, in addition to defending Kline & Specter’s own verdicts. The firm is now defending verdicts in Pennsylvania with a combined value of over $3.5 billion.

As Stakes Escalate, Kline & Specter Begin Stepping in to Defend Phila.’s Largest Verdicts Post-Trial | The Legal Intelligencer Charles Becker is now involved with four of Philadelphia's five highest verdicts of 2023, worth a combined $1.36 billion.

We are proud of the $2.25 billion jury verdict achieved by two great law firms, Kline & Specter and Arnold & Iktin on behalf of our client whose non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma cancer was caused by the w**d killer Roundup manufactured by Bayer-Monsanto. Click the link to read the full article. https://bit.ly/3u8HLAG

Last night UC Law San Francisco dedicated the Shanin Specter Courtroom and unveiled this painting by Michael Shane Neal in the new law school building. Specter spoke of the importance of academicians and practitioners working more closely together. The moral of the work is "listen, write, speak" which is a guiding principle for trial lawyers and teachers. Practice without doctrine is rudderless, while doctrine without practice is powerless.

The teams from Kline & Specter and Arnold & Itkin began their second Philadelphia bellwether jury trial against Monsanto today. The opening arguments were reported on by The Legal Intelligencer. Click on the link below to read the full article.

Phila.'s Third Roundup Trial Kicks Off With Team Behind $175M Verdict at the Helm | The Legal Intelligencer “If they can enrage you and inflame you and make you mad, you won’t care,” Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough partner Michael Brown said.

Congratulations to Nadeem Bezar and Sherrell Dandy on their $6.5 million settlement with Northeast Treatment Centers on behalf of the estate of a young child who was killed in her foster home. Bezar said that NET raised the possibility of working with him to discuss reforms and is hopeful that NET and agencies such as NET will implement changes to prevent similar incidents going forward.

Social Services Agency Agrees to $6.5M Settlement With Estate of Child Beaten to Death in Foster Care | The Legal Intelligencer Agencies that I think once wondered about my area of practice are now reaching out and saying, ‘hey you want to tell us how we can do things a little differently,’” Nadeem Bezar said.

Shanin Specter and Phil Pasquarello obtained a $5 million pre-suit settlement with Dauphin County Prison and PrimeCare Medical, Inc., on behalf of the estate of an inmate who was killed when he was doused with pepper spray, struck in the stomach and legs, and placed in restraints by corrections officers who ignored his pleas that he couldn't breathe. "Dauphin County Prison and PrimeCare Medical abused Mr. Thompson and then ignored his calls for help, causing his death,” said Specter and Pasquarello. The $5 million settlement is one of the largest in a civil rights death case in Pennsylvania.

Dauphin County Prison, medical company will pay $5 million to settle lawsuit from inmate's death in 2021 Attorneys for the family of Ishmail Thompson said he died soon after being doused with pepper spray and placed in restraints during an incident in July 2021.

Unlawful social media posts such as revenge and child po*******hy, terrorist recruitment videos, threats and defamation are doing a lot of harm. Right now, social media companies are immune from suit for their unlawful content. In their article, "Here's How to Reform Social Media,” Shanin Specter and Alex Van D**e recommend permitting these these companies to be liable if a victim reports the unlawful content and the company fails to take it down.

Here’s How to Reform Social Media - SMERCONISH "Zuckerberg testified that 'instead of being granted immunity, platforms should be required to demonstrate that they have systems in place for identifying unlawful content and removing it.' Clearly, the time has come to revisit immunity."

Tom Kline and Tobi Millrood celebrating the holiday season with the Kline & Specter Fellows at the annual K&S holiday party at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center. Our Fellows are making substantial contributions and a real difference every day for our clients who have been injured by carcinogenic products such as Roundup and hair relaxers.

Tom Kline has been teaching lately in various classes at Drexel Kline School of Law. Here he is in Gwen Stern's popular Introduction to Trial Advocacy course discussing the strategy decisions involved in obtaining a recent $175 million jury verdict along with his co-counsel Jason Itkin. Kline explained to the 2L and 3L students the intricacies of decision making in a complex products liability trial from jury selection to closing arguments, as well as the overall shared goal of trial counsel which was simply stated: "let's win."

We are proud of the $175 million jury verdict achieved by two great law firms, Kline & Specter and Arnold & Itkin, on behalf of our client whose cancer was caused by the w**d killer Roundup manufactured by Bayer-Monsanto. Read the full article below.

Philadelphia jury awards $175 million after deciding 83-year-old man got cancer from Roundup w**d killer Ernest Caranci developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma after years of using Roundup, his lawyers said.

Sarah was killed by Panera’s toxic super energy drink, “Charged Lemonade.” “Everyone thinks lemonade is safe, but this isn’t lemonade,” said Elizabeth Crawford, a partner at the Philadelphia-based law firm Kline & Specter, PC. "It shouldn’t be sold and if it is sold it should have an adequate warning." Read the full article here: https://bit.ly/3Qvy5so

An Ivy League student, Sarah Katz, with a heart condition died after drinking Panera Bread’s “charged lemonade,” a large cup of which contains more caffeine than a Red Bull and Monster energy drink combined, according to a lawsuit.

The charged lemonade was “offered side-by-side with all of Panera’s non-caffeinated and/or less caffeinated drinks” and was advertised as a “plant-based and clean” beverage that contained as much caffeine as the restaurant’s dark roast coffee, according to photos.

“She was very, very vigilant about what she needed to do to keep herself safe,” her friend said. “I guarantee if Sarah had known how much caffeine this was, she never would have touched it with a 10-foot pole.”

Read more: nbcnews.app.link/AxuURjsm8Db

Finally, more than a decade after these horrible assaults, these women's cries for justice were finally heard. Congratulations to Nadeem Bezar and Emily Marks on their arbitration award of $37.5 million for these victims of s*x trafficking.
Read the full article here: https://bit.ly/46J18xC

Tom Kline spoke with over 150 Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University first year law students at the annual “Lunch with Tom Kline” event where student had a opportunity to engage with the law school’s namesake in a robust question and answer session.

Kline & Specter made a donation that enabled the purchase of 31 wheelchairs to handicapped people in Uganda. Makepasi Match, the largest producer of wax safety matches in Sub-Saharn Africa and the largest employer of people with disabilities in Uganda will distribute the wheelchairs that are made using new Raleigh brand bicycles.

“We felt strongly that her life was as precious to her family as it would have been had she been younger, and that we shouldn’t let the formalistic aspects of wage loss or medical expenses control the resolution.” — Shanin Specter, who litigated this case with Kline & Specter partner Jim Waldenberger.

How Plaintiffs Counsel Negotiated a $6.5M Settlement Over an 89-Year-Old Woman's Wrongful Death | The Legal Intelligencer “We felt strongly that her life was as precious to her family as it would have been had she been younger, and that we shouldn’t let the formalistic...

Kline & Specter attorneys David Inscho and Lorraine Donnelly settled a case for $3.5 million against the Archdiocese of Philadelphia involving the assault of a child by a pastor nearly two decades ago. "The settlement holds the archdiocese accountable for failing to protect our client and other children", said Inscho. "It is important that these survivors of child s*xual abuse know they have a voice and can come forward.”

Archdiocese of Philadelphia agrees to $3.5 million settlement in priest s*xual assault lawsuit The lawsuit alleged that Pastor John Close r***d a boy at St. Katharine’s of Siena in Wayne in 2006.

Kline & Specter attorney Patrick Fitzgerald filed the first lawsuit following the July 26 crane collapse in NYC on behalf of our client who was trapped in her car as the crane collapsed and debris crashed onto the vehicle. Fitzgerald commented, “All of us rightly expect that cranes will be constructed safely, inspected regularly and properly, and operated carefully to avoid disasters such as the one we witnessed in Manhattan last week.”

NYC woman files first suit against crane operator after collapse that rained debris down on her while in car A woman who had debris rain down on her while she was in her car during the crane collapse in Manhattan last month is suing the crane operator.