Lawyers from 3
Different Firms
Stand to Collect
$200M If 9/11
Settlement Goes
Through
NY Daily News
3/13/10
|
Carroll/News
Lawyers
representing
10,000
plaintiffs
seeking
compensation
for
illnesses
caused by
working at
Ground Zero
will be the
biggest
winners if
the
settlement
goes
through. |
|
|
A select group of
lawyers will be the
biggest earners if
the giant settlement
for 9/11 workers
goes through.
The lawyers, who
come from three
different firms,
represent the 10,000
plaintiffs seeking
compensation for
illnesses caused by
working at Ground
Zero.
Paul Napoli and Marc
Bern of the firm
Napoli, Bern, Ripka
have the vast
majority of cases -
some 9,000.
Both men made it big
suing the makers of
diet drug fen-phen
in the late 1990s,
when they
represented tens of
thousands in a
class-action suit.
Bern boasts on his
Web site that he's
earned clients more
than $1 billion in
settlements over his
30-year career.
About 5,000 clients
took Napoli to court
and accused him of
mishandling the fen-phen
settlement, saying
he paied more money
to some members of
the class action
than others. That
case is still
pending.
The other lawyers in
the Ground Zero
cases are William
Groner of Worby,
Groner, Edelman, and
Nicholas Papain and
Andrew Carboy of
Sullivan, Papain,
Block, McGrath, and
Cannavo.
Together, the firms
stand to walk away
with some $200
million in legal
fees plus millions
more in expenses if
the proposed
settlement is
approved.
Mark Kriss, head of
Albany-based New
Yorkers for Lawsuit
Reform, says there's
no law or even
ethical code that
prevents lawyers
from pocketing so
much of the
settlement.
He thinks there
should be.
"We believe personal
injury lawyers
should be held to
the same standard as
medical malpractice
lawyers, which gives
more money to the
victims and less
money to the trial
lawyers," Kriss
said.
Unlike personal
injury cases, which
have no limit to the
amount a lawyer can
take from the
winnings, medical
malpractice lawyers
can earn only up to
23%.
sgoldsmith@nydailynews.com
