Public Interest Litigation Cases
CHSPSC, LLC. Data Breach Class Action
Sanford Heisler Sharp has partnered with Barnow and Associates to file a class complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee alleging that the CHSPSC, LLC (“CHSPSC”) failed to safeguard the personally identifying information (“PII”) and personal health information (“PHI”)—including names, Social Security numbers, addresses, dates of birth, medical billing information and diagnoses, and insurance and prescription information—of over a million individuals, including current and former patients and employees of hospitals or clinics serviced by or affiliated with CHSPSC (the “Proposed Class”). CHSPSC provides management services to hospitals and clinics associated with Community Health Services, Inc. (“CHS”)—one of the largest hospital networks in the Unites States.READ MORE
Polymer80 Ghost Gun Case
The complaint alleges that Polymer80, Inc. violates Maryland and federal firearms law by manufacturing, advertising, and selling kits and parts with which consumers can easily and quickly assemble fully functioning, home-assembled, untraceable, and unserialized ghost guns.READ MORE
GirlsDoPorn.com Lawsuit — $13 Million Award
In 2018, Sanford Heisler Sharp joined attorneys John O’Brien and Brian Holm in representing 22 young women across the United States whose lives suffered irreparable harm after they were conned into participating in pornographic videos for the San Diego-based online pornography business GirlsDoPorn.com by the site’s owner, Michael J. Pratt, and its operators, Ruben “Andre” Garcia, and Matthew Wolfe. READ MORE
Fauquier County, VA, Opioid Epidemic Lawsuit
Fauquier County, Virginia, filed the lawsuit in state court against more than 15 opioid manufacturers, distributors, and PBMs.READ MORE
Montgomery County, VA, Opioid Epidemic Lawsuit
Montgomery County filed the lawsuit in state court against more than 15 opioid manufacturers, distributors, and PBMs — including pharmaceutical titan Purdue Pharma and worldwide distributor McKesson.READ MORE
Martinsville and Henry County, VA, Opioid Epidemic Lawsuit
Martinsville and Henry County filed the lawsuit in state court against more than 15 opioid manufacturers, distributors, and PBMs — including pharmaceutical titan Purdue Pharma and worldwide distributor McKesson.READ MORE
DC Water & Sewer Authority Contaminated Water Case
Sanford Heisler Sharp represents the District of Columbia’s children in a class action against the DC Water and Sewer Authority (WASA), seeking monetary and injunctive relief. In 2001, Washington, DC’s Water and Sewer Authority changed the chemicals it used as a part of the water purification process. The new chemicals caused excess amounts of lead to leach into the water. Although WASA was alerted to the fact that its water was poisonous, it did nothing to remedy the situation, instead taking steps to conceal the problem while continuing to assure DC’s citizens the water was safe.READ MORE
Starion Energy Consumer Fraud Class Action
(November 13, 2014, New York, NY) – Sanford Heisler Sharp, today filed a $50 million nationwide class action complaint alleging that Connecticut-based Starion Energy perpetrates an illegal bait-and-switch scheme that has deceived and defrauded thousands of energy consumers out of millions of dollars. The suit is filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.READ MORE
Energy Plus Consumer Fraud Class Action – $11 Million Settlement
(May 2, 2012, Newark, NJ) – Sanford Heisler Sharp today filed a class action complaint in U.S. District Court in New Jersey against Energy Plus Holdings LLC and Energy Plus Natural Gas LP (Energy Plus) for perpetrating an illegal bait-and-switch scheme that has deceived and defrauded thousands of New Jersey consumers of millions of dollars.READ MORE
Vioxx Product Liability Class Action
Sanford Heisler Sharp served as co-counsel in more than 200 matters related to the painkiller Vioxx, which drug-maker Merck pulled from the market in 2004 when it was discovered that Vioxx doubled the risk of heart attacks and strokes.READ MORE
Gateway Plaza Residents Class Action
On April 1, 2014, Sanford Heisler Sharp filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of Maureen Koetz and approximately 5,000 tenants of the Gateway Plaza housing complex against Marina Towers, Associates, L.P.; Gateway Residential Management; The Lefrak Organization, one of the largest landlords in New York City; and the Battery Park City Authority, alleging violation of the warrant of habitability under the New York Real Property Law. READ MORE
Henneghan v. Countrywide Home Loans Consumer Fraud Suit
Sanford Heisler Sharp represented an individual homeowner in claims of fraud and violation of the DC Consumer Protection Procedures Act (CPPA) against the developer of the converted condominium unit she purchased and the lender which financed the purchase. The court found that the homeowner had claims against the lender to be heard by a jury of fraud in misrepresenting that she could afford her mortgage loan, and in making or enforcing unconscionable terms in a sale. Immediately before trial the case was resolved through settlement.READ MORE
Countrywide Home Loans Predatory Lending Action
Sanford Heisler Sharp represents eleven African-Americans and their home-owners association in a case involving the Kings Court development in Southeastern Washington, DC Our clients are suing the real-estate developer, lenders and other entities involved in fraudulently providing them sub-standard properties that have been plagued by flooding, mold and other structural defects, and for engaging in predatory lending practices with respect to financing. The Defendants in the case engaged in a property-flipping scheme, designed to sell defective units to unwary first-time homebuyers. Defendants intentionally and fraudulently targeted our clients who were inexperienced and unsophisticated first-time homebuyers. Our clients were deceived into purchasing units that were fraudulently over-appraised and whose cosmetic repairs resulted in unstable, unsafe, hazardous, and uninhabitable dwelling units. As a result, our clients were subjected to intolerable living conditions.READ MORE
Onondaga County Juvenile Solitary Confinement Class Action
Counsel from Sanford Heisler Sharp joined the New York Civil Liberties Union (“NYCLU”) and Legal Services of Central New York (“LSCNY”) in representing a class of 16- and 17-year-old Plaintiffs who are or will be held in solitary confinement at the Onondaga County Justice Center, a jail located in Syracuse, New York. The case, filed in September 2016 and led by six Black and Latino Plaintiffs, challenged the constitutionality of locking youth in solitary confinement, often for weeks or months at a time, and depriving them of educational services required by law.READ MORE
Angola 3
In June 2013, Sanford Heisler Sharp joined Squire Patton Boggs in representing Herman Wallace, Robert King Wilkerson, and Albert Woodfox in their civil suit against the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, Louisiana. Known as the “Angola 3,” the Plaintiffs challenged the constitutionality of being held in solitary confinement for more than four decades (since 1972).READ MORE
Sonoma County Prison Litigation
Sanford Heisler Sharp represents a Sonoma County inmate who was assaulted by prison guards and subsequently denied timely and appropriate medical attention for his injuries, including a serious facial fracture. As a result, our client continues to suffer various physical and mental impairments and chronic pain.READ MORE
George v. County of Sonoma, et. al.
Sanford Heisler Sharp represents the estate and family of an African-American inmate who died in custody due to complications from sickle-cell anemia. Defendants in the case – including Sonoma County, jail personnel and medical staff, and outside medical providers – neglected to provide proper care and treatment over the course of more than a week and allowed our client to die of severe dehydration, a well-known and preventable risk of sickle-cell disease.READ MORE