X Social Media & Opus Intake Solutions deliver a New One – Two Punch!
There are great COVID-19 claims out there, but biz Interruption clients hesitate to sign without talking to an expert first, and many are just seeking free consultations.
You need to review their policy and key information BEFORE you invest your time, and you know that many leads are simply not going to qualify. You need a better system to collect that info, screen the leads and even set the appointments or else you’ll have a bottlenecked intake nightmare.
OPUS Intake Solutions is offering a brand new service designed exclusively to handle XSM Business Interruption leads. Using a combination of an automated intelligent lead qualifying processor, in conjunction with hands-on vetting, policy and information collection and appointment setting as required, OPUS separates the wheat from the chaff for you – this service is comprehensive, cost-effective and works along side your own office systems.
OPUS Intake Solutions goes beyond traditional intake and provides the nexus to highly qualified potential clients, aggregating the relevant important corporate and policy information required for the type of cases YOU DO WANT, all while motivating and steering them to engage YOUR firm — and ONLY your firm.
The OPUS process puts YOU in charge, even working directly with your office by even setting appointments for you to speak with these highly vetted, screened leads, based upon your schedule and availability to meet with them. OPUS can then get them signed and processed to you, with everything taken care of, and all at the same value of its normal “best-in-show” intake services.
The OPUS Intake team, its leaders and specialist are all seasoned business pros able to discuss the various aspects of interruption claims with relation to COVID-19 and the potential clients – they will do a great job for you, deliver results and protect your most precious resource, your time. OPUS Intake Solutions….better intake, better business.
Learn More – Contact OPUS Intake Solutions – Call the Biz Interruption Line or Email
Ok, We Can Sign Them, Now What Do We Do with Them?
X Social Media and OPUS Intake Announce a Partnership with Brent Coon & Associates
Brent Coon has been working with XSM since Jacob’s first days in the legal industry, getting BP Oil Spill leads. Brent handled and got positive settlements for nearly every one of his over 10,000 claims and by standing up to a flawed system and fighting hard for his clients’ right, and those of his JV partners. He is one of the few attorneys that can say that. Brent is now gearing up for taking COVID-19 Business Interruption claims. Lots of them. His systems are among the best in the industry and his transparency and accountability are setting the bar higher with each tort. You know where you (and your clients stand) and you know what is going on.
Brent Coon & Associates was founded in 2001. Today, with multiple satellite offices around the country and hundreds of associated firms in various practice areas, it is one of the most recognized trial law firms in the nation and the epitome of the 21st century law practice. Brent Coon & Associates employs a full complement of aggressive litigators with solid experience in representing both individuals and business everywhere.
The firm and founder have been repeatedly recognized by most leading journals and legal associations including Texas Lawyer Litigation Department of the Year (2013); Forbes “Lawyer of the Month” and Forbes “Top 75 Litigation Firms”; MTMP “Clarence Darrow Award”; Texas Monthly Magazine “Texas Super Lawyers” (2007-2015); “Best Lawyers in America”; Lawdragon “”500 Leading Plaintiff Lawyers in America”; “American Association of Justice”.
Jason Hennessey’s Legal Marketing Brain Trust Hennessey
Today I have exciting news as well as opportunity in the world of legal marketing. Jason Hennessey, who has been reverse-engineering the Google algorithm since 2001, has created a Legal Marketing Brain Trust Group. This is a space for lawyers and legal marketers to share, collaborate, and exchange ideas, as well as problem-solve together.
Along with addressing questions, concerns, and updates to online search strategies, results-driven strategies are shared in weekly videos that are uploaded to the group, such as The BEST Content Strategy That You May Not Be Doing. Jason Hennessey’s Legal Marketing Brain Trust Group is a fantastic resource for all of your legal marketing questions and roadblocks. I highly recommend joining the group today!
X Social Media LLC,
A Facebook Ad Agency For Lawyers
Becoming A Client Of X Social Media LLC
It’s easy to become a new client!
First you give us a call or write us an email with what campaign you are interested in running. We can help you with an outsourced call center, ref. attorneys…etc, if you need it. We will then setup the landing page up for your firm ($750) and setup the ads and campaigns to produce leads for your firm. We charge Facebook advertising costs +15% as our management fee and a one-time fee per campaign of $750 to make the 3-page landing page for you.
When you get the landing page out for review check that everything is like you want it and we are ready to start your campaign. Normally we see 3-4 days from order to campaign start.
Don’t see the campaign above you want to run? Don’t worry we are running about 110 different campaigns right now. Just ask us, we are an open book!
Don’t know us? Don’t worry, we are currently working with 350 plaintiff law firms and we are happy to provide ref. in your area to check us out.
We look forward to hearing from your firm and getting a campaign going as soon as possible.
Anne Andrews, managing partner of Andrews & Thornton, has considerable experience navigating mass tort bankruptcies involving complicated pharmaceutical product liability, wildfire, and sexual abuse claims, including: New England Compounding Pharmacy, Chemtura Corporation, Dow Corning, PG&E, Insys, Purdue pharmaceuticals, and Boy Scouts of America. She currently chairs Insys and Purdue official committees.
This guest series of articles addresses timely issues of great importance pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic and the implications for insolvency and insurance. In part I of this series, Kami Quinn, who has broad experience regarding insurance recovery in complex litigations and mass tort bankruptcies, offers for our enjoyment an article on business interruption in the context of COVID-19 and insurance coverage.
Future articles in this series will cover insolvency and other insurance and financial matters.
Part I: Business Interruption
By Kami E. Quinn, Gilbert LLP
When life is upended, individuals and businesses turn to their insurance coverage to provide them with financial support and protection. Nothing has upended life as much as the novel coronavirus. The impacts have been direct and immediate – businesses closed, people sick and dying – and indirect – contracts that cannot or will not be fulfilled, stock market volatility, and more. Many of these impacts may not yet be known. The landscape of the insurance response to these disruptions is moving nearly as fast as the impact of the virus itself.Below is a snapshot in time look whether and how business interruption insurance may serve to protect businesses from these financial reverberations. A second follow-up article will consider the potential insurance available for the types of third-party claims that have arisen in the wake of the virus.
Business Interrupted.
In the wake of COVID-19, business in the U.S. and worldwide has been interrupted with a suddenness and to a degree not previously experienced. It is no surprise then, that the first form of protection that businesses large and small turn to as revenues and profits dramatically diminish or stop altogether, is the section of their insurance policies titled “Business Interruption”. Business owners will instinctively feel that the reductions and stoppages occurring nationwide are precisely the sort of disaster from which they paid to be protected. But, will such coverage apply?
In insurance, the answer to that is almost always “it depends”. Given the novelty of the issues in this case, there is even greater uncertainty. The precise circumstances facing individual businesses vary in important details, and the difference of a single word in relevant policy provisions may make or break the pursuit of recompense. But while specifics matter, there are certain emerging trends that businesses should know as they evaluate whether business interruption coverage will provide the backstop they need.
First, insurance companies are broadly taking the position that business interruption insurance will not apply to loses arising from the novel coronavirus. David Sampson, president and CEO of the American Property Casualty Insurance Association has publicly stated that: “Pandemic outbreaks are uninsured because they are uninsurable,” in an April 6 statement. Insurers have gone on to say that any attempt at forcing insurers to foot the hundreds of billions of dollars in losses suffered by businesses “threatens solvency and the ability to make good on the actual promises made in existing insurance policies.” (See, https://www.rollcall.com/2020/04/08/in- letter-to-lawmakers-insurers-say-pandemic-cost-is-too-great/) Accordingly, no business should expect that their insurer will pay these claims in full in the ordinary course of business.
To avoid their coverage obligations under these policies, insurers are principally relying on provisions requiring that any covered business interruption arise out of “direct physical loss of or damage to property.” They assert that the losses experienced by businesses arise not out of any physical damage to their property, but rather out of the various stay-at-home or shelter-in-place orders in place across the nation, or the unwillingness of customers to patronize businesses in the current environment. Insurers thus seek to distinguish the present disaster from a more “traditional” business interruption loss—i.e., interruption caused by natural disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes, fires, or other catastrophes causing physical damage to an insured property.
Policyholders have already begun to challenge this position in court, arguing that the presence of the virus is damage to their property in the same way that the ammonia leak that the District of New Jersey found to constitute property damage in Gregory Packaging damaged that building. See Gregory Packaging, Inc. v. Travelers Property Casualty Co. of America, No. 2:12-cv-04418 (WHW), 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 165232 (D.N.J. Nov. 25, 2014) (finding that ammonia contamination, an “invisible” condition that rendered a building unsafe for human use for some period of time, was covered under a business interruption policy).
Policyholders also point out that where there is community transmission of the disease, presence of the virus (and resulting damage) can be assumed in any individual property. Many stay-at- home or similar orders by governors and mayors around the country support this position by including language in those orders that essentially provides, as a basis for their order, that the virus “spread[s] from surface to person and caus[es] property loss and damage in certain circumstances[.]” See, e.g., gov.louisiana.gov/assets/Proclamations/2020/JBE-33-2020.pdf
Recent caselaw interpreting these orders further supports the proposition that this event is analogous to a more “typical” business interruption event. In Friends of DeVito v. Wolf, 68 MM 2020 (M.D. Pa., April 3, 2020), a Pennsylvania federal court rejected a challenge to an executive order shuttering businesses by finding that the governor had this power because the impact of the coronavirus was a “natural disaster” for which the governor had the power to issue emergency relief under the Pennsylvania code (the code defines “natural disaster” as “any hurricane, tornado, storm, flood, high water, wind-driven water, tidal wave, earthquake, landslide, mudslide…or other catastrophe which results in substantial damage to property, hardship, suffering or possible loss of life”).
If policyholders are successful arguing that indeed there has been physical damage to their property, insurers likely will turn to other common provisions in policies providing business interruption coverage to deny payment of losses. These provisions include “virus exclusions” (i.e., exclusions barring coverage for damages caused by viruses) and exclusions or restrictive sublimits applicable to “Civil Authority” (i.e., provisions barring or limiting coverage for losses caused by governmental action that prevents access to the insured premises). Policyholders have challenged these assertions as well, based in part on their view of the actual “cause” of the loss in any particular case–for example, whether the loss results from shut-downs or the virus itself and the reasonable expectations of policyholders that purchased this coverage. Additional arguments rely on how the particular virus exclusion at issue is worded, and whether it excludes only certain named or identified disease types. Additional responses will continue to develop in the context of particular cases.
Insurance law is creature of state law, so early decisions on these issues may not bear on later cases in other jurisdictions. Policy language varies in relevant details, which may result in different outcomes on these issues even in the same jurisdiction. As a result, there likely will be a flood of cases on these issues in state courts for years to come, and these cases may have wildly differing outcomes for policyholders.
Recognizing the overwhelming need for business interruption coverage to provide protection for businesses before the burdens of ongoing losses drive them to close, state legislatures around the country (including New Jersey, New York, South Carolina, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania) are beginning to propose legislative solutions that will require insurers to respond favorably to various small business’ claims for business interruption coverage. (See www.gilbertlegal.com/updated-legal-developments/ for more information.) Whether these efforts will be successful, or withstand constitutional challenges remains to be seen.
In light of all of these factors, the only thing that is clear about how business interruption coverage will ultimately apply is that there is no clear answer to date. As such, any business that has business interruption coverage ought to immediately (1) put their insurer on notice of their loss, (2) carefully review the specific contours of their policy, and (3) begin keeping careful records of the amount of losses and expenses incurred relating to their cessation (or reduction of business) to be in the best position to recover where possible.
The Best Way to Find Business Interruption Claims is Through Facebook. Period.
Business Interruption Claims
As the virus has shut down most businesses lawyers are now looking to help struggling businesses with their insurance claims for business interruption.
Well look no further than Facebook if you want to contact business owners today as that is a target on Facebook. We have been running these claims for the last month and we have an audience of 7.4 Million business owners on Facebook setup and we are seeing leads coming in below $20 right now with an average of $16 per lead.
We are ready to take on new clients for Business Interruption Claims and can even help with automation to make the process as streamlined as possible with the high volume of leads you should expect from this campaign.
FDA calls for heartburn drug Zantac to be pulled from market immediately
The FDA noted that an ongoing investigation has determined that levels of a contaminant in the heartburn medications increase over time and when stored at higher-than-normal temperatures, pose a risk to public health.The contaminant, N-nitrosodimethylamine or NDMA, is a probable human carcinogen and the FDA has been investigating levels of it in ranitidine since the summer of 2019. Article Here
Zantac or Ranitidine first came out in 1981 and by 1987 it was the most prescribed drug in the world for decreasing stomach acid production. Fast forward almost 40 years later and we find out that Zantac should really not be exposed to heat. When exposed to heat in the body, the chemical called N-nitrosodimethylamine, or NDMA, a probable human carcinogen is created.
In the almost 40 years on the market, no warning was ever given on this and we could be talking about a whole lot of people exposed and at risk. In 2016 there where more than 15 million Americans with a prescription to Zantac (not counting the people that got it over the counter.)
The cancers that could be tied to Zantac are: Bladder Cancer, Stomach Cancer, Small Intestine Cancer, Colorectal Cancer, Esophageal Cancer, Liver Cancer, Pancreatic Cancer, Testicular Cancer, Uterine Cancer, Kidney Cancer
We have been finding clients for this tort for the last few months and we have setup attorneys if you are interested in ref. the cases out. We are seeing case costs currently running backing into $1000-1200 per cancer case. You can see our statistics on this tort here
X Social Media,
A Facebook Ad Agency For Lawyers
Becoming A Client Of X Social Media LLC
It’s easy to become a new client!
First you give us a call or write us an email with what campaign you are interested in running. We can help you with an outsourced call center, ref. attorneys…etc, if you need it. We will then setup the landing page up for your firm ($750) and setup the ads and campaigns to produce leads for your firm. We charge Facebook advertising costs +15% as our management fee and a one-time fee per campaign of $750 to make the 3-page landing page for you.
When you get the landing page out for review check that everything is like you want it and we are ready to start your campaign. Normally we see 3-4 days from order to campaign start.
Don’t see the campaign above you want to run? Don’t worry we are running about 110 different campaigns right now. Just ask us, we are an open book!
Don’t know us? Don’t worry, we are currently working with 350 plaintiff law firms and we are happy to provide ref. in your area to check us out.
We look forward to hearing from your firm and getting a campaign going as soon as possible.
Ready to get started? Go ahead and click below to book some time with Jacob, the founder of X Social Media.
Business Interruption Claims
As the virus has shut down most businesses lawyers are now looking to help struggling businesses with their insurance claims for business interruption.
Well look no further than Facebook if you want to contact business owners today as that is a target on Facebook. We have been running these claims for the last month and we have an audience of 7.4 Million business owners on Facebook setup and we are seeing leads coming in below $10 right now.
We are ready to take on new clients for Business Interruption Claims and can even help with automation to make the process as streamlined as possible with the high volume of leads you should expect from this campaign.
We are now ready to show you all a little side projects we have been working on in our Development department. The reason we need our own e-signature product is so we can move leads directly to signature on a contract that is already filled out from the lead form.
This project was headed up by our lead developer Eric and it is now ready for deployment to intake centers and law firms around the country. We can do all kinds of cool stuff with this and since it is our own product we can customize it as needed to our clients’ needs.
First you give us a call or write us an email with what campaign you are interested in running. We can help you with an outsourced call center, ref. attorneys…etc, if you need it. We will then setup the landing page up for your firm ($750) and setup the ads and campaigns to produce leads for your firm. We charge Facebook advertising costs +15% as our management fee and a one-time fee per campaign of $750 to make the 3-page landing page for you.
When you get the landing page out for review check that everything is like you want it and we are ready to start your campaign. Normally we see 3 days from order to campaign start.
Don’t see the campaign above you want to run? Don’t worry we are running about 110 different campaigns right now.
Don’t know us? Don’t worry, we are currently working with 350 plaintiff law firms and we are happy to provide ref. in your area to check us out.
We look forward to hear from your firm and get a campaign going as soon as possible.
What Should We Be Doing Now ? The most asked question last week was, “I have 30 people sitting at home not doing anything right now, what campaigns can we run with you so they have stuff to do?”
The Answer: Make sure you have enough money put back to cover your employees for an extended time before advertising.
If you do want to advertise do something good locally this is a time for you to build your local brand. What good you do now will be talked about on social media and will be remembered by your local community for years to come. Help people locally that are less fortunate and feel good about being able to help. If you do the right thing it will always pay dividends in the long run.
A few ideas:
-Donate meals to elderly
-Donate meals to first responders.
-Help First responders with person protective gear.
-Help the less fortunate in your local community.
I am seeing a lot of law firms doing it and its the right thing to do.
Now if you are already doing all this good for you and good for your firm. For mass torts these are incredible times, we have never seen lower prices on digital media and more eye balls seeing the ads.
At X Social Media we will do all the setup and advertising. We will then automatically send the leads to LCC or Opus for intake and sign up based on your criteria. You will then get the sign case back to your people for further case work up. You control the whole process but it is all done for you.
Contact us if your want to start a local donation campaign or a mass torts campaign. Jacob@xsocialmedia.com
First you give us a call or write us an email with what campaign you are interested in running. We can help you with an outsourced call center, ref. attorneys…etc, if you need it. We will then setup the landing page up for your firm ($750) and setup the ads and campaigns to produce leads for your firm. We charge Facebook advertising costs +15% as our management fee and a one-time fee per campaign of $750 to make the 3-page landing page for you.
When you get the landing page out for review check that everything is like you want it and we are ready to start your campaign. Normally we see 3 days from order to campaign start.
COVID-19: Corporate Defendant Files for Bankruptcy under Chapter 11:
Now What?! Part II of III
This article is the second in a series of three articles about the basics mass tort attorneys need to know about bankruptcy and restructuring in order to best represent and maximize recovery to their individual clients.
This article will address the unexpected filing of Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the procedural flurry of activities that occur immediately following such a filing, the actual formation of a creditors’ committee, and how a firm navigates a very different course to protect its interests.
In my career as a mass tort lawyer practicing in bankruptcy, I have literally filed hundreds of applications for my clients to serve on creditors’ committees and have personally been selected to serve on over 15 very large creditors’ committees. The current cases where my clients and I, through their proxy, serve on these committees include: Purdue, Insys, PG&E, and Boy Scouts of America bankruptcies. We expect Juul and Carnival Cruise Lines to follow soon. The bankruptcy courts are running at full tilt, and the bar date has not been set for the Boy Scouts Bankruptcy. We will keep you advised of the status of that important deadline.
The Very Beginning of the Chapter 11
Most of us are well aware that Chapter 11 is a kind of bankruptcy that involves the reorganization of the debtor’s business affairs debts and assets. It is different from a Chapter 7, which is a liquidation and distribution of assets, but Chapter 11 requires a plan of reorganization, with the support of creditors’ groups, and a voting process. This version of bankruptcy gives the debtor a fresh start, but the terms are subject to the debtor’s fulfilling of obligations under the plan, including distribution of debtor’s assets to tort victims. The Chapter 11 is the most complex of all cases. It is also very expensive.
The debtor and the official committee’s professional expenses (attorneys, financial advisors, insurance counsel, and all costs of the bankruptcy) are paid for by the estate, which is the assets of the bankrupt corporation. When I say it can be expensive, I mean that in a case like PG&E, the expenses of counsel and their financial investment bankers will exceed $100,000,000.
First Things First
When you receive notice of the petition, as discussed in the earlier article, the automatic stay under section 362 is in effect stopping your trial midstream but also stopping the expense of proceeding, such as expert reports and depositions of all kinds, and the litigation screeches to a halt. The company remains in charge of its assets, but many things occur at the first day hearing. The first day filing will list a schedule of the largest creditors of the company and is available online on the docket, where you can easily see if you or other similarly situated claimants are listed in the first day filings.
Tort victims were listed in the recent first day filings of the Boy Scouts of America. You may not have filed your case yet, and if you do not see yourself there as one of the biggest single large creditors, you need not be concerned. Many large US companies have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and do stay afloat. They include giant corporations, like General Motors (which actually was the subject of a lengthy litigation to include ignition switch cases), and most of us are familiar with United Airlines, retail outlets Kmart and Sears, and thousands of other corporations.
The business filing of a Chapter 11 allows the debtor to continue to operate and run the business with its executives, with the exception of fraud or dishonesty and criminal conduct, in which case, a court appointed trustee is often in place to run the company and the entire bankruptcy proceedings. This happened in the New England Compounding case where, eventually, all of the manufacturers of illegally compounded methylprednisolone drugs infected over 700 people with incurable fungal meningitis and eventually ended up behind bars.
Pause Button
The court has control over the assets, and there is a very comprehensive reporting period of insurance and cash, including all of the pending necessary contracts with vendors, unions, landlords, and insurance. However, there is a stranglehold on the debtor’s ability to arrange any loans or financing that the creditors’ group has a significant interest in approving (it is called DIP financing or debtor-in-possession finance) to be sure it is not overly expensive and is necessary to meet the needs of the estate.
You should check the docket daily to see what matters are being heard. It is very interesting to attend a first motion where parties show up and address the court. The debtor, the large creditors, and, in the case of mass torts, usually members of the PSC and their counsel will make appearances on the record during this interim period until committees are formed. The judge in a bankruptcy court is assigned under federal law to manage all issues involving a Chapter 11 unless an Article 3 judge and federal district court withdraws the reference, which does happen occasionally but will be discussed in another article.
Bankruptcy Court
The bankruptcy judge has the plenary jurisdiction over all matters involving the bankruptcy; he or she is a specialist and operates in the very closed circles of the bankruptcy bar. There are some very different practices in bankruptcy that are opposite to the traditional practice of trial lawyers in state and federal courts. We will be discussing these differences in additional articles.
US Trustee’s Role
It is often wise to get in touch with the US trustee’s office in the district where the bankruptcy is filed, in order to determine, if you cannot determine from the docket, who the United States trustee is that is assigned to the case. It is important to reach out, either by letter or phone. Most trustees are responsive, particularly if you are looking for information to get for the all-important formation committee meeting. The next important thing to your interest is the formation of official committees.
What Exactly Is a Creditors’ Committee, and What Does It Do?
There are a number of committees that are formed in a bankruptcy that operate as de facto boards of directors, making decisions in connection with the debtor. There are numerous kinds of committees, and it is important to know the differences. In the case of a company filing that has a lot of secure debt, the secured creditors will often have their own committee or since they are secured, not even need a committee. The next type of committee is an unsecured committee or UCC. A UCC will be made up of all the different kinds of creditors. In the case of a bankruptcy where there is a serious number of mass tort victims, such as New England Compounding company, PG&E, and Boy Scouts, there was a separate tort claim committee (or TCC) appointed by the US trustee. If the creditors of a committee of a company are predominately tort victims, it will likely include 9 individual tort claimants on the creditors’ committee, but it is at the discretion of the US trustee.
Once you receive notice of the formation meeting, it will be in person and in the courthouse itself or in a hotel near the courthouse where all creditors can seek to apply and be interviewed for a position on the committee.
The Role of the US Trustee
The United States Trustee is a division of the Department of Justice that is authorized to seat and select official creditors on committees, with their counsel acting as official proxy, filed with that office. The application process is very different from district to district. There are forms for it, but it should also include many things about your claim that might not be apparent from the form.
Duty of a Committee Member
This office has filed several hundred applications to serve on committees for numerous clients over the years, and the application for your client to serve has many important features that let the trustee know that your client is committed to serving, understands that in doing so he or she must represent the best interest of all creditors and not just advocate for his or her interest alone, and realizes the time commitment involved with travel and a very large number of meetings, which is often difficult for individuals to manage. We understand this process well: we are highly experienced at the application process, the meeting process, and with how to engage the US trustee in the discussion of why your client should be selected to serve.
Committees are formed of anywhere from 5 to 11 members, depending on the size of the case and again totally at the discretion of the US trustee assigned to the case. This is a fiduciary committee with all the obligations that entails. Once the committee is formed, if your client is selected, you immediately go into the formal responsibilities of adopting bylaws and selecting committee professionals–such as counsel for the official committee and financial advisors and, in some cases, investment bankers to advise you about the assets and their potential for sale or valuation inside the bankruptcy process.
Applying for a creditors’ committee can be very intimidating since it is not the usual experience of very many trial lawyers or mass tort lawyers. Navigating it successfully is something that takes years of know-how, and an understanding of what it takes to confirm a Chapter 11 plan of confirmation that the United States Trustee will value. The trustee will recognize that your firm has the capabilities and the track record of participating in the committee process and confirming a plan of Chapter 11 reorganization successfully. These are the major things USTs are looking for. They want applicants to work efficiently and effectively to wind up the business of the corporation quickly and economically so that the assets are preserved to be distributed to all creditors, including your clients.
As of now, even in the time of COVID-19, US trustees require attendance in person, except in extraordinary circumstances. It is allowable to attend your interview process by phone, but it was recommended that you be in person, showing your commitment to serve on a committee, if you want to increase your chances of being selected. I have attended application formation committee meetings where there have been hundreds of applicants, and it is the US trustee’s job to select from all those applications the people who represent the demographics of a select creditor group, the size of the claim, and the counsel involved in the claim.
I’m on the Committee…Now What?
Official committees often are formed within the first 2 to 3 weeks of the filing of the petition for Chapter 11. You and your client should commit to staying 1 to 2 nights in the venue since the committee will often have to work very late the first night after being selected and the interview of counsel can take hours. Understand that the committee must interview and vote on the selection of the official committee counsel. In another article we will go through what we think are the most important aspects of counsel to best represent tort victims in a bankruptcy.
Obviously, your client should be able to demonstrate within the committee certain leadership skills. They should be able to intelligently communicate their claim and their dedication to serve in a balanced and effective presentation that shows that they understand well the function of a committee is to serve the best interest of everyone who deserves or will be found to be owed money from the estate.
Representing a member of the bankruptcy committee is one of the most interesting things a trial lawyer can experience. Understand, however, that it is unpaid. You will be changing your representation of your client from a full-fledged litigation in a state or federal court to becoming their counsel on a committee and be guided by the committee counsel through the process. You may be uncomfortable at first, but an effective trial lawyer should be able to learn the skill set necessary to work on the committee effectively with other kinds of creditors’ groups that do not necessarily agree with or understand the complex issues of the bankruptcy court that require committees to move effectively and quickly to preserve assets for the estate. Bankruptcy cases move very fast, perhaps faster than any other court system currently. We have been known to be able to move to claw back assets, take down insurance policies, to have it be paid = to the estate, and have a process for dividing the money through an approved matrix or criteria for application to the trust in under 18 months.
We will cover more about the actual bankruptcy and committee process in the next article.
Please feel free to reach out to Andrews & Thornton if you’re thinking about applying on a committee as we are very experienced in this area. Understand that there are two bankruptcies on the horizon: the JUUL company should be filing soon, and if you have clients that are pursuing claims against JUUL, please feel free to reach out to us so that we can discuss with you the current order of things in the impending bankruptcy. Tobacco giant Altria has a substantial investment in JUUL, and we understand the financial landscape of that case very well. Also, Boy Scouts of America filed for Chapter 11 and is moving very quickly. We are seated on the creditors’ committee with Slater, Slater, Schulman LLP, representing victims of Scouting abuse and would be very happy to make a detailed report to you about that case. There is the potential for getting Boy Scouts claims and working with our firm since the bar date, which is the statue limitations, has not been set. Please feel free to reach out to us if you’d like to talk about getting Boy Scout claims.
Be safe, and stay healthy.
Anne Andrews, managing partner of Andrews & Thornton, has considerable experience navigating mass tort bankruptcies involving complicated pharmaceutical product liability, wildfire, and sexual abuse claims, including: New England Compounding Pharmacy, Chemtura Corporation, Dow Corning, PG&E, Insys, Purdue pharmaceuticals, and Boy Scouts of America. She currently chairs Insys and Purdue official committees.
Please reach out if we can help your firm in anyway.
This sex-abuse-fueled bankruptcy will be big as state laws have recently changed in both New York and California; where victims going back 50-60 years can come forward and file claims for sexual abuse which occurred decades ago. For all other states the bankruptcy changes everything because anybody from any state can file their claim in the bankruptcy.
In March we found almost 1,200 confirmed leads for Boy Scouts abuse coming in at an average price of $361 but with a 25% signup rate at the intake center.
Numbers are now trending in the right direction with both the average price per lead going down and the signup rate going up. Some campaigns are seeing leads come in as low as $200 per lead.
We have very good attorney ref. available on the Bankruptcy committee if anybody needs a ref. attorney. To get your own Boy Scout campaign started, please contact our Managing Director, Lucas Gerler, directly at lucas@Xsocialmedia.com.
FDA calls for heartburn drug Zantac to be pulled from market immediately
The FDA noted that an ongoing investigation has determined that levels of a contaminant in the heartburn medications increase over time and when stored at higher-than-normal temperatures, pose a risk to public health.
The contaminant, N-nitrosodimethylamine or NDMA, is a probable human carcinogen and the FDA has been investigating levels of it in ranitidine since the summer of 2019. Article Here
Zantac or Ranitidine first came out in 1981 and by 1987 it was the most prescribed drug in the world for decreasing stomach acid production. Fast forward almost 40 years later and we find out that Zantac should really not be exposed to heat. When exposed to heat in the body, the chemical called N-nitrosodimethylamine, or NDMA, a probable human carcinogen is created.
In the almost 40 years on the market, no warning was ever given on this and we could be talking about a whole lot of people exposed and at risk. In 2016 there where more than 15 million Americans with a prescription to Zantac (not counting the people that got it over the counter.)
The cancers that could be tied to Zantac are: Bladder Cancer, Stomach Cancer, Small Intestine Cancer, Colorectal Cancer, Esophageal Cancer, Liver Cancer, Pancreatic Cancer, Testicular Cancer, Uterine Cancer, Kidney Cancer. We also have a ref. attorney that is open to taking all cancer cases.
We have been finding clients for this tort for the last few months and we have setup attorneys if you are interested in ref. the cases out. We are seeing case costs currently running backing into as low as $500-$900 per cancer case. You can see our statistics on this tort here
FREE Video Training from X Social Media Now Available
For the next few months, we are opening up our paid X Social Academy to our friends and clients for FREE!
Please let us know if you have any questions and feel free to share!
X Social Media,
A Digital Ad Agency
X Social Media started in 2015, and we are now working with over 350 law firms doing direct advertising to consumers via Facebook and Instagram and now Google, Bing, and other digital and native display channels. All advertising we do is by direct response and for every dollar we spend, we generate value by helping people get representation and compensation for whatever has happened to them.
In 2018 we wrote a book on how to use Facebook and Instagram to help generate cases for law firms. The Facebook Effect For Lawyers which is now available on Amazon.
We are a full-service digital advertising agency that spent over $50 million in Facebook advertising alone in 2019. We have in-house Developers, Designers, Ad specialists, and Directors of Marketing & Strategy ready to run your campaign as efficiently as possible while generating as many leads as possible.We are a true extension of your team and practice true transparency in everything we do.
We have a trusted network of friends in the Mass Torts Industry and can help you with introductions to Tier 1 attorneys for case referrals. We also have the latest information about a lot of new projects that are running with very few firms involved.
We would love to take over as your true digital experts, it’s 2020 and you deserve the best digital marketing agency this year. So take the first step and reach out to us via phone 888-670-0006 or email at: [jacob@xsocialmedia.com]jacob@xsocialmedia.com so you can see the difference in performance for yourself.
We look forward to your call or message.
You can also schedule a call with Jacob by clicking the link button below.
COVID-19: The Benefits to Tort Victims of US Chapter 11 Relief in a Time of Economic Crisis Part I of III
The impact of COVID-19 is still uncertain, but what is clear is that the global outbreak of this virus has caused, and will continue to cause, serious business setbacks of all kinds from quarantine orders, business closures, and social distancing, all while we’re waiting for flattening the curve of the pandemic. A pronounced, dramatic economic downturn is predicted as the pandemic touches all businesses, regardless of geography or industry.
To the mass tort practitioner, it is important to take note that planning for this future could lead to successful outcomes to victims you represent. If you engage in litigation or are planning litigation against a company that has challenges in paying its ongoing business costs, in addition to keeping available limits of insurance necessary to meet settlement and fund verdicts for mass tort victims, you should consider consulting with us.
While the US economy continued to grow over the last several years, companies took out significant, historically high levels of debt. Therefore, the pandemic may be the tipping point for companies that otherwise would have survived the normal ebb and flow of profits and economic hardship.
This article is intended to help trial lawyers better understand how valuable a Chapter 11 tool is during a time of crisis and how to successfully use a Chapter 11 reorganization. You must become proficient in the U.S. Bankruptcy code to effectively and economically manage mass tort claims in the bankruptcy process.
While very few trial lawyers think of the bankruptcy court as a place to plan for success, many firms who have engaged in the practice, from GM ignition switch, Takata airbags, PG&E fire claims, New England Compounding tort claims, and a host of others that went before, know that in the hands of the right counsel, it can become an effective and economical way to resolve claims for significant value, including full or made-whole value.
The Benefits of a Chapter 11 Reorganization
The benefits of a Chapter 11 reorganization are many. If you’re engaged in litigation against the company that files under section 362 of the bankruptcy code, the automatic stay is in effect after filing the petition, so it may stop trials and expensive discovery. It also freezes the assets effectively to preserve them for creditors, including tort victims who can be the single largest creditor group in a mass tort against a company. This was the case in the recent PG&E case, where a $13.5 billion plan is pending confirmation for fire victims, as well as many others.
The Official Committee
The application process requires documentation of the claim and an interview by the United States trustees’ office. Experienced counsel are often selected to serve based on their success in completing Chapter 11 bankruptcies and understanding the roles necessary to conclude a case with confirmation of a plan. You may want to consider applying for a seat on an official committee for your client. We will be covering this complicated and interesting process in part II of this series.
Necessary Preparation in Advance of a Chapter 11 Filing
Andrews & Thornton has the skill set and is available for consulting with firms that have concerns that companies they are either engaged in litigation with or about to engage in litigation may have limited resources to pay their debt and tort claims from insurance and assets. What we suggest is you reach out to us in advance of the filing, as many things can be done to “set the table” for victims of mass tort by engaging with the debtors’ counsel. We have relationships with most of the larger firms who have represented the biggest corporations in mass tort bankruptcies. We are ready to assist those reading this newsletter to consult on how you might organize in order to be successful.
The future of mass tort may well rest on the success we can bring within the bankruptcy context. Only the most experienced law firms have navigated these waters as many times as Andrews & Thornton has. Contact us for a consultation if you need us to review the facts and plan a strategy with you.
The Paycheck Protection Program(“PPP”) authorizes up to $349 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses to pay their employees during the COVID-19 crisis. All loan terms will be the same for everyone. The loan amounts will be forgiven as long as: The loan proceeds are used to cover payroll costs, and most mortgage interest, rent, and utility costs over the 8 week period after the loan is made
The link below is to the online automated application for SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
They will assist you in complying with all of the requirements to obtain this loan at no cost to you.
In order to streamline the process for you, please complete the form below and SBA will create a draft of the application on your behalf through DocuSign.
Here is the process:
1. Click on link and fill out an application
2. You’ll then receive an automated email with a Docusign application for signature
3. Within 24 hours, you’ll receive an automated email with a link to upload the appropriate documents
4. You’ll then receive an automated email notifying you that your application is in review
5. Your file is then sent to the bank for closing of the loan
If you want to read more about this program by the US treasury please click below.
FDA calls for heartburn drug Zantac to be pulled from market immediately
The FDA noted that an ongoing investigation has determined that levels of a contaminant in the heartburn medications increase over time and when stored at higher-than-normal temperatures, pose a risk to public health.
The contaminant, N-nitrosodimethylamine or NDMA, is a probable human carcinogen and the FDA has been investigating levels of it in ranitidine since the summer of 2019. Article Here
Zantac or Ranitidine first came out in 1981 and by 1987 it was the most prescribed drug in the world for decreasing stomach acid production. Fast forward almost 40 years later and we find out that Zantac should really not be exposed to heat. When exposed to heat in the body, the chemical called N-nitrosodimethylamine, or NDMA, a probable human carcinogen is created.
In the almost 40 years on the market, no warning was ever given on this and we could be talking about a whole lot of people exposed and at risk. In 2016 there where more than 15 million Americans with a prescription to Zantac (not counting the people that got it over the counter.)
The cancers that could be tied to Zantac are: Bladder Cancer, Stomach Cancer, Small Intestine Cancer, Colorectal Cancer, Esophageal Cancer, Liver Cancer, Pancreatic Cancer, Testicular Cancer, Uterine Cancer, Kidney Cancer
We have been finding clients for this tort for the last few months and we have setup attorneys if you are interested in ref. the cases out. We are seeing case costs currently running backing into $1000-1200 per cancer case. You can see our statistics on this tort here
FREE Video Training from X Social Media Now Available
For the next few months, we are opening up our paid X Social Academy to our friends and clients for FREE!
Please let us know if you have any questions and feel free to share!
In today’s challenging market, client experience is more important than ever.
Potential new clients have a deluge of information and more options at their fingertips than at any time in the past. It’s no longer enough for law firms to provide good service—they must provide a great experience. And there’s no better place to start than at the beginning.
That’s why Filevine has recently acquired Lead Docket, the top lead intake management solution for law firms.
Like Filevine, Lead Docket was founded by lawyers who wanted real solutions to their problems. Like Filevine, they are experiencing rapid growth as savvy firms are realizing the benefits from adopting their products. And most importantly, like Filevine, Lead Docket is committed to radically improving the practice of law, making it better for lawyers, staff, and clients alike.
Lead Docket will continue to operate as a stand-alone product available to customers of any case management system. Over time, Filevine will integrate Lead Docket’s technology into their core platform as an integrated product. – Ryan Anderson, Filevine CEO and Co-Founder.
Congrats to both Eric, Ryan, and the rest of the Filevine and Lead Docket teams! You can read the full announcement here.
X Social Media,
A Digital Ad Agency
X Social Media started in 2015, and we are now working with over 350 law firms doing direct advertising to consumers via Facebook and Instagram and now Google, Bing, and other digital and native display channels. All advertising we do is by direct response and for every dollar we spend, we generate value by helping people get representation and compensation for whatever has happened to them.
In 2018 we wrote a book on how to use Facebook and Instagram to help generate cases for law firms. The Facebook Effect For Lawyers which is now available on Amazon.
We are a full-service digital advertising agency that spent over $50 million in Facebook advertising alone in 2019. We have in-house Developers, Designers, Ad specialists, and Directors of Marketing & Strategy ready to run your campaign as efficiently as possible while generating as many leads as possible.We are a true extension of your team and practice true transparency in everything we do.
We have a trusted network of friends in the Mass Torts Industry and can help you with introductions to Tier 1 attorneys for case referrals. We also have the latest information about a lot of new projects that are running with very few firms involved.
We would love to take over as your true digital experts, it’s 2020 and you deserve the best digital marketing agency this year. So take the first step and reach out to us via phone 888-670-0006 or email at: jacob@xsocialmedia.com so you can see the difference in performance for yourself.
The Paycheck Protection Program(“PPP”)authorizes up to $349 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses to pay their employees during the COVID-19 crisis. All loan terms will be the same for everyone. The loan amounts will be forgiven as long as: The loan proceeds are used to cover payroll costs, and most mortgage interest, rent, and utility costs over the 8 week period after the loan is made
The link below is to the online automated application for SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
We will assist you in complying with all of the requirements to obtain this loan at no cost to you.
In order to streamline the process for you, please complete the form below and we will create a draft of the application on your behalf through DocuSign.
Here is the process:
1. Click on link and fill out an application
2. You’ll then receive an automated email with Docusign application for signature
3. Within 24 hours, you’ll receive an automated email with a link to upload the appropriate documents
4. You’ll then receive an automated email notifying you that your application is in review
5. Your file is then sent to the bank for closing of the loan
If you want to read more about this program by the US treasury please click here
FDA calls for heartburn drug Zantac to be pulled from market immediately
The FDA noted that an ongoing investigation has determined that levels of a contaminant in the heartburn medications increase over time and when stored at higher-than-normal temperatures, pose a risk to public health.
The contaminant, N-nitrosodimethylamine or NDMA, is a probable human carcinogen and the FDA has been investigating levels of it in ranitidine since the summer of 2019. Article Here
Zantac or Ranitidine first came out in 1981 and by 1987 it was the most prescribed drug in the world for decreasing stomach acid production. Fast forward almost 40 years later and we find out that Zantac should really not be exposed to heat. When exposed to heat in the body, the chemical called N-nitrosodimethylamine, or NDMA, a probable human carcinogen is created.
In the almost 40 years on the market, no warning was ever given on this and we could be talking about a whole lot of people exposed and at risk. In 2016 there where more than 15 million Americans with a prescription to Zantac (not counting the people that got it over the counter.)
The cancers that could be tied to Zantac are: Bladder Cancer, Stomach Cancer, Small Intestine Cancer, Colorectal Cancer, Esophageal Cancer, Liver Cancer, Pancreatic Cancer, Testicular Cancer, Uterine Cancer, Kidney Cancer
We have been finding clients for this tort for the last few months and we have setup attorneys if you are interested in ref. the cases out. We are seeing case costs currently running backing into $1000-1200 per cancer case. You can see our statistics on this tort here
X Social Media,
A Digital Ad Agency
X Social Media started in 2015, and we are now working with over 350 law firms doing direct advertising to consumers via Facebook and Instagram and now Google, Bing, and other digital and native display channels. All advertising we do is by direct response and for every dollar we spend, we generate value by helping people get representation and compensation for whatever has happened to them.
In 2018 we wrote a book on how to use Facebook and Instagram to help generate cases for law firms. The Facebook Effect For Lawyers which is now available on Amazon.
We are a full-service digital advertising agency that spent over $50 million in Facebook advertising alone in 2019. We have in-house Developers, Designers, Ad specialists, and Directors of Marketing & Strategy ready to run your campaign as efficiently as possible while generating as many leads as possible.We are a true extension of your team and practice true transparency in everything we do.
We have a trusted network of friends in the Mass Torts Industry and can help you with introductions to Tier 1 attorneys for case referrals. We also have the latest information about a lot of new projects that are running with very few firms involved.
We would love to take over as your true digital experts, it’s 2020 and you deserve the best digital marketing agency this year. So take the first step and reach out to us via phone 888-670-0006 or email at: jacob@xsocialmedia.com so you can see the difference in performance for yourself.
