James D. Gotz

Experience

Environmental & Product Liability

• State of Maine v. BP P.L.C., et al – Hausfeld represents the State of Maine in climate deception litigation alleging that the defendant fossil fuel companies misled the public about the dangers of climate change, resulting in severe environmental and public health impacts across the state.
• Dodge v. Tezel – James has tried to verdict, as first chair, over a dozen jury cases in Massachusetts state and federal courts, including Dodge v. Tezel (Suffolk Superior Court), which remains the largest state verdict in a pedestrian versus vehicle negligence case, in excess of sixteen million dollars.
• In re Phenylpropanolamine (PPA) Product Liability Litigation – James managed, oversaw the strategy and actively participated in the scientific evidentiary hearing for In re Phenylpropanolamine (PPA) Product Liability Litigation, which resulted in one of the most oft-cited Daubert decisions in pharmaceutical MDL litigation. 
• SCWA v. Dow, et al. and SCWA v. 3M Company, et al. – Two environmental cases on behalf of the largest public water supplier in the country against the manufacturers and distributors of products containing toxic chemicals for contamination of the local public drinking water.
• Attorney General of the State of New Jersey, et al. v. Dow Chemical Co., et al. – Environmental litigation on behalf of the State of New Jersey against the manufacturers of the toxic chemical 1,4-dioxane for contamination of the State’s natural resources and drinking water supply, as well as deceptive and fraudulent business practices regarding the sale of 1,4-dioxane products to industrial facilities and New Jersey consumers.
• City of Philadelphia v. Polymer80, Inc. and JSD Supply, Inc. - Representing the City of Philadelphia, in partnership with the Giffords Law Center, in a lawsuit against defendants Polymer80, Inc. and JSD Supply, which are among the largest suppliers of ghost guns confiscated in Philadelphia, alleging that the named distributors have contributed to the gun violence crisis and threatened the public’s right to health and safety by marketing, selling, and dispersing unserialized ghost guns into Philadelphia.
• Bell v. Al-Khatib - In an important environmental justice case, Hausfeld, along with the Public Interest Law Center, filed a complaint on behalf of a group of Philadelphia residents against an auto body shop for its unlawful operations resulting in nuisance and trespass in their neighborhood, which has been designated by the EPA as an “environmental justice community.” This litigation—focused on just one of scores of auto-related businesses operating improperly in low income communities of color in Southwest Philadelphia—concluded in a swift and favorable settlement including the elimination of the nuisance and the removal of the unlawfully operating business from the property.

Human Rights

• Padre et al. v. MVM - Hausfeld represents families that were unlawfully separated pursuant to the unconstitutional family separation policy implemented during the first Trump administration. The defendant in this class action lawsuit is MVM, Inc., the private security contractor that transported thousands of migrant children away from their parents. The plaintiffs bring human rights claims for enforced disappearance, torture, and cruel and inhumane treatment under the Alien Tort Statute, among other claims.

Public Entity

We have extensive experience representing public and governmental entities, including state Attorneys General Offices, municipal utility boards, and counties in high-stakes investigations and litigation involving a variety of legal practice areas, including antitrust, consumer protection, financial services, and environmental law. The firm’s public entity portfolio includes:

• Retention by state Attorneys General Offices for antitrust litigation against Big Tech platforms;
• Retention by the largest public water supplier in the country relating to environmental contamination;
• Retention by public entities to pursue antitrust claims relating to fraud in financial markets; and
• Retention by the state of West Virginia in one of the earliest cases against the pharmaceutical industry relating to the opioid crisis, filed decades before the current wave of opioid litigation.