In what is likely to be among the top class action defense verdicts of 2019, Miles Scully and the Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani trial team obtained a complete defense verdict for L’Oréal against a claim that one of its hair products badly injured users. Peter Siachos, Justin Lewis, JoAnna Doherty and others were critical to the victory against a team of a dozen of the top class action attorneys in the country, including lead trial attorney Mark Geragos.
Identical suits were brought against many other hair product makers, all of which had previously lost or settled. Wen settled at $26.25 million for claims against its hair products and Unilever did the same for claims against its Suave Hair Products, which settled at $10.2 million.
Gordon & Rees has tried and won more class action cases than any law firm in the country. Miles Scully, Timothy Branson, William Rathbone and team obtained a defense verdict on behalf of Urban Outfitters against a $900 million demand at trial involving a statutory invasion of privacy class claim in 2017. The National Law Journal named Scully one of the top 25 lawyers in the country shortly thereafter. He had previously been named among the top 10 trial attorneys in California.
Scully, Branson, and team also successfully defended a national family-owned tea company against a food labeling class action which was upheld in 2018. Scully did the same for Cumberland Sugar. Scully and Branson currently represent VPX, the maker of popular energy drinks against a bevy of class actions inspired by a competitor lawsuit initiated by Monster.