University of California, Hastings College of Law (J.D. 1981); University of California, Los Angeles (B.A. 1978)
Brian is an experienced and respected class action and complex business trial lawyer. Brian has lectured on class actions before various organizations, including the California State Bar and the Practicing Law Institute. He was designated as one of Southern California Super Lawyers from 2010 through 2019, and has successfully concluded class settlements in excess of $250 million in just the last two years. Brian was appointed to the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee by Judge Zouhary in Toledo, Ohio in In Re: Polyurethane Foam Antitrust Litigation, MDL No. 2196, which settled in 2016 for more than $430 million. Brian currently leads a team of lawyers representing twelve national homebuilders asserting claims for antitrust violations related to the drywall industry and recently represented two internet companies for antitrust violations against Facebook in a high profile case in Delaware federal court.
In the past 30 years of participating in complex cases, Brian has been involved in numerous notable cases, including the MGM Grand Hotel fire litigation, the Crandall gem case, the San Juan Dupont Plaza Hotel fire litigation in Puerto Rico, litigation arising out of the Iran-Contra scandal, and numerous national class actions. Brian’s trial victories include a $160 million judgment against the principals of an investment scam in a case tried in Los Angeles Superior Court in 1991. In February 1993, Brian obtained a $21 million punitive damage verdict against First State Insurance Company, reportedly one of the largest punitive damage verdicts in California in 1993. In May 1993, Brian obtained the first punitive damage verdict in 17 years in a courtroom in Santa Barbara on behalf of a homeless family. Since 2000, Brian has acted as lead counsel in several class action cases obtaining settlements in excess of $500 million.
Brian is a former President of the Malibu Boys and Girls Club. A noted adventurer, the King of Nepal awarded Brian an anniversary medal for his 2009 summit of Mount Everest. Brian is one of the select few to have summited the highest peaks of all seven continents.
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