Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP > San Francisco, United States > Firm Profile
Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP Offices
ONE SANSOME STREET
SUITE 1850
SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94104
CALIFORNIA
United States
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Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP > The Legal 500 Rankings
Dispute resolution > M&A litigation: plaintiff Tier 1
Pension funds and a variety of other stockholders rely on Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP for representation in litigation concerning allegations of securities fraud and conflicts of interest in mergers. In addition, the firm is often tasked with bringing suit on behalf of public bodies, including municipalities, state agencies and attorneys general. Lee Rudy specializes in cases arising out of both corporate and derivatives transactions; in October 2024 he secured a $162.5m settlement for minority shareholders in Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc., who lost out following its sale by the parent bank. Eric Zagar, whose specialty lies in pursuing cases against directors and officers, was retained by Activision shareholders in relation to both misconduct by its CEO and the merger with Microsoft. Daniel Albert brings additional expertise holding public companies accountable to shareholders for poor governance. Grant Goodhart splits his focus between M&A and governance disputes; both he and Albert represented, alongside Rudy and Zagar, Discovery shareholders in a class action alleging other shareholders acted against its best interests in the merger with WarnerMedia, securing a $125m settlement. All lawyers mentioned here are based in Pennsylvania.Practice head(s):
Lee Rudy; Eric Zagar; Daniel Albert
Other key lawyers:
Key clients
AP7 – Seventh Swedish National Pension Fund
Norges Bank Investment Management
British Airways Pension Trustees Limited
SEB Investment Management AB
Industriens Pensionsforsikring A/S
AMF Pensionsförsäkring AB
Principal Global Financial Group
Franklin Templeton Investments
Nationwide Investment Funds
Nordea Investment Funds (Luxembourg)
Arkansas Teacher Retirement System
Equity-League Pension & Health Trust Funds
United Food & Commercial Workers 464(a) Benefit Funds
Lebanon County Employees’ Retirement Fund
Teamsters Local Union No. 142 Pension Fund
Laborers Joint Pension Trust for Southern Nevada
Iron Workers District Council (Philadelphia & Vicinity) Retirement and Pension Plan
Cleveland Bakers & Teamsters Fund
Orange County Employees’ Retirement System
Naventi Fonder
Universal Investments
Dispute resolution > Securities litigation: plaintiff Tier 1
Primarily based in Pennsylvania and also with some capability on the West Coast in California, the ‘very strong and capable’ team at Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP represents an impressive roster of public pension funds, hedge funds and insurance companies. A high proportion of the firm’s matters have an international angle, whether it be on behalf of foreign institutional investors in US securities matters, or for clients seeking damages in relation to non-US shareholder actions. Recent highlights include the firm’s work for Swedish pension fund Sjunde AP-Fonden, as one of the lead plaintiffs that secured a $362.5m settlement on the eve of a scheduled trial in a lawsuit alleging that GE misrepresented risks tied to a GE power unit. Sharan Nirmul had a pivotal involvement in the aforementioned settlement, one of many successes he has achieved for institutional investors, alongside his role in developing the firm’s fiduciary litigation practice. In addition to overseeing the firm’s monitoring and claims filing service, Darren Check is also at the forefront of the firm’s efforts for institutional investors bringing claims in Europe and Asia Pacific. As well as his thriving fee-earning practice that includes handling cases before the Delaware Court of Chancery, Naumon Amjed is also vital to matter development, with a focus on analyzing the feasibility or otherwise of new securities fraud actions. Jennifer Joost excels in leading the discovery process in large-scale resource intensive class actions, and alongside recently promoted partner Stacey Kaplan, is a key member of the San Francisco office’s securities litigation offering. All named practitioners are based out of Pennsylvania unless otherwise indicated. Founding partner David Kessler retired in January 2025.Practice head(s):
Darren Check; Gregory Castaldo; Andrew Zivitz; Sharan Nirmul; Jennifer Joost; Matthew Mustokoff; Stacey Kaplan; Stuart Berman; Sean Handler; Naumon Amjed
Other key lawyers:
Nathaniel Simon; Austin Manning
Testimonials
‘The team is very strong and capable and always easy to work with.’
Key clients
AP7 – Seventh Swedish National Pension Fund
Norges Bank Investment Management
British Airways Pension Trustees Limited
SEB Investment Management AB
Industriens Pensionsforsikring A/S
AMF Pensionsförsäkring AB• Principal Global Financial Group
Franklin Templeton Investments
Nationwide Investment Funds
Nordea Investment Funds (Luxembourg)
Arkansas Teacher Retirement System
Equity-League Pension & Health Trust Funds
United Food & Commercial Workers 464(a) Benefit Funds
Lebanon County Employees’ Retirement Fund
Teamsters Local Union
142 Pension Fund
Laborers Joint Pension Trust for Southern Nevada
Iron Workers District Council (Philadelphia & Vicinity) Retirement and Pension Plan
Cleveland Bakers & Teamsters Fund
Orange County Employees’ Retirement System
Naventi Fonder
Universal Investments
Work highlights
- Representing Swedish pension fund Sjunde AP-Fonden in a securities fraud class action case, which arose out of alleged misrepresentations made by General Electric and its former Chief Financial Officer, Jeffrey S. Bornstein.
- Representing Industriens Pensionsforsikring A/S in a securities fraud class action, which arose out of Becton, Dickinson and Company’s alleged misrepresentations concerning its ability to market one of its key products—the Alaris infusion pump system in 2020.
- Representing Plymouth County Retirement Association and the Trustees of the Teamsters Union No. 142 Pension Fund in a securities fraud class action, which arose from Apache Corp.’s materially false and misleading statements regarding its purportedly ground-breaking oil and gas discovery in West Texas, which it dubbed “Alpine High.”
Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP > Firm Profile
Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP is one of the largest firms in the world specializing in the prosecution of complex litigation on a contingent basis. Kessler Topaz has developed a worldwide reputation for excellence in the areas of shareholder, consumer protection and antitrust, and fiduciary litigation. Headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania, just outside Philadelphia, and with an office in San Francisco, California, Kessler Topaz is comprised of a highly skilled team of attorneys, paralegals, in-house investigators, legal clerks and other personnel. The firm proudly notes that it has recovered billions of dollars on behalf of its clients.
Kessler Topaz’s shareholder litigation practice focuses on the prosecution of securities fraud claims brought against public companies as well as their officers, directors, and advisors. With a large and sophisticated client base — comprised of over 350 institutional investors of all types from around the world — Kessler Topaz has been entrusted to lead some of the most important actions being litigated in our field today.
In addition, Kessler Topaz has been a leader in implementing important corporate governance reforms designed to protect shareholder rights, improve shareholder value and prevent corporate mismanagement. The firm has a robust shareholder derivative and mergers and acquisition litigation department which represents institutional investors in many important shareholder derivative actions. This department also specializes in takeover litigation, actively representing institutional investors in actions where shareholders are not receiving fair value for their investments.
Notably, the firm has also been at the forefront of representing institutional investors in non-US jurisdictions in light of the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Morrison v. National Australia Bank. The firm has previously, or is currently representing institutional investors in actions in Canada, Brazil, Australia, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Portugal, and Japan.
Indeed, Kessler Topaz has secured many of the largest global shareholder recoveries in history, including:
- $3.2bn settlement in In re Tyco International, Ltd. Securities Litigation;
- $2.425bn settlement in In re Bank of America Corp. Securities Litigation;
- $2bn trial judgment in In re Southern Peru Copper Corp. Derivative Litigation (largest damage award in Delaware Court of Chancery history);
- $3.9bn increase in value in In re Genentech, Inc. Shareholder Litigation;
- €1.3bn recovery in settlement with Ageas, N.V.(the Netherlands; successor entity to Fortis Bank, N.V.; largest shareholder recovery in Europe to date)
- £900m settlement in a group action against Royal Bank of Scotland (U.K.);
- €323.8m recovery in the groundbreaking Royal Dutch Shell European Litigation (the Netherlands)
Finally, Kessler Topaz also dedicates a large portion of its practice to complex litigation on behalf of consumers as well as public and private entities, including municipalities, state agencies, and multi-employer welfare funds. Kessler Topaz’s consumer protection efforts are global in scope and include consumer fraud and antitrust practice groups.
Main Contacts
| Department | Name | Telephone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner | Darren J. Check | [email protected] | 610-822-2235 |
Lawyer Profiles
| Photo | Name | Position | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Ms Jennifer Joost | Partner | View Profile |
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Ms Stacey Kaplan | Partner | View Profile |