Berman Tabacco > San Francisco, United States > Firm Profile

Berman Tabacco > Firm Profile

Securities Litigation

Berman Tabacco has over 40 years of securities-litigation experience, and it has represented public pension funds and other institutional investors in that area since 1998.  The firm has successfully pursued and prosecuted some of the most significant shareholder lawsuits of the last 20 years. Berman Tabacco appears as one of the firms with the most settlements on the list of the top 100 largest securities class actions in ISS Securities Class Action Services’ published report, Top 100 U.S. Class Action Settlements of All Time (as of 12/31/2023).  Successes include:

• In re BP plc Sec. Litigation, No. 4:10-md-02185 (S.D. Tex.) Firm recovered $175 million on behalf of the class—one of just four mega securities class action settlements in 2017—in this hard-fought litigation on arising out of BP’s Deepwater Horizon explosion, one of the worst oil spills in history.  Class members who submitted claims will receive approximately 115% of their recoverable losses.
• California Public Employees’ Retirement System v. Moody’s Corp., No. CGC-09-490241 (Cal. Super. Ct. San Francisco Cty.)  As sole counsel, the firm recovered $255 million from Moody’s and S&P entities in this landmark individual action on behalf of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System in this individual action alleging negligent misrepresentations in connection with rating three structured investment vehicles.
• In re Fannie Mae 2008 Sec. Litigation, No. 08-cv-07831 (PAC) (S.D.N.Y.)  Firm resolved claims for $170 million alleging that Fannie Mae failed to disclose (i) growing exposure to high-risk mortgages as well as (ii) problems with the company’s risk controls, both of which led to federal conservatorship in 2008.
• In re IndyMac Mortgage-Backed Sec. Litigation, No. 1:09-cv-04583 (LAK) (S.D.N.Y.)  Firm recovered $346 million in case against investment-bank underwriters and officers—one of the largest mortgage-backed-securities class action settlements to date and the largest paid by underwriter defendants.

Antitrust Litigation

Berman Tabacco’s antitrust practice also has a national reputation for prosecuting class actions that involve anticompetitive conduct and conspiracies to fix or maintain prices. Over the years, the firm has played a major role in the prosecution of numerous landmark antitrust cases and has been at the forefront of some of the largest antitrust settlements—recovering over a billion dollars for class members and changing business practices of defendant companies.  Successes include:

• In re Lithium Ion Batteries Antitrust Litigation, No. 13-md-02420-YGR (N.D. Cal.) Firm recovered $139.3 million as co-lead counsel for direct purchasers of lithium-ion rechargeable batteries in a case alleging a conspiracy to fix the prices of the batteries, which affected the prices paid for batteries and the products in which they are used.
• In re New Motor Vehicles Canadian Export Antitrust Litigation, No. 03-md-1532 (D. Me.), and In re Automobile Antitrust Cases I and II, JCCP Nos. 4298 and 4303 (San Francisco Superior Court) Firm represents plaintiffs in action involving allegations that major automakers unlawfully conspired to stop the export of cheaper new Canadian vehicles into the United States.  The  federal case ended in 2009 and the San Francisco Superior Court case settled in 2022 for $82 million just three weeks prior to the start of trial, for which a motion for preliminary approval was filed in April 2022.  With this pending settlement, the firm has achieved settlements totaling over $137 million for class members in the federal and California actions.
• Laydon v. Mizuho Bank, Ltd., No. 1:12-cv-03419 (GBD) (S.D.N.Y.) & Sonterra Capital Master Fund, Ltd. v. UBS AG, No. 1:15-cv-05844 (GBD) (S.D.N.Y.) Firm is counsel for plaintiffs representing a large public pension fund in actions alleging violation of antitrust laws to manipulate the Euroyen TIBOR and Yen LIBOR rates—benchmark rates used to determine interest rates and to price Japanese Yen-based financial instruments.  Partial settlements totaling $364.5 million, of which $329.5 million has been court approved.
• Sullivan v. Barclays PLC, et al., No. 13-cv-02811 (PKC) (S.D.N.Y.) Firm represents a public pension fund in a class action alleging violations of the antitrust laws to manipulate the EURIBOR, a global reference rate used to benchmark and price over $200 trillion of financial products.  Partial settlements totaling $651.5 million have been achieved.

Lawyer Profiles

Photo	Name	Position	Profile
	Daniel E. Barenbaum	Partner	View Profile
	Carl Hammarskjold	Partner	View Profile
	Nicole Lavallee	Managing Partner of the San Francisco Office	View Profile
	Kristin J. Moody	Partner	View Profile
	Matthew D. Pearson	Partner	View Profile
	Todd A. Seaver	Partner	View Profile
	Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr.	Partner	View Profile