ATTORNEYS
The attorneys at Gardy & Notis, LLP have litigated hundreds of cases in both state and federal courts throughout the United States, primarily involving federal or state securities laws, mergers and acquisitions and corporate governance matters, consumer protection laws and product liability claims.
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MARK C. GARDY
Mark has over 35 years of experience in representing institutional and induvial clients in complex securities and class action cases. Mark heads up the firm's client development department and provides oversight for many of the firm's cases.
Mark has organized many cases resulting in substantial recoveries for investors, including Renren, McKesson, Caesar's Entertainment, Primedia, Bear Stearns, AbbVie, and United Healthcare.
Mark received his B.A. from Rutgers University in 1981, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa, with high honors. He received his J.D, cum laude, from New York Law School in 1984. Mark is admitted to the Bar of the State of New York, the State of New Jersey, and the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and the District of New Jersey.
Mark has served on panels for the Council of Institutional Investors and on a panel on D&O Liability Insurance for the American Conference Institute. He has been featured on CNBC's Squawk Box and in The New York Times.
Prior to forming Gardy & Notis, LLP in 2006, Mark was a named partner in the law firm Abbey Gardy, LLP.
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Mark has over 35 years of experience in representing institutional and induvial clients in complex securities and class action cases. Mark heads up the firm's client development department and provides oversight for many of the firm's cases.
Mark has organized many cases resulting in substantial recoveries for investors, including Renren, McKesson, Caesar's Entertainment, Primedia, Bear Stearns, AbbVie, and United Healthcare.
Mark received his B.A. from Rutgers University in 1981, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa, with high honors. He received his J.D, cum laude, from New York Law School in 1984. Mark is admitted to the Bar of the State of New York, the State of New Jersey, and the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and the District of New Jersey.
Mark has served on panels for the Council of Institutional Investors and on a panel on D&O Liability Insurance for the American Conference Institute. He has been featured on CNBC's Squawk Box and in The New York Times.
Prior to forming Gardy & Notis, LLP in 2006, Mark was a named partner in the law firm Abbey Gardy, LLP.
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JAMES S. NOTIS
James has over 25 years of experience in litigating complex cases on behalf of investors.
Some of James's more recent successes include:
James received his B.A. from Brandeis University in 1991 and his J.D. from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in 1994. He is admitted to the Bar of the State of New York, the State of New Jersey, the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and the District of New Jersey, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and for the Third Circuit.
James also served as a panelist for the Practicing Law Institute for Securities Litigation and Enforcement.
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James has over 25 years of experience in litigating complex cases on behalf of investors.
Some of James's more recent successes include:
- The $300 million settlement for stockholders of Renren, Inc., representing the largest direct pay recovery of any stockholder derivative case in history and a per share recovery of roughly 158% of the market price of Renren shares;
- The $175 million settlement in the stockholder derivative action against the board of directors of McKesson Corporation for damages stemming from McKesson's failure to comply with its obligations under the Controlled Substances Act, representing the first use of stockholder derivative litigation against a pharmaceutical distributor for damages relating to the national opioid epidemic and the second largest settlement of a “Caremark” board oversight claim in history;
- The $39 million settlement for former stockholders of Primedia, Inc. relating to insider trading claims against Primedia's controlling stockholder, KKR, representing a 33% increase over the merger price accepted by the board;
- The $34.5 million settlement for bondholders of Caesars Entertainment Operating Corporation alleging violations of the Trust Indenture Act of 1939 for "guarantee stripping" ahead of a planned bankruptcy;
- The $18.148 million settlement for investors in a failed Bear Stearns hedge fund alleging that the fund managers engaged in trading with related-parties without required approvals; and
- The $16.75 million settlement for Shire plc investors suing AbbVie, Inc. for false statements made by AbbVie in connection with a proposed (and then terminated) merger with Shire.
James received his B.A. from Brandeis University in 1991 and his J.D. from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in 1994. He is admitted to the Bar of the State of New York, the State of New Jersey, the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and the District of New Jersey, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and for the Third Circuit.
James also served as a panelist for the Practicing Law Institute for Securities Litigation and Enforcement.
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JENNIFER SARNELLI
Jenn is an accomplished litigator of numerous securities, antitrust, and consumer class actions.
Jenn most recently was one of the lead attorneys for Renren, Inc. stockholders asserting claims under New York law and Cayman Islands law against certain insiders of Renren, Inc., aided and abetted by Duff & Phelps, for transferring Renren's investment portfolio to an entity controlled by Renren's CEO at a severely undervalued price. After three years of litigation, the case settled for $300 million, representing the largest "direct pay" recovery of any stockholder derivative case in history. Whereas recoveries in derivative cases typically flow to the corporate entity and only indirectly to stockholders, Gardy & Notis, LLP pioneered the use of direct pay settlements where the recovery is paid directly to public stockholders and not shared with the insiders accused of misconduct. Structuring the Renren settlement as a direct pay settlement meant that stockholders achieved a cash recovery of roughly 158% of the market price of Renren shares.
Jenn was also one of the lead attorneys for stockholders of: Primedia ($39 million settlement, representing 33% more than the share price accepted by the board); Shire plc ($16.75 million settlement of securities fraud); Orchard Enterprises ($10.75 million settlement, representing a 95% increase over the merger price); The Student Loan Corporation ($10 million settlement, an 8.3% increase over the merger price); and Sauer-Danfoss ($10 million settlement).
Jenn's experience in consumer class actions includes the Apple iPhone4 Products Litigation (N.D. Cal.), where she served as co-lead counsel to a class over 25 million iPhone 4s and obtained cash and injunctive relief for consumers.
Prior to joining Gardy & Notis, LLP in 2010, Jenn worked at two prominent class action firms where she litigated cases on behalf of investors. She also worked for a class action notice expert where she specialized in developing plain language notices designed to better inform class members about their legal rights. Jenn also worked for the New Jersey General Assembly, Democratic Office.
Jenn received her B.A. from The American University in 1996 and her J.D from Seton Hall University School of Law in 2002, where she was a comments editor for the Seton Hall Law Review. Jenn is admitted to the Bars of the State of New York, the State of New Jersey, the State of California, the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, the District of New Jersey, the Northern, Central and Southern Districts of California, the United States Courts of Appeals for the Second, Third and Ninth Circuits, and the United States Supreme Court.
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Jenn is an accomplished litigator of numerous securities, antitrust, and consumer class actions.
Jenn most recently was one of the lead attorneys for Renren, Inc. stockholders asserting claims under New York law and Cayman Islands law against certain insiders of Renren, Inc., aided and abetted by Duff & Phelps, for transferring Renren's investment portfolio to an entity controlled by Renren's CEO at a severely undervalued price. After three years of litigation, the case settled for $300 million, representing the largest "direct pay" recovery of any stockholder derivative case in history. Whereas recoveries in derivative cases typically flow to the corporate entity and only indirectly to stockholders, Gardy & Notis, LLP pioneered the use of direct pay settlements where the recovery is paid directly to public stockholders and not shared with the insiders accused of misconduct. Structuring the Renren settlement as a direct pay settlement meant that stockholders achieved a cash recovery of roughly 158% of the market price of Renren shares.
Jenn was also one of the lead attorneys for stockholders of: Primedia ($39 million settlement, representing 33% more than the share price accepted by the board); Shire plc ($16.75 million settlement of securities fraud); Orchard Enterprises ($10.75 million settlement, representing a 95% increase over the merger price); The Student Loan Corporation ($10 million settlement, an 8.3% increase over the merger price); and Sauer-Danfoss ($10 million settlement).
Jenn's experience in consumer class actions includes the Apple iPhone4 Products Litigation (N.D. Cal.), where she served as co-lead counsel to a class over 25 million iPhone 4s and obtained cash and injunctive relief for consumers.
Prior to joining Gardy & Notis, LLP in 2010, Jenn worked at two prominent class action firms where she litigated cases on behalf of investors. She also worked for a class action notice expert where she specialized in developing plain language notices designed to better inform class members about their legal rights. Jenn also worked for the New Jersey General Assembly, Democratic Office.
Jenn received her B.A. from The American University in 1996 and her J.D from Seton Hall University School of Law in 2002, where she was a comments editor for the Seton Hall Law Review. Jenn is admitted to the Bars of the State of New York, the State of New Jersey, the State of California, the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, the District of New Jersey, the Northern, Central and Southern Districts of California, the United States Courts of Appeals for the Second, Third and Ninth Circuits, and the United States Supreme Court.
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MEAGAN A. FARMER
Meagan has been litigating stockholder and consumer class actions for over 18 years.
Most recently, Meagan was one of the lead attorneys for stockholders of McKesson Corporation seeking to hold McKesson’s board of directors liable for their failure to exercise proper oversight of the company’s distribution of opioids that contributed to the national opioid epidemic. McKesson is the largest distributor of opioids in North America and this was the first case first case asserting "Caremark" oversight claims against the board of directors of an opioid distributor. After three years of ligation, the case settled for $175 million, representing the second largest settlement of a Caremark board oversight claim in history.
Meagan was also one of the lead attorneys in a ground-breaking case on behalf of bondholders of Caesars Entertainment Operating Corporation (CEOC) that settled for a $34.5 million recovery. The case alleged violations of the Trust Indenture Act of 1939 for “guarantee stripping” ahead of the planned bankruptcy of CEOC, a company controlled by Caesars Entertainment Corporation (CEC). CEC was taken private in a leveraged buyout lead by private equity firms Apollo and TPG just ahead of the 2008 economic crisis. To stem losses from its casino operations, CEC developed a plan to load CEOC with debt and poorly performing assets and place CEOC into bankruptcy. CEC’s plan included a workaround where CEC would remove its guarantee from certain CEOC bonds by paying a majority of the bondholders to use majority action to alter the terms of the bond indenture. Gardy & Notis, LLP, representing a class of minority bondholders, alleged that guarantee stripping violated the Trust Indenture Act, breached the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and was not protected by the no action clause of the bond indenture.
Meagan’s experience leading consumer class actions includes the Staples extended warranty case where Gardy & Notis, LLP served as sole lead counsel and obtained a $3.95 million cash recovery for consumers who bought extended warranty plans.
Meagan received her B.A. from Eastern Illinois University in 1993 and her J.D., cum laude, from New York Law School in 2003, where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the New York Law School Law Review. Meagan is admitted to the Bar of the State of New York and the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. Prior to joining Gardy & Notis, LLP in 2011, Ms. Farmer was an associate at Phillips Nizer LLP, Wachtel & Masyr, LLP, and Abbey Gardy, LLP.
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Meagan has been litigating stockholder and consumer class actions for over 18 years.
Most recently, Meagan was one of the lead attorneys for stockholders of McKesson Corporation seeking to hold McKesson’s board of directors liable for their failure to exercise proper oversight of the company’s distribution of opioids that contributed to the national opioid epidemic. McKesson is the largest distributor of opioids in North America and this was the first case first case asserting "Caremark" oversight claims against the board of directors of an opioid distributor. After three years of ligation, the case settled for $175 million, representing the second largest settlement of a Caremark board oversight claim in history.
Meagan was also one of the lead attorneys in a ground-breaking case on behalf of bondholders of Caesars Entertainment Operating Corporation (CEOC) that settled for a $34.5 million recovery. The case alleged violations of the Trust Indenture Act of 1939 for “guarantee stripping” ahead of the planned bankruptcy of CEOC, a company controlled by Caesars Entertainment Corporation (CEC). CEC was taken private in a leveraged buyout lead by private equity firms Apollo and TPG just ahead of the 2008 economic crisis. To stem losses from its casino operations, CEC developed a plan to load CEOC with debt and poorly performing assets and place CEOC into bankruptcy. CEC’s plan included a workaround where CEC would remove its guarantee from certain CEOC bonds by paying a majority of the bondholders to use majority action to alter the terms of the bond indenture. Gardy & Notis, LLP, representing a class of minority bondholders, alleged that guarantee stripping violated the Trust Indenture Act, breached the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and was not protected by the no action clause of the bond indenture.
Meagan’s experience leading consumer class actions includes the Staples extended warranty case where Gardy & Notis, LLP served as sole lead counsel and obtained a $3.95 million cash recovery for consumers who bought extended warranty plans.
Meagan received her B.A. from Eastern Illinois University in 1993 and her J.D., cum laude, from New York Law School in 2003, where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the New York Law School Law Review. Meagan is admitted to the Bar of the State of New York and the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. Prior to joining Gardy & Notis, LLP in 2011, Ms. Farmer was an associate at Phillips Nizer LLP, Wachtel & Masyr, LLP, and Abbey Gardy, LLP.
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ORIN KURTZ
Orin is an experienced litigator of securities class actions, consumer cases, and employment class actions and collective actions and is responsible for the firm’s employment litigation department.
Orin currently is one of the court-appointed class counsel representing over 200,000 current and former employees of General Electric in an action for breach of fiduciary duty and prohibited transactions in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).
Orin is a chapter editor for the forthcoming American Bar Association Employment At Will treatise, and was an author of the American Bar Association 2015 Review of Consumer Protection Law Developments (New York State section), American Bar Association 2013 Review of Consumer Protection Law Developments (New York State section), and the American Bar Association 2010 Review of Consumer Protection Law Developments. Orin is a frequent lecturer on the subject of employment class and collective actions and has taught CLE at conferences of the American Bar Association and the National CLE Conference, and at Marino CLE.
Orin received his B.S. from the State University of New York, New Paltz, in 1998 and his J.D., magna cum laude, from New York Law School in 2004. During law school, Orin served as an Executive Articles Editor on the New York Law School Law Review. He is admitted to the Bar of the State of New York, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States.
Click here for more information on employment litigation matters.
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Orin is an experienced litigator of securities class actions, consumer cases, and employment class actions and collective actions and is responsible for the firm’s employment litigation department.
Orin currently is one of the court-appointed class counsel representing over 200,000 current and former employees of General Electric in an action for breach of fiduciary duty and prohibited transactions in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).
Orin is a chapter editor for the forthcoming American Bar Association Employment At Will treatise, and was an author of the American Bar Association 2015 Review of Consumer Protection Law Developments (New York State section), American Bar Association 2013 Review of Consumer Protection Law Developments (New York State section), and the American Bar Association 2010 Review of Consumer Protection Law Developments. Orin is a frequent lecturer on the subject of employment class and collective actions and has taught CLE at conferences of the American Bar Association and the National CLE Conference, and at Marino CLE.
Orin received his B.S. from the State University of New York, New Paltz, in 1998 and his J.D., magna cum laude, from New York Law School in 2004. During law school, Orin served as an Executive Articles Editor on the New York Law School Law Review. He is admitted to the Bar of the State of New York, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States.
Click here for more information on employment litigation matters.
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