November 28, 2000 Tuesday

Miami lawyers to lead suits against Firestone

Two prominent plaintiffs lawyers in Miami -- Mike Eidson and Victor Diaz -- have been appointed lead co-counsel for all Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. and Ford Motor Co. personal-injury cases in a consolidated federal case.

U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker in Indianapolis last week approved the two lawyers, following a vote by the more than 50 lawyers with consolidated personal-injury cases against the two companies.

The appointment of two Miami lawyers to one of the largest class actions in history boosts the reputation of the Miami bar, which has already gained a national reputation for filing and winning massive class-action and tort cases, says Weston lawyer Roy Oppenheim, who has a Firestone case in state court.

Florida already plays a major role in these Firestone cases; the majority of them were filed here, says Oppenheim. They should have assigned a judge from here, too. It speaks volumes about our bar here that they chose these lawyers.

Eidson, 54, of Colson Hicks Eidson, and Diaz, 40, of the firm Podhurst Orseck Josefsburg, will serve as lead counsel for more than 100 personal injury or wrongful death cases against the tire company and the automaker. Meanwhile, John W. Don Barrett of Lexington, Miss., the main lawyer in a $ 1.19 billion class-action suit against State Farm Mutual Auto Insurance Co., was named lead counsel for the class-action cases against Firestone. Unlike the personal injury cases, those plaintiffs are seeking only compensation for their potentially faulty tires.

Eidson has five Firestone cases in state court and 22 in federal court. Eidson is also on the steering committee for a massive class-action lawsuit in federal court in Miami against the nations health maintenance organizations. Diaz was one of the main plaintiffs lawyers suing American Airlines involving a crash in Cali, Colombia. He has more than 60 Firestone cases in federal court.

Eidson and Diaz collaborated previously on a Brothers to the Rescue case and a plane crash case.

Its too much work for one person, said Eidson. Victor has a lot of these cases and he and I can get along fine.

Added Diaz: We decided to join forces rather than compete.

The jockeying among attorneys to serve as lead counsel was fierce, said Diaz.

Its a very prestigious, very high-profile case, he said. Theres been enormous media interest in the case. This case could have a significant affect on public safety in the future.

The case will sometimes be a full-time job, said Eidson, who will be assisted by another lawyer and a paralegal at his firm. He and Diaz will be responsible for communicating with all the personal injury lawyers in the case on a daily basis and coordinating strategy and discovery with them as well as with lawyers who have cases in state court. In addition, they will have to be present at all hearings in Indianapolis. The next one is Dec. 6.

Yet he and Diaz agreed to waive all fees associated with acting as lead counsel and only to accept payment for expenses (thats in addition to whatever contingency fee they will receive if they win the cases). They did so, in part, to be able to direct the case and the discovery, said Eidson.

Its unusual, but I thought we were going to have to do all this discovery anyway, since we have so many cases, he said. These lawyers are friends of mine, and Im sure they will share and help me on the next case.

Diazs colleague, Aaron Podhurst, said they also agreed to waive fees to gain a unanimous vote by the other lawyers.

At certain times you have to waive fees for being lead counsel, said Podhurst. Theyre going to be paid sufficiently from their cases.

Added Diaz: Its the right thing to do.

The public wrangling over millions in attorney fees in the state of Florida lawsuit against Big Tobacco did not factor into his decision, said Eidson.