W. Mark Lanier
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William Mark Lanier (born October 20, 1960Koppel, Nathan. "Lone Star Rising" ''
The American Lawyer ''The American Lawyer'' is a monthly legal magazine and website published by ALM Media. The periodical and its parent company, ALM (then American Lawyer Media), were founded in 1979 by Steven Brill.trial lawyer A lawyer is a person who Practice of law, practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different Jurisdiction, legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney at law, attorney, barrister, canonist, canon l ...
and founder and CEO of the Lanier Law Firm. He has led a number of high profile product litigation suits resulting in billions of dollars in damages, including Johnson & Johnson baby powder and Merck & Co.'s Vioxx drug.


Legal career

After graduating from
Texas Tech University School of Law The Texas Tech University School of Law is an ABA-accredited law school located on the campus of Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. The school offers three academic centers, ten dual-degree programs, a nationally recognized legal writing ...
in 1984, Lanier began his legal career working in
Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
for
Fulbright & Jaworski Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. (now Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP), was founded in Houston, TX in 1919 by R.C. Fulbright. On June 3, 2013, the firm became part of the global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright, a Swiss verein. Norton Rose Fulbright US L ...
(now Norton Rose Fulbright), working in the
appellate In law, an appeal is the process in which cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of clarifying and ...
and trial divisions. In 1990, Lanier founded The Lanier Law Firm. Lanier represented Rubicon Oil and Gas in 1990 in a breach of contract and fraud lawsuit against
Amoco Amoco () is a brand of fuel stations operating in the United States, and owned by BP since 1998. The Amoco Corporation was an American chemical and oil company, founded by Standard Oil Company in 1889 around a refinery in Whiting, Indiana, a ...
. A
Matagorda County, Texas Matagorda County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 36,255. Its county seat is Bay City, not to be confused with the larger Baytown in Harris and Chambers Counties. Matagorda County is na ...
jury found that Amoco had wrongly backed out of a contract to sell Wyoming oil fields to Rubicon. The jury verdict totaled $480 million. In the 1998 trial of Aaron v. Abex, Lanier was the lead counsel for a group of steelworkers who contracted
asbestos Asbestos () is a naturally occurring fibrous silicate mineral. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous crystals, each fibre being composed of many microscopic "fibrils" that can be released into the atmosphere b ...
disease at an Alabama steel mill. The jury verdict was $115 million. In 2004 Lanier founded the Christian Trial Lawyers Association.


Vioxx litigation

In 2005, Lanier represented Carol Ernst in a lawsuit against Merck & Co., a pharmaceutical company and manufacturer of
Vioxx Rofecoxib is a COX-2 selective nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). It was marketed by Merck & Co. to treat osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, acute pain conditions, migraine, and dysmenorrhea. Rofecoxib ...
, an anti-inflammatory drug used to treat
osteoarthritis Osteoarthritis (OA) is a type of degenerative joint disease that results from breakdown of joint cartilage and underlying bone which affects 1 in 7 adults in the United States. It is believed to be the fourth leading cause of disability in the w ...
and acute pain conditions. Ernst was married to Robert Ernst, a former marathon runner who died after taking the medication. The case was initially decided in Ernst's favor, with a jury awarding her a $253 million verdict. In another case Lanier obtained consumer fraud findings against Merck who it was claimed had misled doctors and patients by concealing information about Vioxx and its risks. The first ruling was overturned on appeal in 2008 with the court noting Lanier "had not proved that Vioxx caused Mr. Ernst’s death" and compensatory damages were reduced in the second. In cases about Vioxx, hip replacements and talcum powder he has faced
John Beisner John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...
as an opponent lawyer.


Artificial hip litigation

Following the
2010 DePuy Hip Recall The 2010 DePuy Hip Replacement Recall was instituted when DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc., a division of Johnson and Johnson, recalled its ASR XL Acetabular metal-on-metal hip replacement system on August 24, 2010. Background The recall came after data f ...
, Lanier represented plaintiffs in several lawsuits against
Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational corporation founded in 1886 that develops medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and consumer packaged goods. Its common stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the company i ...
and
DePuy Synthes DePuy Synthes () is a franchise of orthopaedic and neurosurgery companies. Acquired by Johnson & Johnson in 1998, its companies form part of the Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices group. DePuy develops and markets products under the Codman, DePuy ...
, which Johnson & Johnson acquired in 1998. The implants were said to cause a build-up of metal ions in the blood, causing groin pain, allergic reactions, bone erosion and tissue death. The verdict included $140 million in total compensatory damages and about $360 million in punitive damages. The jury ruled that the implants were defectively designed and that the companies failed to warn the public about their risks. In March 2016, five North Texas residents being represented by Lanier were awarded about $500 million for alleged complications arising from the hip implants. The award was later reduced to $151 million at appeal. In November 2016, Lanier won a $1 billion payout to six plaintiffs affected by the implants, followed by a further $247 million to six New York residents. In the third trial, a Dallas federal jury award $1 billion in December 2016 to six California residents represented by Mark Lanier who claimed defective Pinnacle metal-on-metal hip implants made by Johnson & Johnson were defectively designed and that the companies failed to warn consumers about the risks. The case at trial was In re: DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. Pinnacle Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. In November 2017, a federal jury in Dallas returned a $247 million verdict against Johnson & Johnson in the fourth bellwether trial in multidistrict litigation related to injuries and medical complications caused by the Pinnacle metal-on-metal hip implant. Mark Lanier was trial lawyer for a group of six New York residents whose hips had to be surgically removed. The panel awarded a total of $79 million in actual damages and $168 million in punitive damages against Johnson & Johnson. In April 2018 a retrial was ordered by the 5th Circuit court of appeals in the case against DePuy Orthopaedics, with the appeal judges accusing Lanier of "inflammatory tactics and outright deception" in the trial. Reuters reported that the ruling had a "truly extraordinary tone" when criticising Lanier's actions at the trial. Lanier had told jurors that in contrast to DePuy’s expert witnesses in the case, his expert witnesses were unpaid when in fact they were compensated $65,000 after the trial. Lanier indicated that he disclosed the post-trial payments to the defendants commenting to ''Reuters'', "this came to light because I told the parties about it...I never hid anything." Lanier also insinuated that DePuy were liable because they had been accused of bribing officials from Saddam Hussein's Iraqi regime and claimed that executives at DePuy were racist. It was the second bellwether trial in multidistrict litigation (MDL) of more than 9,000 similar lawsuits consolidated in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. The retrial began in January 2019 and in May that year Reuters reported that Johnson & Johnson had reached an agreement to settle 95% of the 6,000 cases for a $1bn. After a retrial was ordered by U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Johnson & Johnson agreed to a $1 billion settlement to resolve the bulk of the hip implant defect lawsuits in January 2019. The six consolidated New York lawsuits at the trial were consolidated cases are Alicea v. DePuy Orthopaedics; Barzel v. DePuy; Kirschner v. DePuy; Miura v. DePuy; Stevens v. DePuy; and Stevens v. DePuy, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.


Johnson & Johnson talc litigation

In 2018, Lanier led the trial team representing 22 women who had filed suit against Johnson & Johnson. The lawsuit alleged that the company's
talcum powder Talc, or talcum, is a clay mineral, composed of hydrated magnesium silicate with the chemical formula Mg3Si4O10(OH)2. Talc in powdered form, often combined with corn starch, is used as baby powder. This mineral is used as a thickening age ...
products contained asbestos and that, after several years of use, had caused each of the women's
ovarian cancer Ovarian cancer is a cancerous tumor of an ovary. It may originate from the ovary itself or more commonly from communicating nearby structures such as fallopian tubes or the inner lining of the abdomen. The ovary is made up of three different c ...
. The trial lasted six weeks and resulted in $550 million in compensatory damages and $4.14 billion in punitive damages being awarded to the plaintiffs. Johnson & Johnson appealed the jury verdict in June 2020, and the Eastern District Court of Appeals of Missouri upheld $2.11 billion of the $4.69 billion jury verdict. The opinion stated that Johnson & Johnson had been aware of the potential asbestos contamination for several decades. On June 1, 2021, the
Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
denied a request by Johnson & Johnson to overturn the $2.11 billion verdict.


BP energy royalty litigation

Mark Lanier and The Lanier Law Firm represented a class of more than 1,000 Oklahoma natural gas well royalty owners alleging that BP had underpaid royalties by deducting processing costs and post-production midstream services. In October 2018, the reached a $221 million settlement with BP LLC.


Opioids

In late 2019, Lanier represented
Summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topography, topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used ...
and Cuyahoga counties in the first trial against pharmaceutical companies for damages caused by the distribution of addictive opioid painkillers. The defendants included distributers
McKesson Corporation McKesson Corporation is an American company distributing pharmaceuticals and providing health information technology, medical supplies, and care management tools. The company delivers a third of all pharmaceuticals used in North America and emplo ...
,
Cardinal Health Cardinal Health, Inc. is an American multinational health care services company, and the 14th highest revenue generating company in the United States. Its headquarters are in Dublin, Ohio and Dublin, Ireland (EMEA). The company specializes in th ...
,
AmerisourceBergen AmerisourceBergen Corporation is an American drug wholesale company that was formed by the merger of Bergen Brunswig and AmeriSource in 2001. They provide drug distribution and consulting related to medical business operations and patient se ...
,
Walgreens Walgreen Company, d/b/a Walgreens, is an American company that operates the second-largest pharmacy store chain in the United States behind CVS Health. It specializes in filling prescriptions, health and wellness products, health information, an ...
and
Teva Pharmaceuticals Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (also known as Teva Pharmaceuticals) is an Israeli multinational pharmaceutical company with headquarters in Tel Aviv, Israel. It specializes primarily in generic drugs, but other business interests include ...
. The lawsuit claimed that the drug distributors failed to monitor sales as required by federal law and report suspicious activity, which contributed to opioid addictions. Hours before the start of a trial, three pharmaceutical distributers and a manufacturer reached a settlement $260 million to resolve litigation over damages caused by the opioid epidemic. Lanier also represented Trumbull and
Lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...
counties against retail pharmacies for excessive distribution of addictive opioid painkillers. The lawsuit alleged that pharmacies operated by
CVS Health CVS Health Corporation (previously CVS Corporation and CVS Caremark Corporation) is an American healthcare company that owns CVS Pharmacy, a retail pharmacy chain; CVS Caremark, a pharmacy benefits manager; and Aetna, a health insurance provi ...
,
Walgreens Walgreen Company, d/b/a Walgreens, is an American company that operates the second-largest pharmacy store chain in the United States behind CVS Health. It specializes in filling prescriptions, health and wellness products, health information, an ...
, and
Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...
created a public nuisance through the over-prescription of pain medication in those communities which contributed to hundreds of overdose deaths. The trial lasted six weeks with the jury returning a verdict finding the Ohio pharmacies liable. It was the first trial where pharmacy companies defended themselves amidst the opioid epidemic, and Lanier indicated the counties were seeking $1 billion.


Google Antitrust Litigation

In December 2020, Mark Lanier and The Lanier Law Firm were hired by Texas Attorney General
Ken Paxton Warren Kenneth Paxton Jr. (born December 23, 1962) is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the Attorney General of Texas since January 2015. Paxton has described himself as a Tea Party conservative. Paxton was re-elected to a th ...
to represent the state of Texas in antitrust litigation brought against Google parent company, Alphabet Inc. Texas was leading a coalition of state attorneys general in claims that Google's dominant position in digital advertising created an unfair competitive advantage.


EpiPen MDL

Mark Lanier is the lead trial lawyer representing EpiPen buyers accusing Pfizer and Mylan of illegally inflating prices of the EpiPen emergency treatment for allergic reactions. The first trial in multidistrict litigation consolidated in Kansas federal court is scheduled for September 2021. In January 2021, Mark Lanier was appointed to the plaintiff steering committee for multidistrict litigation. More than 40 lawsuits consolidated in New Jersey federal court charge that Johnson & Johnson's pharmaceutical unit concealed harmful side effects of the Elmiron bladder cyst medication, resulting in serious eye damage.


Remmington Rifle Litigation

Mark Lanier and The Lanier Law Firm represented owners of the Remington Model 700 bolt-action rifle in class action litigation related to design defects that caused the rifle to fire without the trigger being pulled. In July 2018, a federal appeals panel approved a settlement for millions of the rifles to be retrofitted with new trigger mechanisms.


Personal life

Lanier was born in 1960 in
Lubbock, Texas Lubbock ( ) is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northw ...
to a railroad salesman and housewife. As of 2005, he was married with five children. His brother-in-law is former Texas state representative Kevin Roberts, who ran against
Dan Crenshaw Daniel Reed Crenshaw (born March 14, 1984) is an American politician and former United States Navy SEAL officer serving as the United States representative for Texas's 2nd congressional district since 2019. The district includes parts of northe ...
in the 2018 Republican primary to replace retiring Congressman
Ted Poe Lloyd Theodore Poe (born September 10, 1948) is an American politician who represented Texas's 2nd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2005 to 2019. Poe was the first Republican to represent the 2nd district. ...
. During the campaign, Lanier funded a super PAC which ran ads against Crenshaw. Lanier appears as a character with the same name in the 2011 film ''
Puncture Puncture, punctured or puncturing may refer to: * a flat tyre in British English (US English "flat tire" or just "flat") * a penetrating wound caused by pointy objects as nails or needles * Lumbar puncture, also known as a spinal tap * Punctu ...
''.


Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lanier, W. Mark Living people Texas lawyers 1960 births American Christian writers People from Dallas