Gayle M. Blatt

Blatt, a name partner at CaseyGerry, started at the firm as a law clerk more than 30 years ago. Today she specializes in complex and class action litigation for plaintiffs who have suffered serious injuries or data breaches.

She has held leadership positions in significant data breach class actions including those against Sony Gaming Networks and Yahoo Inc. She was appointed settlement class counsel in the Citrix Systems Inc. case. And she has worked with the firm’s managing partner, David S. Casey Jr., on high-profile matters targeting Volkswagen Group in the “Clean Diesel” case and Wells Fargo & Co. over its auto insurance marketing practices.

“Back when I started I represented plaintiffs in asbestos litigation,” Blatt said, referring what has been called the longest-running mass tort in U.S. history over the mineral’s link to health problems. “People were dying. We assembled the best experts. It was a worthy cause, and we won a lot of cases. That led to cases against the pharmaceutical industry and a lot of class actions. That’s been my career, and I feel blessed.”

She said she’s currently moving toward resolution of a data breach class action she filed last fall against a Los Angeles-based provider of hospital outpatient imaging. Blatt has been named lead counsel.

The company allegedly failed to protect the personal identifying information of employees, allowing hackers to access a server used to store worker names, social security numbers, driver’s license numbers, dates of birth, addresses and passport numbers. Pfeiffer v. RadNet Inc., 2:20-cv-09553 (C.D. Cal., filed Oct. 19, 2020).

“This is a 23,000-member class,” Blatt said. “We hope to get not only compensation for members’ exposure and credit monitoring to spot possible identity theft, but to get a business practices commitment to corporate change. Companies should not need to be sued to keep up with the best practices in data security technology. Nobody wants to be on the wrong end of a data breach.”

Blatt has a similar data breach claim in the works against a major entertainment and record label conglomerate that allegedly lost to hackers customers’ identification and credit card information from its e-commerce platform. She has been appointed co-lead of that class. In re: Warner Music Group Data Breach, 1:20-cv-07473 (S.D. N.Y., filed Sept. 11, 2020).

Blatt is deeply involved in community work in San Diego. She is the immediate past president of the San Diego County Bar Foundation, the local bar’s charitable arm, where she works to provide access to justice to those impacted by poverty, abuse and discrimination. She also serves on the board of trustees of her alma mater, the California Western School of Law.

“It’s a wonderful place to practice,” she said of her city. “There are a lot of lawyers here, but it’s small enough to remain collegial. We fight vigorously when we litigate, but we maintain business relationships and we serve our community.”

— John Roemer