David S. Casey Jr.

Casey is managing partner of the firm launched by his late father in 1947. A third generation of the family, David S. Casey III, joined the firm as an associate in 2019.

Casey Jr.’s sense of history was nudged by the appearance of a co-counsel in a current massive consumer fraud case against Bank of America over its alleged mishandling of California unemployment insurance benefits during the pandemic.

Numerous claims against the bank have now been consolidated before U.S. District Judge Larry A. Burns of San Diego. Casey has been appointed liaison counsel as part of the plaintiffs’ leadership group which includes Joseph W. Cotchett of Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy LLP, who filed one of the first cases, and other firms. In re: Bank of America California Unemployment Benefits Litigation, 3:21-md-02992 (S.D. Cal., transfer order filed June 4, 2021).

“I recall when Joe Cotchett was one of the youngest members of the State Bar board of governors when my dad was State Bar president in the 1970s,” Casey said.

“BofA issued old debit cards that were vulnerable to theft, and it had a horrible impact on people who needed the money most,” Casey said. “BofA made a lot of promises and broke them.”

Casey said his firm is still deeply involved in the fallout from a landmark appellate ruling CaseyGerry obtained in 2020 that allows e-commerce companies to be held liable for defective products they sell. Bolger v. Amazon.com LLC, 53 Cal.App 5th 431 (4th DCA, op. filed Aug. 13, 2020).

The ruling reversed a trial court’s summary judgment in favor of Amazon and returned the case for trial on claims that plaintiff Angela Bolger suffered severe burns from an exploding laptop battery she bought on Amazon’s site. Importantly, the panel held that Amazon could be held strictly liable under California law and that the federal Communications Decency Act afforded the defendant no shield.

“This firm has been around since 1947 and this is one of the most impactful cases we’ve had, because it changes the playing field for e-commerce worldwide,” Casey said. “We have more cases coming in from people injured by Amazon products, and we’re developing a niche in this area.”

--John Roemer