Mary E. Alexander

This year will mark Mary E. Alexander's 40th in practice, and the veteran personal injury litigator said she's still a happy lawyer.

"I love it. It's very satisfying helping people and making a difference in their lives."

As she concludes overseeing the funding of the $32.7 million settlement she obtained from the city of Oakland, PG&E Co. and the property owners as co-counsel for the victims and families of the tragic 2016 Oakland warehouse fire that killed 36, some optimistic news is on the horizon, Alexander said. In re Ghost Ship Fire Litigation, RG16843631 (Alameda Co. Super. Ct., filed Dec. 24, 2016).

As part of the deal, the owners of the Ghost Ship warehouse are in bankruptcy, selling the property to add funds to the $6 million in insurance they carried. Recently, potential buyers emerged who phoned Alexander with a surprising offer. "The company that may buy the property builds affordable housing, and they called to ask if it would be agreeable to the families of the decedents to build such housing on the site. I was moved, and so were my clients. What a fitting thing to build where people were living who couldn't afford housing."

Along with agreeing to the plan, Alexander said the new housing will feature a memorial to those who died. "It's wonderful to think of getting that kind of justice beyond money."

Alexander is currently filing additional cases on behalf of sexual abuse victims to beat a Jan. 1, 2023, deadline when a three-year window established by the Legislature closes for new suits over old cases. In one, a client missed a filing deadline in 2004. "We kept in touch, and I filed for her when this new period came along," Alexander said. Jane Doe v. Doe 1, a Religious Corporation Sole et al., CGC-2--586529 (S.F. Super. Ct., filed Sept. 14, 2020).

"We're hoping this will be a bellwether case that can go to trial in the fall," Alexander said. "This priest was prosecuted for child sexual assault, spent time in jail, got out, and the church put him back in a parish where he did it again multiple times."

Alexander said she has additional clergy abuse cases. "Not all of them have been filed yet," she added.

She's also filing cases for women who are victims of abuse at upscale massage salons, including those at hotels and spas. In one, her client alleges that a male masseuse committed sexually offensive conduct during a massage at Cavallo Point Lodge, a resort hotel and spa in Sausalito. Doe v. Passport Resorts LLC, CIV2100088 (Marin Co. Super. Ct., filed Jan. 5, 2021).

"This is a litigation area that's grown as people come forward in the wake of #MeToo and the church abuse scandals," Alexander said.

- John Roemer