Joseph W. Cotchett

Joseph W. Cotchett and the dynamic litigation boutique he founded, Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, LLP, continue to confront corporate America with new lawsuits aimed at major targets like Amazon.com and the petroleum industry.

“We became a national firm by filing antitrust and securities suits against national companies,” Cotchett said. “We have a lot more where those came from in our sights.”

A top player in progressive Democratic politics, Cotchett advises the White House on judicial nominees and other issues, working closely with Sen. Alex Padilla of California, who serves on the Judiciary Committee. One positive step he can take, Cotchett said, is to continue funneling Democratic judicial candidates through the system. The Senate has confirmed 153 of Biden’s circuit and district court nominees to the bench, including eight to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and 21 to California district courts.

New Democratic Sen. Laphonza R. Butler, who replaced California’s Dianne Feinstein, is one example. In a plus for placing more Democrats on the federal bench, Butler’s will keep Feinstein’s advisory committees in place. That will “move things along at a much faster pace,” Cotchett said. “This makes a lot of sense.”

Meanwhile, Cotchett is collecting around $80.5 million in fees for his firm and others that stem from the $310 million settlement with Apple Inc. over consumer product claims over software slowdowns built into iPhone updates. The deal became final in August after the 9th Circuit dismissed an appeal by objectors. Named Plaintiffs and Settlement Class Members et al. v. Apple Inc., 23-15416 (9th Cir., filed March 21, 2023).

And he’s pushing forward with a new environmental class action by residents over health concerns caused by toxic chemical releases at a large refinery in Martinez. “After years of obfuscation and secrecy surrounding the refinery, finally the federal government, including the FBI, is looking into this extremely concerning situation,” he said. His complaint accuses oil refiners of releases that “poison the surrounding community.”

Filed in November, the suit has drawn interest across the country. “The complaint has taken off nationally,” Cotchett said. “We are receiving calls regarding similar situations elsewhere.” Cruz et al. v. PBF Energy Inc., et al., 3:23-cv-06142 (N.D. Cal., filed Nov. 28, 2023).

In October, Cotchett sued Amazon.com Inc. for alleged breaches of antitrust and other laws, alleging that consumers have overpaid for its online goods for years. Hopper et al. v. Amazon.com Inc., 2:23-cv-01523 (W.D. Wash., filed Oct. 20, 2023).

The class action, Cotchett said, “is going to (in my opinion) revolutionize how Amazon operates — they made over $250 billion in retail sales in 2022 with an average of $685 million per day.” His complaint claims, “Amazon chose the path of quick and unfettered profits by unlawfully exercising their monopolistic powers in violation of antitrust law.”

—John Roemer