Rosemary M. Rivas

Consumer protection, Product Liability

Oakland

Rosemary M. Rivas has spent 20 years dedicated to representing consumers in class action and complex litigation. Her journey in law began shortly after her graduation in 2000, driven by a personal connection to her practice area.

With her parents hailing from Mexico, Rivas witnessed firsthand the injustices they faced, such as purchasing malfunctioning products or experiencing unfair treatment at work.

"I wanted to represent people like my parents - everyday people who work hard and are just trying to do their best," she said.

In one of her recent matters, she is part of lead counsel alleging violations of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and the First, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.

The case was brought on behalf of Latinos and community organizations in the Washington state counties of Chelan, Benton and Yakima. Reyes, et al. v. Brenda Chilton, et al., 4:21-cv-05075 (E.D. Wa., filed May 7, 2021).

"Our clients alleged that voters with Latino surnames had their ballots rejected at higher rates as compared to voters with non-Latino surnames, allegedly due to signature mismatch," Rivas said. "Washington is a state that conducts its elections entirely by mail-in voting, adding to the impact of this issue. This was one of my most significant matters because we were able to achieve meaningful relief that was not only beneficial to the Latino communities but to the communities at large in those counties."

After nearly three years of intense litigation, including motions for summary judgment and Daubert motions, a settlement was reached with Benton and Chelan counties. The settlement mandates crucial reforms, including the implementation of signature verification training for county auditor election staff and their designees, ensuring a fairer electoral process for all community members.

Rivas said the most challenging aspect of the case was the counties' argument that Latino voters did not understand that rules of voting, which she disputed.

"Even the federal judge who was initially assigned to the case, Judge Salvador Mendoza, had his ballot initially rejected for a perceived signature mismatch," Rivas said. "The defendant counties hired a handwriting expert who opined that all the signatures that were flagged were appropriately rejected. We were able to find excellent experts in the fields of forensic handwriting and implicit bias who helped us understand these areas and show and argue in response that handwriting analysis can be highly subjective, especially if there is no training, which can allow bias to creep in."

Rivas also represented pet owners whose pets died or became very ill after ingesting pet foods that were tainted with aflatoxin. In re Midwestern Pet Foods Marketing, Sales Practices, and Product Liability, Litig., 3:21-cv-00007-MPB (S.D. Ind., Jan. 13, 2021).

"It was a very sad case because pets are like family members and some of the deaths from aflatoxin poisoning were very gruesome," Rivas said. "We were able to negotiate a settlement that paid people back for any costs spent on medical treatment or to replace their pets, among other things."