Bailey Glasser’s Appellate and Supreme Court practice is a team of elite trial and appellate lawyers who successfully fights for our clients before the U.S. Supreme Court, every federal Court of Appeals, and in state appellate courts throughout the nation.

Overview

Our appellate and supreme court lawyers have handled appeals in virtually every substantive legal area, including commercial, constitutional, consumer (Fair Credit Reporting Act, TCPA, debt collection, “pay to pay” schemes, and more), antitrust, bankruptcy, class actions, environmental, international, ERISA, ESOP, bank fraud, personal injury, mass tort, federal preemption, arbitration, and criminal law.

As soon as our litigation teams get involved in a matter (and sometimes before cases are even filed), our appellate team identifies potential issues likely to arise on appeal, then follows up with trial consulting and support. An appellate lawyer on a trial team can assist in presenting the best possible case to a court or jury, while providing invaluable perspective on preservation of issues for appeal.

Bailey Glasser appellate lawyers also co-counsel with other lawyers and law firms with regard to their appeals by providing strategic guidance, support, and assistance with briefing and argument. We are honored that other law firms turn to us for assistance when it becomes apparent that an investment in the best possible legal representation is necessary and we integrate seamlessly with legal teams already in place. This assistance also includes helping to undo adverse judgments at the trial level or helping position a case for a desired settlement.

Our appellate team is led by veteran appellate lawyers Leslie A. Brueckner and Benjamin L. Bailey. Leslie Brueckner recently joined Bailey Glasser after an illustrious and award-winning 29-year career at the national public interest firm Public Justice, where she handled cutting-edge appeals throughout the country. Leslie has won unanimous decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court (and has appeared before that tribunal dozens of times on behalf of clients and amici) and the California Supreme Court (where she is currently handling her sixth appeal) and has been victorious in appeals across the country. Ben is a “lawyer’s lawyer” who sits atop numerous national rankings including Chambers USA (Band One), Best Lawyers in America, Super Lawyers, and National Trial Lawyers (former Top 100 Trial Lawyer).

26 Bailey Glasser lawyers have held judicial clerkships with federal and state courts across the country, which enables us to bring that unique perspective when preparing matters for trial and appeal.

Our lawyers have won appeals that have set precedents and established new law, including:

  • In Sulyma v. Intel Corp., Bailey Glasser’s appellate ERISA team won a unanimous decision before the U.S. Supreme Court in a case brought on behalf of participants in Intel’s 401(k) plan concerning alleged imprudent investments in several of the plan’s investment options. The Supreme Court decision set new standards for ERISA’s statute of limitations.
  • In Krakauer v. DISH Network, L.L.C., Bailey Glasser won a five-day jury trial and a treble damages award from the court, resulting in $61.3 million judgment against DISH Network for thousands of telemarketing calls placed to numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry in violation of the TCPA. On appeal, we won a complete affirmance by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and the case was featured in the Wall Street Journal and on the CBS Evening News.
  • In Brundle v. Wilmington Trust, Bailey Glasser won a $30 million trial judgment in a case involving multiple breaches of duty by the trustee and complex valuation issues in an Employee Stock Ownership Plan transaction, and won a complete affirmance by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, which established new law on ESOPs that has been cited nationwide.
  • In Allen v. GreatBanc Trust Co., Bailey Glasser secured a precedent-setting decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, which established important pleading standards in ESOP cases, and obtained a groundbreaking order that an ESOP-owned company’s indemnification of an ESOP trustee violated ERISA regulations.
  • Among other appellate victories, Leslie Brueckner was lead appellate counsel in Sprietsma v. Mercury Marine (2002), a rare unanimous U.S. Supreme Court decision affirming tort victims’ rights to hold manufacturers accountable for dangerous products. She has appeared dozens of times before the U.S. Supreme Court as counsel for parties and amici. She has also recently won three unanimous decisions from the California Supreme Court in cases on issues ranging from federal preemption to class actions.

  • In 2020, Bailey Glasser prevailed before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, where it denied an appeal filed by two individual defendants in a qui tam action brought by Bailey Glasser’s client Citynet, LLC, against two state employees, and against Frontier West Virginia alleging that the defendants knowingly and willfully defrauded the federal government’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program in violation of the False Claims Act (FCA).  The Fourth Circuit’s opinion holds that the state employee defendants are not entitled to assert a qualified immunity defense in a False Claims Act case. The Fourth Circuit’s published opinion not only impacts the pending litigation, but also has application to False Claims Act cases generally.

We can step in at any point in your litigation to help position your case for trial, appeal, or settlement.  If our appellate team might help you, please contact us today.

Contacts

Our Team

Experience

Experience

Members of our appellate team have handled the following matters:

  • In Sulyma v. Intel Corp., Bailey Glasser’s appellate ERISA team won a unanimous decision before the U.S. Supreme Court in a case brought on behalf of participants in Intel’s 401(k) plan concerning alleged imprudent investments in several of the plan’s investment options. The Supreme Court decision set new standards for ERISA’s statute of limitations.
  • In Krakauer v. DISH Network, L.L.C., Bailey Glasser won a five-day jury trial and a treble damages award from the court, resulting in $61.3 million judgment against DISH Network for thousands of telemarketing calls placed to numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry in violation of the TCPA. On appeal, we won a complete affirmance by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and the case was featured in the Wall Street Journal and on the CBS Evening News.
  • In Brundle v. Wilmington Trust, Bailey Glasser won a $30 million trial judgment in a case involving multiple breaches of duty by the trustee and complex valuation issues in an Employee Stock Ownership Plan transaction, and won a complete affirmance by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, which established new law on ESOPs that has been cited nationwide.
  • In Allen v. GreatBanc Trust Co., Bailey Glasser secured a precedent-setting decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, which established important pleading standards in ESOP cases, and obtained a groundbreaking order that an ESOP-owned company’s indemnification of an ESOP trustee violated ERISA regulations.
  • We obtained an affirmance in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit of a contempt order and a $13.8 million default judgment relating to the sale of property in violation of a court order (Blixseth v. Yellowstone Club Liquidating Trust).
  • We obtained an affirmance in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit of a $20 million judgment in a commercial dispute regarding sale of a government contracting company (Charron v. Sallyport Global Holdings, Inc.).
  • Bailey Glasser obtained a reversal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit when the court found that that under § 1681i(a) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, a consumer may recover actual damages even if the defendant credit reporting agency did not publish the consumer’s false credit information to a third party (Collins v. Experian).
  • In a 3-2 ruling in 2021, the West Virginia Supreme Court reversed and remanded an Ohio County Circuit Court’s order granting a motion to dismiss a wrongful death by suicide lawsuit concerning a patient suffering from mental illness.
  • Bailey Glasser prevailed before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in 2020, where it denied an appeal filed by two individual defendants in a qui tam action brought by Bailey Glasser’s client Citynet, LLC, against two state employees, and against Frontier West Virginia alleging that the defendants knowingly and willfully defrauded the federal government’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program in violation of the False Claims Act (FCA).  The Fourth Circuit’s opinion holds that the state employee defendants are not entitled to assert a qualified immunity defense in a False Claims Act case. The Fourth Circuit’s published opinion not only impacts the pending litigation, but also has application to False Claims Act cases generally.
  • Bailey Glasser obtained an appellate court victory that will help protect thousands of Maryland homeowners in a lawsuit challenging “Pay-to-Pay” fees - extra amounts of up to $20 that a mortgage servicer charges for simply processing a monthly payment by phone or internet. The lawsuit, Alexander, et al. v. Carrington Mortgage Services, LLC, alleges that the fees violate Federal and Maryland debt collection law.
  • Lead appellate counsel in Sprietsma v. Mercury Marine (2002), a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court decision on behalf of man whose wife was killed when she was repeatedly struck by an unguarded boat propeller. In a rare decision affirming tort victims’ rights to hold manufacturers accountable for dangerous products, the Court held that the Federal Boat Safety Act does not preempt state common-law claims against a boat engine manufacturer for failing to install a propeller guard on the engine of a recreational motorboat (Leslie Brueckner's’s oral argument in Sprietsma can be accessed via this link). 
  • Co-lead appellate counsel in Geier v. American Honda Inc. (2000), a U.S. Supreme Court decision finding, by a 5-to-4 vote, that federal law impliedly preempts claim that car was defective because it lacked an airbag but that federal law does not expressly preempt any state law claims.
  • Co-counsel in Freightliner v. Myrick (1995), a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court decision finding that federal law does not preempt design-defect claim against truck manufacturer for failing to install anti-lock brakes in trucks.
  • Co-lead appellate counsel in Monsanto v. Hardeman (9th Circuit May 2021), the first (and to date only) federal appellate decision in the country affirming the rights of cancer victims to sue Monsanto for injuries caused by Roundup. In upholding an $80 million jury verdict on behalf of Ed Hardeman (later reduced to $25 million), the Ninth Circuit rejected Monsanto’s argument that failure-to-warn claims involving Roundup are preempted by federal law, paving the way for thousands of other victims to obtain justice from Monsanto.
  • Lead counsel in Cherry v. Dometic Corp. (11th Cir. January 2021), which restored the viability of class actions in the Eleventh Circuit by rejecting a “heightened” ascertainability standard that required proof, at class certification, that all class members can be identified in an administratively feasible fashion without the use of self-identifying affidavits. Leslie Brueckner's oral argument in Cherry can be accessed via this link.
  • Lead appellate counsel in Noel v. Thrifty (California Supreme Court 2019), which yielded a unanimous class action ruling from the California Supreme Court rejecting a strict version of the so-called “ascertainability” requirement and restoring the viability of consumer and worker class actions against wrongdoing corporations. Leslie Brueckner’s oral argument can accessed via this link.
  • Co-lead counsel before the California Supreme Court in H. v. Novartis, holding that brand-name drug manufacturers can be sued for failing to warn of the dangers of mislabeled, generic versions of their drugs. The decision rejected over 100 reported appellate decisions from state and federal courts nationwide. Leslie and co-counsel Ben Siminou were awarded the Pound Civil Justice Institute’s 2018 Appellate Advocacy Award for their work on the case. 
  • Lead counsel in Quesada v. Herb Thyme Farms, Inc., a unanimous decision upholding consumers’ rights to bring a class action against an organic grower for mislabeling its conventionally grown herbs as “organic.” The decision remains the only appellate decision in the country to hold that federal law—the Organic Food Production Act of 1990—does not preempt state consumer fraud claims on behalf of individuals who were defrauded by the use of the “USDA organic” label on conventionally grown food.
  • Co-counsel for plaintiffs in a series of lawsuits successfully challenging so-called “ag-gag” laws that seek to criminalize whistleblowing in animal agriculture and elsewhere.
  • Co-lead appellate counsel in S. Airways v. McCutchen (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and U.S. Supreme Court), ERISA reimbursement case yielding a landmark ruling from the federal appellate court limiting the rights of an ERISA plan to recover medical expenses from an injury victim who obtained compensation from a third party.
  • Co-lead appellate counsel in CGI v. Rose (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit), ERISA reimbursement case yielding a unanimous ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit limiting the rights of an ERISA plan to recover medical expenses from an injury victim who obtained compensation from a third party.
  • Lead appellate counsel in Southern California Gas Leak Cases (CA Supreme Court 2019), a class action lawsuit arising out of the biggest methane gas well leak in United States history. Leslie Brueckner’s rebuttal argument in the case can be accessed via this link.
  • Lead appellate counsel in McNair v. Johnson & Johnson before the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals on whether brand-name prescription drug manufacturers can be held liable for injuries caused by generic versions of their drugs. 
  • Counsel for the Center for Food Safety in Animal Legal Defense Fund v. Wasden (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit), a successful challenge to an Idaho “ag-gag” law that criminalized undercover recording in industrial agricultural facilities, including factory farms and slaughterhouses.
  • Co-counsel for Animal Legal Defense Fund in National Meat Association v. Harris (U.S. Supreme Court), an effort to preserve a California law designed to prevent the abuse of pigs and other livestock who become non-ambulatory on the way to the slaughterhouse.
  • Lead counsel in Drelles v. MetLife (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit), federal appeal yielding a unanimous ruling that consumers who opted all of their claims out of a nationwide class action settlement with Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MetLife) cannot be barred from fully prosecuting their individual cases against the company.
  • Lead counsel in Priester v. Ford Motor Company (South Carolina Supreme Court), a Federal preemption appeal on behalf of the mother of a young man who died when ejected from a passenger truck during a rollover accident.
  • Co-counsel in Aguayo v. U.S. Bank (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit), Federal preemption appeal holding that federal banking law does not preempt state debt-collection laws.

News

News & Insights

A Deeper
Look
Photo of Appellate and Supreme Court Practice

Successful reversal in the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit - Allen v. GreatBanc

Image for Partner Todd Mathews Named To "Super Lawyers" List
Image for BG ESOP Lawsuit Noted in the New York Times
Jump to Page

Our website uses cookies to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. By continuing to browse this website, you are agreeing to our Cookie Policy.