Napoli Shkolnik 2022 In Review

Law Firm Marks Groundbreaking Victory for Opioid Crisis Victims; Critical Action for Camp Lejeune Residents, Victims of Gun Violence, and More

National law firm Napoli Shkolnik, led by Marie Napoli, Hunter Shkolnik and Paul Napoli, has announced another successful year of landmark settlements and significant legal action in the areas of opioid crisis litigation, environmental justice, mass tort, and civil rights.

Among the firm’s accomplishments of 2022 was an agreement with opioid manufacturers Teva and AbbVie to structure a combined $6 billion settlement paid directly to state and local governments of communities impacted by the opioid epidemic. The case was negotiated by Partner Hunter Shkolnik, along with fellow members of the National Prescription Opiate Litigation Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee Negotiating Team. In 2021, a jury found Teva Pharmaceuticals and five other companies responsible for causing a public nuisance in Nassau County by minimizing the addictiveness of opioids with misleading marketing. Mr. Shkolnik, along with Partners Salvatore C. Badala, Joseph L. Ciaccio and Shayna E. Sacks, represented Nassau County in that groundbreaking case.

2022 also set the stage for vital litigation on behalf of residents of Camp Lejeune who were harmed by exposure to toxic substances while living at the base camp from the 1950’s until at least 1987. Partners Paul Napoli, Hunter Shkolnik, and Senior Associate Patrick Lanciotti, along with co-counsel filed notices of claim on behalf of the Freshwater family, seeking compensation for the injuries, damages and losses suffered as a result of U.S. Marine Corps’ negligence. The claim was made possible under the Camp Lejeune Justice Act. The Act, which was signed into law in August 2022, cut red tape that for decades had made it nearly impossible for residents of Camp Lejeune to sue for compensation.

Most recently, Napoli Shkolnik filed a lawsuit against various firearm and ghost gun companies for their conduct in fueling gun violence in the City of Buffalo and City of Rochester. Lead by Mr. Badala and Ms. Sacks, this first-of-its-kind lawsuit alleges that the defendants violated New York’s Public Nuisance Law prohibiting knowingly or recklessly endangering the safety and health of the public through the sale, manufacturing, importing or marketing of firearms. This action came seven months after ten people were killed in a mass shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo.

In November, the firm filed a federal class-action suit against Carvana on behalf of North Carolina State and National proposed classes of duly licensed used-car dealers who have been damaged as market competitors by Carvana’s false advertising and unlawful business practices.

On the civil rights front, Paul Napoli, Marie Napoli and Hunter Shkolnik, Co-Counsel with renowned civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, announced a lawsuit against the Hollywood, Florida Police Department for the release of records connected to the shooting of Michael Ortiz, who was brutally shot in the spine and paralyzed by a police officer in 2021. The firm filed a $50 million lawsuit against Suffolk County, the Suffolk County Police Department, and the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office on behalf of Waverly Lucas, an amputee who sustained severe injuries during a violent arrest and unlawful search in August 2021.

Over the course of 2022, the firm regularly contributed substantial thought-leadership articles written by Napoli Shkolnik attorneys under the guidance of the firm’s Partners, including: Illegal Dumping and Environmental Racism in Houston, Texas; The Unique Mental Health Needs of Sexual Assault Survivors; How Nursing Homes Failed Long Island Veterans; Firefighting Foam Litigation Will Proceed Following Failed Contractor Defense Evidence Points to Massive Coverup of PFAS Health Risks; 3M Faces Over 230,000 Lawsuits from Veterans Over Defective Earplugs: Company Could Lose Over $100 Billion (we are no longer accepting 3M earplug cases); The Heavy Price of Gorgeous Hair: Cancer-Causing Parabens Still Found in Many Products for Black Women; and Medical Monitoring as an Independent Cause of Action or as a Remedy for PFAS Exposure.

Paul Napoli has written extensively on racial justice, product liability and environmental contamination. His articles can be found on Medium.

Marie Napoli continues to be a sought-after media commentator on top criminal, sexual abuse, murder, and COVID-19 legal issues, with appearances on Court TV, Law and Crime Network Live, Dr. Oz, Newsmax, Rolling Stone, New York City’s WPIX-TV 11 News and other platforms.

Additionally, Hunter J. Shkolnik’s professional opinion on civil and criminal law has been featured on CNN, NBC, 7-News Miami, Newsmax, Fox News, Fox Business, WABC-7 Eyewitness News, Law and Crime Network, and more.

Businesswire press release link