James L. Griffith, Jr.

James L. Griffith, Partner in the Firm’s Philadelphia Office, possess more than a decade of experience in the life and health insurance fields, and brings strategic leadership, industry knowledge, passionate advocacy and efficiency to his clients’ most important litigation battles. He frequently defends against class actions, and is one of the few attorneys in the U.S. to have successfully tried a collective action to a jury, a distinction recognized in The National Law Journal’s 2006 Defense Hot List. Mr. Griffith is well-versed in the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), two federal statutes frequently wielded by plaintiffs against insurance companies.

Among his accomplishments for the industry, Mr. Griffith secured the early dismissal of a putative nationwide class action brought by health care providers who claimed that members of the insurance industry caused them more than $5 billion in damages through a fraudulent conspiracy in violation of RICO. Mr. Griffith successfully argued the subsequent appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, a victory reported in The National Law Journal in 2010. More recently, Mr. Griffith persuaded the U.S. Court of Appeals to affirm dismissal of another putative nationwide class action brought on behalf of all salaried retirees of General Motors Corp., who claimed that ERISA obligated their group life insurer to pay life insurance benefits allegedly and irrevocably promised to them for their lifetimes.

Mr. Griffith has defended life and health insurance companies in other class actions brought by beneficiaries and/or providers who alleged, for example, that the companies misused their market and/or economic power, misrepresented coverage or benefits, made incorrect coverage determinations, did not properly calculate benefits and interest, used undisclosed guidelines or criteria in making benefit determinations, misused automated claims processing platforms and software, did not comply with state insurance laws and failed to honor assignments of benefits.

Mr. Griffith also maintains a complex commercial litigation practice, which focuses on professional liability and fiduciary matters. Mr. Griffith represents private equity firms, corporations, directors, officers, attorneys and accounting professionals in matters involving RICO, securities fraud, corporate and ERISA fiduciary duties, lender liability, professional negligence, intellectual property and defamation. He has conducted several internal investigations for boards of directors.

Mr. Griffith also has experience defending employers in wage & hour class and collective actions.