Pallai, Michael Thomas

Richard Cohen is head of Lowey Dannenberg's prescription drug litigation and stockholder voting rights practices.  Mr. Cohen represents health insurers in actions to recover amounts overpaid for prescription drugs and medical devices, and to recover reimbursements for medical services. Mr. Cohen argued successfully before the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to win a landmark decision affirming the rights of health insurers to sue drug companies to recover overcharges for drugs prescribed to their insureds. Desiano v. Warner-Lambert, 326 F.3d 339 (2d Cir. 2003). Mr. Cohen prosecuted and argued the Cardizem CD class action cases which established that long-standing practices used by drug companies to delay generic competition violate antitrust law. In re Cardizem CD Antitrust Litigation, 332 F.3d 896 (6th Cir. 2003) (settlement of $80 million). Mr. Cohen argued successfully before the U.S. Court of Appeals to affirm the allocation to third party payers of 85% of the $44.5 million settlement he helped negotiate as class counsel in In re Warfarin Sodium Antitrust Litigation, 391 F.3d 516 (3d Cir. 2004).  Mr. Cohen won dismissals without liability for Aetna in separate class action lawsuits in Oklahoma and Alabama.  Elliot Plaza Pharmacy v. Aetna Inc., 2009 WL 702837 (N.D. Okla. 2009); Main Drug, Inc. v. Aetna U.S. Healthcare, 475 F.3d 1228 (11th Cir. 2007). Prior to appeal, Mr. Cohen made new law under the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 (CAFA), twice sustaining removal of this class action case from Alabama state court to federal court, notwithstanding that the complaint had been filed before CAFA was enacted. Main Drug, Inc. v. Aetna U.S. Healthcare, 455 F. Supp. 2d 1323 (M.D. Ala. 2006) and 455 F. Supp. 2d 1317 (M.D. Ala. 2005).  In 2009, Mr. Cohen won dismissal without liability of a class action lawsuit under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and ERISA.  Kesselman v. The Rawlings Company, LLC, 668 F. Supp. 2d 604 (S.D.N.Y. 2009).  In 2010, Mr. Cohen prosecuted as amicus curiae, a coalition of prescription drug distributors in the successful challenge in appeal to a proposed FDA regulation that would have required unattainable (to them) "predigree" information on drug labels as a condition of sale.  

Mr. Cohen has successfully represented prominent activist investors in stockholder voting rights and corporate governance cases, including Gabelli Global Media Trust v. Western Investment LLC, et al, 700 F.Supp.2d 748 (D.Md. 2010); Delcath Systems, Inc. v. Ladd, 466 F.3d 257 (2d. Cir. 2006); Salomon Brothers Mun. Partners Fund, Inc. v. Thornton, 410 F. Supp. 2d 330 (S.D.N.Y. 2006); meVC Draper Fisher Jurvetson Fund I, Inc. v. Millennium Partners, 260 F. Supp. 2d 616 (S.D.N.Y. 2003); Millenco L.P. v. meVC Draper Fisher Jurvetson Fund I, Inc., 824 A.2d 11 (Del. Ch. 2002).

Mr. Cohen has earned an AV rating by Martindale-Hubbell, the highest rating a lawyer can obtain, indicating a very high to preeminent legal ability and exceptional ethical standards as established by confidential opinions from members of the Bar.

Mr. Cohen is a graduate of Georgetown University (A.B. 1977) and the New York University School of Law (J.D. 1980). Mr. Cohen is admitted to practice in New York and Pennsylvania, and is a member of the bars of the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 6th and 11th Circuits; and the U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, the Eastern District of Michigan and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.