Strohmeyer, Heather Lynn

Brian R. Strange is an experienced and respected class action and complex business trial lawyer.  Mr. Strange has lectured on class actions before various organizations, including the California State Bar and the Practicing Law Institute.  He was designated as one of Southern California Super Lawyers in 2010, 2011 and 2012 and has successfully concluded settlements for class members in excess of $100 million in just the last two years.  Mr. Strange has recently been appointed to the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee by Judge Ortrie D. Smith in In Re: Bisphenol-A (BPA) Polycarbonate Plastic Products Liability Litigation, pending in the Western District of Missouri - Western Division (Kansans City), MDL No. 1967. This case involves polycarbonate plastic baby bottles and/or children's training or spill-resistant cups containing the chemical Bisphenol-A (2, 2-(4,4-dihydroxydiphenol)propane) (BPA).  Strange & Carpenter was also recently selected by Judge Carl Barbier to Plaintiffs' Executive Committee in In Re: Apple iPhone 3G and 3GS MMS Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation, pending in the Eastern District of Louisiana (New Orleans), MDL No. 2116.  This case involves the operation of the Apple iPhone on AT&T 3G and 3GS networks.  Mr. Strange has been lead counsel in numerous class actions, including against the nation's largest banks, telephone companies and pharmaceutical companies.  Mr. Strange is currently serving as lead Class Counsel in a nationwide settlement against AT&T Mobility LLC regarding flat-rate early termination fees for mobile phones entitled Hall, et al. v. AT&T Mobility LLC f/k/a Cingular Wireless LLC, et al., pending in District Court of New Jersey, Case Number 07-05325 (JLL), which resolved cases across the country.  Mr. Strange served as lead counsel in a case that recently settled entitled Simonet, et al. v. GlaxoSmithKline, et al., held in the District of Puerto Rico, Case Number 06-1230 (GAG/CVR), involving the anti-depressant drug Paxil.  Mr. Strange has been at the forefront of many class action issues, including arguing the seminal case of Discover Bank v. Superior Court, 36 Cal. 4th 148, 30 Cal. Rptr. 3d 76 (2005), before the California Supreme Court which held that class action bans found in arbitration clauses were unenforceable.

In the past 20 years of participating in complex cases, Mr. Strange has been involved in such noted litigations as the MGM Grand Hotel fire litigation; the Crandall gem case; the San Juan Dupont Plaza Hotel fire litigation in Puerto Rico; litigation arising out of the Iran-Contra scandal; and numerous national class actions. Trial victories include a $160 million judgment against the principals of an investment scam in a case tried in Los Angeles Superior Court in 1991.  In February 1993, Mr. Strange obtained a $21 million punitive damage verdict against First State Insurance Company, reportedly one of the largest punitive damages verdicts in California in 1993.  In May 1993, Mr. Strange obtained the first punitive damage verdict in 17 years in a courtroom in Santa Barbara on behalf of a homeless family.  Since 2000, Mr. Strange acted as lead counsel in several class action cases with settlements obtained in excess of $300 million, including settlements with the nation's largest corporations. 

Mr. Strange received his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of California at Los Angeles and his law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of Law. Mr. Strange is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, all courts in the State of California, and numerous federal courts throughout the country, including several Courts of Appeals.  Mr. Strange authored Municipalities: Welcome to the Antitrust Restraints of the Free Market, Century City Bar Journal, Spring, 1982.

Mr. Strange is President of the Malibu Boys and Girls Club.  A noted adventurer, the King of Nepal recently awarded Mr. Strange an anniversary  medal for his 2009 summit of Mount Everest.  He is one of the select few who have summited the highest peaks of all seven continents.