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Brian Panish and Rahul Ravipudi of Panish Shea & Boyle LLP Named Plaintiffs' Co-Lead Counsel in Thomas Fire LitigationPanish Shea & Boyle LLP partners Brian Panish and Rahul Ravipudi have been named Individual Plaintiffs' Co-Lead Counsel in the Southern California Fires Cases litigation. The appointment was ordered following a hearing in Los Angeles Superior Court on July 5 and signed on July 11 by the Honorable Daniel J. Buckley. Per the order, attorneys Panish and Ravipudi will represent the interests of over 1,500 plaintiffs filing lawsuits against Southern California Edison (News - Alert) as a result of the 2017 Thomas Fire and subsequent debris flows in Montecito, California. "We recognize that with this great honor comes an even greater responsibility to ensure that the voices of the victims and survivors are heard," says Brian Panish. "Utility company negligence and its culture of putting profits over the safety of people has destroyed thousands of lives and continues to put the lives of all Californians at risk," adds Rahul Ravipudi. "We're ready to get to work, holding those accountable for the catastrophic losses of the victims and fighting proposed legislation that would allow utilities companies to pass the cost of their negligence on to the ratepayers." As Individual Plaintiffs' Co-Lead Counsel, attorneys Panish and Ravipudi as well Robert Nelson and Lexi Hazam of Lieff Cabrser Heimann & Bernstein, will be responsible for directing, coordinating and managing the activities of Individual Plaintiffs during pretrial proceedings in the complex litigation. Those duties include, but are not limited to, the briefing, filing and arguing of motions, all discovery proceedings including oral depositions and all aspects of the Class Litigation as well as preparing and distributing periodic status reports to other individual plaintiffs' counsel and managing the selection of all cases for trial setting, in consultation with the Plaintiffs' Executive Committee. Panish Shea & Boyle LLP attorney Lyssa Roberts has also been appointed to serve as Individual Plaintiffs' Liaison Counsel. Her responsibilities include receiving and distributing orders, notices and correspondence from the court to plaintiffs' counsel, as well as maintaining and making available a complete set of all filed pleadings and orders filed and/or served in the coordinated proceedings. About Panish Shea & Boyle LLP Panish Shea & Boyle LLP represents plaintiffs in wrongful death, catastrophic personal injury, product liability, mass torts, and business litigation cases. Firm attorneys are repeatedly recognized for their excellence by other trial lawyers, legal organizations and publications nationwide and have dedicated themselves to obtaining justice for clients who are often dealing with a life-altering injury, death of a family member or other challenges caused by the wrongful act of another. The firm is consistently ranked among the best plaintiff's law firms in the country, including by U.S. News & World Report, where it has been recognized as a Tier One law firm in the areas of Plaintiffs Personal Injury Litigation and Plaintiffs Product Liability Litigation, as well as by the National Law Journal which has named the firm in its list of Elite Trial Lawyers. psblaw.com
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