Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP attorneys Kevin Boyle and Matthew Stumpf have been named 2021 California Lawyer Attorneys of the Year (CLAY) by the Daily Journal. The 25th Annual CLAY Awards recognized a select group of attorneys in only 12 cases throughout the state whose work in various practice areas made a significant impact during the previous year.
READ THE DAILY JOURNAL ARTICLE
Mr. Boyle and Mr. Stumpf were recognized for their work in Sheppard et al v. Mandalay Bay LLC, representing the survivors and familites of the victims of the 2017 Route 91 Harvest Music Festival mass shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada. The gunman fired from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort, a horrendous act resulting in the deaths of 60 people dead and injuring 411 others in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
The resulting litigation, filed on behalf of the victims against Mandalay Bay and its parent company MGM Resorts International, included a controversial countersuit against hundreds of plaintiffs, and eventually a landmark settlement by the resort.
On the eve of the third anniversary of the shooting, Eighth Judicial District Court Chief Judge Linda Bell approved an $800 million settlement for the 4,000 victims and their families.
The plaintiff litigation leadership group was Co-Lead by Mr. Boyle, Mark Robinson of Robinson Calcagnie and Robert Eglet of Eglet Adams, with the aid of Mr. Stumpf and Daniel Robinson and Robert Adams. As noted in the Daily Journal article about the case, the settlement created one of the largest victim compensation funds in U.S. history and resolved lawsuits pending in 10 states.
Judge Bell’s order noted the “extraordinary work and effort by counsel in this case to achieve the maximum amount available to Claimants under the Settlement Agreement, despite having an immensely difficult, unique and tragic set of circumstances.”
“Our three firms worked together well to make it happen,” Mr. Boyle said in an interview with the Daily Journal. “It was the only settlement for a mass shooting in U.S. history.” The funds have been deposited in the Bank of Nevada and court-appointed adminstrators are doing the work to get to the get the money flowing by April, he added.
Read more about the 2021 California Lawyer Attorneys of the Year at dailyjournal.com