Chris Lometti

Novastar MBS Litigation

NovaStar MBS Litigation (S.D.N.Y.): Cohen Milstein is lead counsel in litigation alleging that RBS, Wells Fargo (formerly Wachovia) and Deutsche Bank sold toxic mortgage-backed securities to investors. The litigation is one of the last outstanding class action MBS lawsuits. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals reversed an earlier dismissal of the lawsuit, paving the way for prosecution of the case. In March 2019, the Court granted final approval of a $165 million all-cash settlement.

RALI MBS Litigation

RALI MBS Litigation (S.D.N.Y.): Cohen Milstein was Lead counsel in a securities class action alleging RALI and its affiliates sold shoddy MBS securities that did not meet the standards of their underwriters. In July 2015, the court granted final approval to a global settlement totaling $335 million, marking an end to a long and complicated class action that took seven years of intense litigation to resolve.

In re Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. Third-Party Payor Litigation

In re Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. Third-Party Payor Litigation (D.N.J.): On February 22, 2022, the court granted final approval of a $23 million settlement against Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc., as well as a $125,000 settlement against specialty pharmacy Philidor RX Services LLC and certain officers and directors for their roles in an alleged RICO Act scheme to shield the company’s drugs from competition, fraudulently inflate the prices of its products, and artificially boost sales at the expense of third-party payors.

In re Alphabet Shareholder Derivative Litigation

In re Alphabet Shareholder Derivative Litigation (Sup. Cal., Santa Clara Cnty.): Cohen Milstein, as co-lead counsel, represented Northern California Pipe Trades Pension Plan and Teamsters Local 272 Labor Management Pension Fund in a shareholder derivative lawsuit against Alphabet, Inc.'s Board of Directors. Shareholders alleged that the Board allowed powerful executives to sexually harass and discriminate against women without consequence. In November 2020, the Court granted final approval of a historic settlement, including a $310 million commitment to fund diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and robust reforms including limiting non-disclosure agreements and ending mandatory arbitration in sexual harassment, gender discrimination, and retaliation-related disputes.

Bayer ADR Securities Litigation

Bayer Securities Litigation (N.D. Cal.): Cohen Milstein was sole Lead Counsel in this certified securities fraud class action, in which plaintiffs alleged that in connection with its $63 billion acquisition of Monsanto, Bayer AG misrepresented the rigor of its due diligence and the nature of the legal risk presented by Monsanto’s flagship product, the herbicide Roundup. This cross-border class action addressed novel extraterritoriality issues, resulting in a landmark decision affirming the rights of ADR purchasers on the over-the-counter market—and particularly those of sponsored ADRs like Bayer’s. On October 30, 2025, the court granted final approval of a $38 million settlement.

FirstEnergy Shareholder Derivative Litigation

FirstEnergy Shareholder Derivative Litigation (S.D. Ohio; N.D. Ohio): Cohen Milstein represented the Massachusetts Laborers Pension Fund in two shareholder derivative actions against certain officers and directors and nominal defendant FirstEnergy related to the Company’s involvement in Ohio’s largest public bribery schemes. On August 23, 2022, the Court granted final approval of a $180 million global settlement. Law360 ranked this case as one of the top 10 securities litigation settlements in 2022.

In re Dynex Capital, Inc. Securities Litigation

In re Dynex Capital, Inc. Securities Litigation (S.D.N.Y.): Cohen Milstein, as Lead Counsel, represented Lead Plaintiff Pension Fund Local 445 and a certified class of investors of collateralized bonds known as Merit Series 12-1 and Merit Series 13. Investors alleged that Dynex, its subsidiary Merit Securities Corp., and senior executives lied about the quality of mobile home loans that were collateral for the bonds. Unique to the case were rulings addressing corporate scienter and arguments addressing bond certification and bond market efficiency. It is also the first class certification granted to a class of asset-backed bond purchasers under the 1934 Act within the Second Circuit. On March 13, 2012, after six years of litigation, the Court granted final approval of $7.5 million settlement.

In re SanDisk Securities Litigation

In re: SanDisk LLC Securities Litigation (N.D. Cal.): Cohen Milstein represented investors in this certified securities class action against SanDisk, and the company’s former CEO and CFO. Plaintiffs alleged that the defendants made false and misleading statements regarding SanDisk’s supposed success integrating a key corporate acquisition for its all-important enterprise solid-state drive business and the strength of SanDisk’s enterprise sales team and strategy, among other things. A host of undisclosed problems with the integration and the enterprise business, however, caused SanDisk’s enterprise revenue to fall, including revenue derived from the acquisition, and to badly miss internal sales forecasts. On October 23, 2019, the court granted final approval of a $50 million settlement.