Welcome to Critical Mass, Law.com's weekly briefing on class actions and mass torts. Here's what's going on: Marriott's data breach has spawned lawsuits, with many lawyers among the plaintiffs. The “Judicial Hellholes” report is out– guess who's No. 1 again? And fraud claims have fueled the legal fight between Jay Edelson and Christopher Bandas, a lawyer for objectors to class actions.

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Marriott Breach 'Hits Close to Home' for Lawyers

Marriott's data breach impacted 500 million guests of its Starwood properties whose personal information could have been stolen, the company revealed. And lawyers had no problem finding plaintiffs to sue Marriott, according to my story.

In fact, they barely had to look past their own mirrors. At least four lawyers were plaintiffs in class actions filed against Marriott, including the very first one. That's because the Marriott case “hits close to home,” said Gary Mason (Whitfield, Bryson & Mason), a lawyer I spoke with who acknowledged he's a Marriott platinum elite member.

His client also is a lawyer: Philip Friedman (Friedman Law Offices). Friedman, who is on the advisory board of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, told me this is why he got involved as a plaintiff:

“What concerns me greatly is the fact that passport information may have also been taken as part of this breach. The combined passport information with email information and addresses and who knows what else was collecting under the Starwood database — those are real keys to messing with your personal identity and security.”

Hell Hath No Fury Like…California?

The American Tort Reform Association came out with its annual “Judicial Hellholes” report and–in not much of a surprise–ranked California No. 1. My coverage of the report focused on why California, after dropping to No. 2 last year behind Florida, topped the list once again. The answer? The California Supreme Court's 2017 decision in T.H. v. Novartis Pharmaceuticals – the first ruling in the nation to impose innovator liability on brand-name drugmakers for tort actions involving generic pharmaceuticals.

But Florida still came up No. 2 because the state's highest court refused to adopt the more defense-friendly Daubert standard for expert evidence this year. Florida Justice Association spokesman Ryan Banfill had this perspective from the plaintiffs' side:

“Just as the Legislature writes its own rules without outside interference and passes laws that affect substantive rights, with its decision on Daubert vs. Frye, the Florida Supreme Court asserted its proper role in setting the rules of the state's courts on matters of procedure. That's how the founders designed our constitutional-based American system of divided government.”

Taking Aim at Objectors

Plaintiffs' lawyer Jay Edelson (Edelson PC) won a key decision last month in his legal battle against Christopher Bandas (Bandas Law Firm), a lawyer for objectors in class action settlements whose tactics have come under fire by judges across the country. In fact, according to my story, an Illinois appeals court ruled on Nov. 20that Bandas and another lawyer had committed “a fraud on the court” and referred both of them to a state disciplinary commission.

It's a big win for Edelson. Especially after a federal judge dismissed most of the claims in a separate racketeering suit he filed against Bandas. On Monday, Bandas upped the ante with counterclaims in that suit, labeling Edelson as one of “the most notorious and prolific serial class action litigators” in the country — then accusing him of fraud. Here's my colleague Scott Flaherty's story on that.

Here's what else you need to know:

A Fine Mesh: Plaintiffs' lawyers leading transvaginal mesh litigation in West Virginia federal court have asked for a 5 percent holdback on $7.25 billion in settlements. That could translate eventually into $550 million in fees and expenses. Some lawyers have balked, according to Law.com. Kline & Specter's Shanin Specter called the settlements “puny”. On Monday, one of the lead attorneys, Henry Garrard of Blasingame Burch, fired back, calling Specter's criticism “blatant hypocrisy” and the “height of disingenuity.”

Where There's Smoke: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reinstated $20.76 million in punitive damages in a smoking injury verdict in Florida. The panel's decision, according to Law.com, remanded the award, totaling $24.51 million, when including compensatory damages, to a representative of Judith Berger, who testified that she started smoking at age 13. She died last year of lung disease.

A Class Act: Pierce Bainbridge has hired the head of Baker & Hostetler's class action practice in New York, Deborah Renner. Law.com's story says Renner represented plaintiffs in class actions against fraudster Bernie Madoff. Founding partner John Pierce was quoted in the story saying that Renner “takes us one step closer to domination in our Rule 23 class action practice, both on the plaintiff and defense sides.”