Tom Kline closed the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s two-day 30th Minority Attorney Conference with a keynote speech “My Hometown.” Kline explained that in the days when “coal was king,” Hazleton, Pa., was once a booming Northeastern Pennsylvania town that welcomed immigrants from all parts of the world – Poland, Germany, Lithuania, Ireland, Italy and Russia. Kline’s family was among a small band of Jewish immigrants that settled in Hazleton in the late 1890s and 1900s, including his grandfathers, Abe Kline and Morris Levin. But as the need for coal declined, so did Hazleton, its population dwindling from 38,000 in 1940 to just 23,000 in 2000. But then the town experienced a dramatic population turnaround fueled almost entirely by Latinos mostly from the Dominican Republic. However, many in the previously all-white town did not welcome the newcomers, some of whom were in the country illegally. So town officials in 2006 enacted the Hazleton Illegal Immigration Relief Act. It prohibited these immigrants from leasing or buying property and fined employers who gave them jobs. It also made English Hazleton’s official language and mandated all town business be conducted in English. The ACLU challenged the ordinance and it was thrown out by the federal courts. Kline described the swing from the region’s heavily Democratic, pro-union makeup to one that evolved to backing anti-immigrant rhetoric. “Part of the solution,” Kline told his audience, “may be convincing the people of the new Hazleton to see their grand- and great-grandparents’ journey in their new neighbor’s journey. And that is no small task. That will not come easily and will not happen overnight. But it is the only path forward if this small microcosm of America is ever to return to its cultural and political norm.”

Shanin Specter is featured in a new book titled “Crystal Mesh” about lawsuits over transvaginal mesh products surgically implanted in women who later suffered severe injuries when the plastic-like medical device eroded inside their bodies. In many cases, the mesh could not be removed even after corrective surgeries, leaving behind “shards” of hardened material that caused severe pain and left the women unable to have sexual intercourse. In the recently published book, by Jennifer Banmiller and Alicia Mundy, the latter an award-winning author and former Wall Street Journal reporter, Specter is critical of law firms that accumulated large inventories of cases and then took “puny” settlements from manufacturers of vaginal mesh products, generally as little as $40,000 to $45,000 per case or even less. Specter told of one lawyer who stockpiled so many cases he was unable to handle discovery for all of them. “He reached out to me,” Specter says in the book. “He really wanted to litigate them, and try many of them. But he became overwhelmed. Therefore, he had to accept an inadequate settlement.” Kline & Specter, with more than 40 attorneys, has refused to settle its vaginal mesh cases with major manufacturer Johnson & Johnson, instead conducting discovery and preparing cases for trial. So far, the firm’s attorneys have won verdicts in nine cases against J&J, including those for $120 million, $80 million, $57.1 million, $41 million, $20 million, $13.5 million and $12.5 million. The book also delves into great detail (eight pages) into the case of Ella Ebaugh, a Pennsylvania victim who won the $57.1 million award.
 

Tom Kline was among a panel of attorneys participating in the Continuing Judicial Education program sponsored by the Administrative Office of the Pennsylvania Courts in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Fellows of the American College of Trial Lawyers, the prestigious organization of trial attorneys of which Kline is a member. The forum was titled “Current Issues in Medical Malpractice Law: Point, Counterpoint.” Working with Kline were Pittsburgh attorneys John Gismondi and John Conti, and Heather Hansen, an attorney from Plymouth Meeting, Pa. The four-hour event addressed recent developments in the law, including recent cases decided by the Pennsylvania appellate courts. Kline presented on peer review privilege and other topics of interest to the statewide trial judges who attended in person and by videoconference.

 

 
Kline & Specter was honored to support the Bayada Regatta, the nation’s oldest and largest all-adaptive rowing competition for athletes with disabilities. The event, held at the St. Joseph’s University Boathouse on the banks of the Schuylkill River, brought out more than 300 rowers and volunteers. Next year, which will be the event’s 39th, is expected to bring out an even bigger crowd. Even a team from Australia has contacted the event directors about entering for 2020. “… There were plenty of smiles and a true feeling of camaraderie,” said Anita Palmer, 2019 Bayada Regatta coordinator. She added that “this was a great event for the rowers, their families and friends! Many family members stop to tell me how important and meaningful this event is to their families each year, and how thankful they are for the regatta.”


Kline & Specter and Regan Safier helped sponsor the Philly Friendship Walk, an annual event kicking off fundraising efforts and community awareness for the Philly Friendship Circle, an organization in which Safier and her family are actively involved. The non-profit group builds friendships among disabled and non-disabled people in the Jewish community

Kline & Specter is a proud supporter of the Foundation for Criminal Justice.