User:Yourstorypros/Stephen A. Sheller

User:Yourstorypros/Stephen A. Sheller

Stephen A. Sheller
Stephen A. Sheller (born October 18, 1938) is an American trial lawyer and the founding partner of Sheller P.C., based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is best known as a plaintiffs’ attorney who has successfully sued major pharmaceutical companies on behalf of clients damaged by their prescribed medications, ranging from vaccines to psychoactive drugs. In 2019, Sheller garnered an $8 billion jury verdict for punitive damages against Jannsen Global, the pharmaceutical division of Johnson & Johnson and the maker of the antipsychotic drug Risperdal, which was marketed to children even after it was known to cause breast enlargement in young boys. On May 17, 2021 the U.S. Supreme Court denied hearing the drugmaker's appeal, ending its challenge to a reduced $70 million punitive award. Sheller also represented the voters of Palm Beach County, Florida, who were confused by a “butterfly ballot” during the 2000 U.S. presidential election. The case led to a recount of Palm Beach County’s votes and ultimately to the landmark Bush v. Gore cases in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Early life

Sheller was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Max and Mary (nee Alexander) Sheller. His father owned a liquor store, and his mother ran a stationery shop. Sheller attended 11 schools as a young child as his family moved from East Northport, Long Island, to Jackson Heights, Queens, before settling in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn. After graduating from Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn, Sheller enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. He intended to study veterinary medicine, but as an undergraduate, he worked for sociology and criminology professor Marvin Wolfgang on a study of recidivism among two groups of recent parolees: those who reported to clergy and those who reported to traditional parole officers. Sheller graduated with a bachelor’s degree in sociology in 1960. Following his experience in Wolfgang’s research, he enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania Law School (now the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School.) and received a Juris Doctorate in 1963. Sheller was awarded an honorary doctorates by Drexel University in 2017 and by Temple University in 2019.

Professional history

Sheller is known for his use of the False Claims Act to redress wrongdoing by pharmaceutical manufacturers. Using the law’s qui tam provision, he represents individual whistleblowers who file lawsuits on behalf of the U.S. government seeking damages from the corporations for negligence or intentional acts. The whistleblowers may receive 15 to 30 percent of the amount recovered in such cases. With several awards exceeding $1 billion, Sheller has been involved in nearly half of the largest pharmaceutical-related False Claims Act settlements.

Early career

As a young lawyer, Sheller handled a diverse array of cases, involving labor unions, civil rights matters and activists in the Black Power movement of the 1960s. His clients included members of the Black Panther Party and William Mathis, head of the Philadelphia chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality, who was charged with inciting a riot while organizing protests at Philadelphia schools. In 1971, Sheller was named a partner at Astor & Weiss in Philadelphia. In 1977, he founded the firm now known as Sheller P.C. He is one of four attorneys in the firm, which also includes two of his daughters.

Notable cases

With co-counsel Thomas R. Kline, Sheller obtained an $8 billion punitive damages verdict against the pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson. The jury found that the company marketed the antipsychotic drug Risperdal for off-label use by pediatric patients despite knowing the medication could cause a condition called gynecomastia, resulting in breast growth in boys. The American Association for Justice, an organization of plaintiffs’ attorneys, said the verdict was the largest won by any of its members in 2019.


 * Sheller represented the Pennsylvania Social Services Union in a lawsuit filed in 1973 seeking collective bargaining rights. He later represented the Pennsylvania Employment Security Association in 1975 when the U.S. Department of Justice sought to force striking social workers to return to their jobs.
 * In 1996, Sheller filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of smokers against tobacco manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors, alleging they marketed cigarettes to children under age 16. (10)
 * In 1998, Sheller sued R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. for allegedly committing fraud in marketing “light” cigarettes that were supposed low in nicotine. (11)
 * Sheller successfully argued for class-action status for a “light” cigarette case against Philip Morris USA in which an Illinois judge ordered the tobacco company to pay $10.1 billion in compensatory and punitive damages.
 * Sheller was a member of the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee that directed federal multi-district litigation proceedings against Merck & Co. in cases involving the company’s anti-inflammatory drug Vioxx, which was found to cause strokes and heart attacks. Merck paid a $4.85 billion settlement to compensate victims.
 * Sheller represented residents of the area surrounding the Ringwood Mines landfill site in New Jersey, where Ford Motor Company had dumped toxic materials, including lead and arsenic, from a nearby automobile manufacturing plant. As a result of the lawsuit, the site was restored to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund Priority List in 2006.
 * In 2014, Sheller reached a $58.9 million settlement with Shire Pharmaceuticals over off-label marketing of ADHD drugs Adderall and Vyvanse. Sheller filed a qui tam complaint on behalf of a whistleblower, a Shire executive who exposed the company’s unsubstantiated claims that Adderall XR and other drugs would help prevent “certain issues linked to ADHD,” including poor academic performance, car accidents, divorce, loss of employment, criminal behavior, and sexually transmitted diseases.
 * In 2014, Astellas Pharma agreed to pay $7.3 million to resolve allegations by Sheller’s client, an Astellas sales representative, that the company violated the False Claims Act by submitting fraudulent claims to government health care programs while marketing the antifungal drug Mycamine for off-label use in children.
 * Sheller recovered more than $6.4 billion in settlements and fines for the U.S. government through False Claims Act cases, including U.S. v. Pfizer, $2.3 billion; U.S. v. AstraZeneca, $520 million; U.S. v. Janssen Pharmaceuticals, $2.2 billion; and U.S. v. Eli Lilly & Company, $1.4 billion.
 * Sheller represented clients in Pennsylvania and New Jersey in a class-action lawsuit against American Home Products, maker of the diet drug fen-phen. The case led to a $3.75 billion settlement in 1999.

Personal life

Sheller is the father of four daughters. He married Estelle “Stelle” Ludwig (1940-2018) in 1962. The couple had two daughters, Jamie and Mimi Sheller, before divorcing. In 1981, Sheller married Sandra Mitnik. They have two daughters, Danielle and Lauren A. Sheller.

Philanthropy

Stephen and Sandra Sheller established the Sheller Family Foundation in 2012. Its initiatives include:
 * The Stephen and Sandra Sheller 11th Street Family Health Services Center of Drexel University in Philadelphia. The center was recognized by the National Academy of Medicine as a model for health care delivery to under-served populations.
 * The Stephen and Sandra Sheller Center for Social Justice at Temple University School of Law.
 * The Stephen and Sandra Sheller Scholarship for the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education Foundation.
 * The Stephen and Sandra Sheller Commons at the South Philadelphia branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia.
 * A permanent exhibit honoring the Pennsylvania National Guard at the National Liberty Museum.

Awards and honors


 * National Law Journal’s Top Ten American Litigators.
 * America’s Top 100 High Stakes Litigators, 2020.
 * Clarence Darrow Award, 2016.
 * Pennsylvania Super Lawyer, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020.
 * Trial Lawyer of the Year, 2003.
 * Legal Intelligencer Lifetime Achievement Award, 2015.

Books

Sheller is the author of two books: Lawyering in Times of Saints and Evil Doers, a memoir, and Big Pharma, Big Greed, about his legal fights against the pharmaceutical industry, written with Sidney D. Kirkpatrick and Chris Mondics.