First Admitted: 1991, Texas

Professional Webpage: http://www.coryfeinlaw.com/cory-feins-background/

Verdicts / Settlements (Case Results):

Settled claims of Finance Director of city in Texas who alleged she was terminated in violation of the Texas Whistleblowers Act for her reports of violations of law by city employees., 2022
Cory Fein was lead counsel in a suit filed in federal court in 2021 on behalf of speech therapist whistleblower alleging that she was retaliated against for opposing false billing of government healthcare programs in violation of the False Claims Act. Suit filed against her former employer, a company that owned multiple skilled nursing facilities. Settlement reached in 2022 during mediation., 2022
Cory Fein was lead counsel for terminated employee of Fortune 500 company, alleging wrongful termination in violation of the whistleblower protection provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley law (i.e., SOX), 18 U.S.C. §1514A(b)(1)(B). Allegations included protected activity in reporting false designation of country of origin, use of counterfeit marks, wire fraud and mail fraud. SOX retaliation claim lodged with the U.S. Department of Labor’s OSHA division, followed by lawsuit filed in federal court in 2020. Lawsuit settled in 2022 during mediation., 2022
Cory Fein was lead counsel in 2022 pre-suit settlement for four truck drivers alleging violations of Surface Transportation Assistance Act (“STAA”), 49 U.S.C. § 31105, claiming they were fired in retaliation for refusing to drive excessively long shifts, without adequate rest periods, in violation of Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (“FMCSA”) regulations, 49 CFR §§ 395.3. Claims settled during mediation., 2022
Cory Fein was lead counsel in 2022 pre-suit settlement by psychiatrist client alleging she was fired in retaliation for protesting false billing practices including having psychiatrists sign blank lab order forms used to order medically unnecessary diagnostic lab testing, and renewing prescriptions without physician approval. Claims included violation of Texas law precluding hospitals and other health facilities from retaliating against employees for reporting a violation of law or agency rule. Tex. Health & Safety Code § 161.134(a), and Section 3730(h) of the False Claims Act providing a cause of action for those discharged, or otherwise retaliated against for their efforts to stop violations of the False Claims Act, including submitting false claims to government healthcare programs., 2022
Cory Fein was co-counsel for the whistleblower in a case against a surgery center alleged to have filed false claims with Medicare and other government healthcare programs. Allegations included false billing for “incident to” services, falsely representing that services provided by nurse practitioners were provided by physicians, false billing for level 3 or 4 office visits that merely involved medication refill phone calls between patients and nurses; false billing for both an office visit and a scheduled procedure with a patient on the same day, when the office visits did not involve a significant, separately identifiable evaluation and management service; false billing for ultrasound-guided procedures, when no ultrasound was used; false billing for office visits with existing patients as office visits with new patients; and retroactively falsifying medical records to match fraudulent bills. Suit was filed in federal court in 2020, and settled in 2022, resulting in recovery to the Government and payment to whistleblower client., 2022
Presuit settlement of claims asserted by employee who alleged she was terminated in retaliation for her opposition to false claims to submitted to the Government associated with PPP loans., 2021
Settled non-intervened False Claims Act case against imaging center that allegedly falsely billed Government payors for professional services related to radiologist interpretation of bone density scans., 2021
Settled False Claims Act retaliation case on behalf of Director of Nursing who alleged nursing home retaliated against her for opposing the billing of Medicare for unnecessary genetic testing., 2021
Settled False Claims Act retaliation case involving allegations that home health company terminated employee in retaliation for her opposition of false claims submitted to Government healthcare payors, 2020
Presuit settlement of claims asserted by account executive who was allegedly retaliated against for opposing false claims to Government payors related to medical products., 2020
Settlement of False Claims Act retaliation claims on behalf of employee who was terminated allegedly in retaliation for opposing false claims submitted regarding HUD grant funds., 2020
Pre-suit settlement of claims of two nurses who were terminated from medical facility, allegedly as retaliation for opposing dangerous practices that put patients and staff in danger., 2020
Pre-suit settlement of claim that employee was wrongfully terminated in retaliation for false claims submitted for psychological care of military veterans, 2020
Settled False Claims Act retaliation case involving allegations that hospital retaliated against two employees for their opposition of false statements submitted to obtain funds from federal grant, 2019
Settled False Claims Act retaliation case involving allegations that hospice company terminated nurse in retaliation for her opposition to false claims submitted to Medicare for hospice care, 2018
Settled False Claims Act case involving overbilling Medicare for hospice services, 2018
$600,000 settlement of False Claims Act case involving overbilling Medicare for rehab services in S.D.Texas, 2017
$2.48 million settlement of False Claims Act case involving military procurement in S.D.Texas, 2017
Obtained $12.7 million judgment in favor of certified Plaintiff class, Sistrunk v. TitleMax, W.D.Texas, 2017
Cory Fein served as lead counsel for a nationwide class of insureds alleging that they were underpaid on their property loss claims due to improper calculation of payment amounts. The settlement provided repayment of 100% of the alleged underpayment, plus interest, and obtained final approval by a California federal court, 2014
Cory Fein was the responsible attorney for Caddell & Chapman, co-counsel for a class of bank account holders in a Florida federal case involving improper overdraft charges. On August 10, 2012, Mr. Fein and his co-counsel successfully had a class certified and successfully defeated an interlocutory appeal to the Eleventh Circuit. A settlement was reached and given final approval, 2014
Cory Fein was the responsible attorney for Caddell & Chapman, co-counsel for a class of vehicle owners who alleged their tires wore prematurely and irregularly as a result of improperly designed rear suspension. Mr. Fein and his co-counsel successfully obtained class certification, defended it against interlocutory appeal, after which they negotiated a settlement which obtained final approval in a California federal court, 2014
Cory Fein served as sole lead counsel for a class of persons who rented vehicles through an online website for use outside of the United States and alleged that insurance fees and taxes were improperly disclosed. He successfully obtained a class action settlement for a nationwide class, which settlement was approved by California federal court, 2014
A Multidistrict Litigation proceeding (Case No. MDL-2223), consolidating 35 cases from around the country and resulting in a nationwide settlement approved by an Illinois federal court. Cory Fein served as the responsible attorney for Caddell & Chapman (sole lead counsel) and as chair of the Discovery Committee. A settlement was approved on July 2, 2013, by Federal District Judge Matthew J. Kennelly (“the settlement can be viewed as paying roughly 50% of the full value of the class members’ claims, were they to succeed” and is “clearly fair”). The settlement provided partial reimbursement for post-warranty engine repair costs incurred by a class of over 1 million current and former owners of vehicles equipped with diesel engines, and attorneys’ fees of $12.8 million were awarded on August 11, 2013 (approving the “relatively modest” lodestar multiplier of 1.25), 2013
Cory Fein was the responsible attorney at Caddell & Chapman, Lead Counsel in a California case against two major beverage manufacturers which resulted in a settlement for a nationwide class of consumers. The settlement obtained final approval on August 31, 2012, in Los Angeles Superior Court, 2012
A settlement that obtained final approval from Federal District Judge Marcia Crone on July 2, 2009 in the Eastern District of Texas, in which the owners of some 20,000 ambulances were eligible to obtain substantial compensation from the defendant in the form of extended warranties, reimbursements for repairs, and enhanced service. Cory Fein served as the responsible attorney at Caddell & Chapman, lead counsel for the class, 2009
One of the largest class actions in history including more than 190 million class members, where the settlement was approved in an Illinois federal court by Judge Robert Gettleman on September 17, 2008, and prominent class action expert Professor Geoffrey Miller stated “[h]aving worked closely with [Cory Fein and his firm, Caddell & Chapman], I can also attest that they are among the finest class action attorneys I have been privileged to know during my two decades of experience in this field of law. They not only possess excellent analytical and rhetorical skills, but—more importantly—displayed remarkable qualities of judgment, imagination and persistence.” Cory Fein served as the responsible attorney at Caddell & Chapman, one of the named settlement class counsel, 2008
A class action settlement providing injunctive and monetary relief to a nationwide class of Hartford insureds with respect to the payment of General Contractor’s overhead and profit on property damage claims, approved by Judge Bury of the Federal District Court of Arizona on June 18, 2008. Cory Fein served as the responsible attorney at Caddell & Chapman, lead counsel on the case, 2008
Cory Fein was the responsible attorney for Caddell & Chapman, Lead Counsel in In re Ford Motor Co. Speed Control Deactivation Switch Products Liability Litigation, an MDL proceeding (Case No. MDL-1718) pending in the Eastern District of Michigan. Cory Fein took the lead role in facilitating a double-tracked, multi-party mediation that resulted in more than 100 settlements of cases involving vehicle fires

Special Licenses / Certifications:

Licensed to practice by Texas Supreme Court, 1991
Licensed to practice by California Supreme Court, 2007
Licensed to practice in Northern District of Indiana, 2012
Licensed to practice in Eastern District of Michigan, 2006
Licensed to practice in Fifth, Seventh, and Ninth Circuit Courts of Appeals
Licensed to practice in Southern, Eastern, and Western Districts of Texas
Licensed to practice in Northern District of Florida, 2005
Licensed to practice in Eastern, Southern, Central and Northern Districts of California, 2008
Licensed to practice in Northern and Southern Districts of Illinois, 2010
Licensed to practice in Western District of Tennessee, 2012
Certified FINRA arbitrator
Licensed to practice in the United States Supreme Court, 2005

Pro bono / Community Service:

Career day speaker, YMCA Achieve
Judge at multiple mock trials, moot courts, and other student competitions at University of Houston Law Center and Harris County courthouse.
Inner city school mentoring program, FACES of Change
Volunteer, Houston Food Bank

Honors:

Named as one of Houston’s Top Lawyers by H Texas Magazine, 2014 - 2017
Named Super Lawyer by Thomson Reuters as published in Texas Monthly magazine, 2015 - 2017
Fellow, Texas Bar Foundation (top 1/3 of 1% of Texas lawyers)
Named Rising Star by Thomson Reuters as published in Texas Monthly magazine, 2004 - 2007
Commended on April 10, 2012, by Mayor of Lancaster, California for exceptional achievement in securing $2 million settlement in a Consumer Protection case in the Superior Court of California for the County of Los Angeles, Commendation for Exceptional Achievement, Mayor of Lancaster, California, 2012
America’s Top 100 High Stakes Litigators, Southern Texas, 2017

Educational Background:

University of Texas, B.A., Honors: with high honors, Plan II Liberal Arts Honors Program, 1988

Scholarly Lectures / Writings:

Moderator at panel on deposing corporate representatives at Texas Bar CLE Business Torts Institute 2010, Dallas Texas on October 28, 2010, Business Torts Institute
Authored and presented paper on computer-based discovery at meeting of Jefferson County Bar Association, 2001
Co-authored and presented paper on computer-based discovery at University of Houston Advanced Business Litigation seminar in Houston, Dallas and Austin programs in 1997 and 1998
Guest lecturer on Class Actions and Whistleblower Law, at Adj. Prof. Charles Brown's class, Law Office Management: How to Make Money as a Lawyer, Spring 2015, University of Houston School of Law

Cory S. Fein