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ERMAN

Dedicated National Legal Solutions

230 Peachtree Street, NW, Suite 2260
Atlanta, GA 30303-1515
Office: (404) 880-9500 / Fax: (404) 880-9605

EREL LLP

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“Success is simple. Do what's right, the right way, at the right time."

~ Arnold H. Glasgow

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Stephen J. Herman is a partner of Herman, Herman, Katz & Cotlar, L.L.P, as well as the national firm of Herman Gerel, L.L.P., with central offices in Atlanta, Georgia. After receiving a B.A. from Dartmouth College, he attended Tulane Law School, where he was admitted to the Order of the Coif, graduating magna cum laude in 1994. He then spent a year clerking for Justice Harry T. Lemmon of the Louisiana Supreme Court.   Developing a broad civil practice, Mr. Herman has handled everything from highway defect and products liability cases, to fire and flood loss cases, to attorney fee disputes and employment cases, to special appellate work before the Louisiana Supreme Court and other courts of appeal. In addition to the favorable resolution of two significant workplace explosion cases, Mr. Herman has dedicated a significant part of his practice to Tobacco Litigation and ERISA cases on behalf of physicians, consumers, unions, and the sponsors of welfare benefit plans against the managed care and PBM industries. He is currently focusing on commercial, class action, insurance coverage and professional liability cases, representing both plaintiffs and defendants……  http://www.thenationaltriallawyers.org/stephen-herman.html

Lawsuits Claim That PBMs Violate Their Fiduciary Duties To Clients, Members

Health care plan sponsors contract with PBMs to manage the plans’ prescription drug benefits and control costs. However, plan discovered that PBMs have raised plan costs by promoting use of drugs that are more expensive and not necessarily the best for patients in exchange for drug maker rebates that are not passed on to plan sponsors or patients. Some lawsuits claim that PBMs have ERISA fiduciary responsibilities. ERISA specifies that if an entity manages benefits, it is a fiduciary, explained David A. McKay, an attorney with the law firm of Herman Gerel, LLP ( formally known as Herman, Mathis, Casey, Kitchens & Gerel, LLP), at the first annual Pharmacy Benefit Information and Knowledge Exchange conference held in October. Three attorneys discussed recent cases against PBMs…..http://www.hr.cch.com/news/benefits/121907.asp

NURSERY WATER MISLEADS PARENTS

On November 9, 2006, the American Dental Association (ADA) issued an alert advising parents to avoid using water with added fluoride when mixing infant formula. Likewise, the American Academy of Pediatrics ("AAP") recommends that "Supplementary fluoride should not be provided during the first six months of life."

Contrary to these clear warnings, Nursery Water, one of the nation's biggest infant bottled water companies, markets its fluoridated water to infants and claims in its marketing and advertising that fluoride in water will "strengthen your little one's teeth" and "prevent tooth decay."

On February 21, 2008, Herman Gerel, LLP filed the first suit in the country against one of the nation's biggest infant bottled water companies – Nursery Water – for misleading parents with erroneous information on its website and advertising materials regarding the safety and benefits of fluoride in infant bottled water, in clear violation of Federal Trade Commission rules. This case is currently pending in the Central District of California. See DiSimone v. DS Waters of America, Inc.