James Griffith’s practice focuses on high-stakes litigation in the life and health insurance industry. With more than a decade of experience in this field, Mr. Griffith brings strategic leadership, industry knowledge, passionate advocacy and efficiency to his clients’ most important litigation battles. He frequently defends against class actions, and is one of the few attorneys in the U.S. to have successfully tried a collective action to a jury, a distinction recognized in the National Law Journal’s 2006 Defense Hot List. Mr. Griffith is well-versed in the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), two federal statutes frequently wielded by plaintiffs against insurance companies.
Among his accomplishments for the industry, Mr. Griffith secured the early dismissal of a putative nationwide class action brought by health care providers who claimed that members of the insurance industry caused them more than $5 billion in damages through a fraudulent conspiracy in violation of RICO. Mr. Griffith successfully argued the subsequent appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, a victory reported in the National Law Journal in 2010. Mr. Griffith has defended life and health insurance companies in other class actions brought by beneficiaries and/or providers who alleged, for example, that the companies misused their market and/or economic power, misrepresented coverage or benefits, made incorrect coverage determinations, did not properly calculate benefits and interest, used undisclosed guidelines or criteria in making benefit determinations, misused automated claims processing platforms and software, did not comply with state insurance laws and failed to honor assignments of benefits. He also advises on antitrust issues.
Mr. Griffith also maintains a complex commercial litigation practice, which focuses on professional liability and fiduciary matters. Mr. Griffith represents private equity firms, corporations, directors, officers, attorneys and accounting professionals in matters involving RICO, securities fraud, corporate and ERISA fiduciary duties, lender liability, professional negligence, intellectual property and defamation. He has conducted several internal investigations for boards of directors.
Mr. Griffith serves in leadership capacities in the community. He is the president of his homeowners’ association, and serves on the finance council of his church.
Mr. Griffith is a member of the Pennsylvania and New Jersey bars and is admitted to practice before the United States Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit, and the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Western District of Pennsylvania and the District of New Jersey. Mr. Griffith received his B.A. in political science in 1991 from the University of Michigan and his J.D. cum laude in 1995 from the Widener University School of Law, where he served as articles editor of the Delaware Journal of Corporate Law.