Bruce H. Nagel, Class Action Attorney in Roseland, New Jersey

Bruce H. Nagel is widely recognized as one of the premier trial attorneys in the country. His firm has been included in the National Law Journal’s list of America’s Top 50 Elite Trial Lawyers. He specializes in complex litigation including serious personal injury, class actions, medical malpractice, birth injuries, transportation accidents, and business disputes and has obtained over $1 billion in settlements and verdicts for his clients. Many of his high profile cases have been featured on Nightline, Good Morning America, Today Show, Inside Edition and in print media throughout the world. The national legal correspondent for a major network called Bruce “a well-known New Jersey lawyer with an excellent reputation for creative litigation.”

Bruce has handled some of the highest profile cases in the country including the Short Hills Mall carjacking death action, cyberbullying suicide of middle schooler, sexual abuse cases against the Boy Scouts of America, Amtrak train derailment, and the Paramus bus crash.

Bruce has achieved many accolades for his trial expertise including being named to the New Jersey Super Lawyers Top 10 list many years, included in the New Jersey Personal Injury Hall of Fame, and named in the Best Lawyers in America, Best Lawyers in New York City and Best Lawyers in New York Metropolitan area. The New Jersey Law Journal recently named him with the highest jury verdict in 2018-2019, a $39 million verdict in an accident resulting in multiple limb amputations. In addition to his extensive experience in the trial courts throughout the country, Bruce has appeared 12 times before the New Jersey Supreme Court and has molded the law of torts, medical malpractice, class actions, consumer fraud, and trial practice. He has also successfully argued a landmark case before the Supreme Court of Delaware (en banc) in a case involving a failed corporate acquisition.

Bruce represents a broad range of clients including Fortune 500 companies, sports and entertainment figures, and the guy next door.

Published Works

• The Evolving Law of Informed Consent, New Jersey Law Journal, 2019

• The Scafidi Quagmire and the 3% Solution, New Jersey Law Journal, 2017.

• Exxon Mobil Created Public Nuisance 9-15-08, New Jersey Law Journal, Sep. 15, 2008

• Griggs Settlements: Dead or Alive? New Jersey Law Journal, April 18, 2008

• Health Care Law, Small Board Contemplates Big Changes for Out of Network Providers, Dec. 12, 2005

• Critical Pattern Requirement under RICO, (Co-Author), New Jersey Law Journal, September 1, 1988

• The Evolving Torts of Wrongful Life and Wrongful Birth, New Jersey Lawyer, October, 1997

Notable Representations

• Settlements and Jury Verdicts of over $400 million in complex personal injury and medical malpractice actions, including the recent $39 Million jury verdict, cited by the New Jersey Law Journal as the largest jury verdict of 2018-2019.

• $225 Million settlement, including $50 million in legal fees, on behalf of the State of New Jersey in natural resource damage litigation against Exxon-Mobil. Bruce co-counselled this landmark litigation for over 7 years and established strict liability for damages to the habitat. This is one of the largest settlements in New Jersey history and is the second largest fee award in New Jersey history.

• $180 Million class action settlement against Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey on behalf of out of network surgery centers for underpayment of insurance claims.

• Successful defense of class actions filed in New York and California against manufacturer of Quick-Trim Weight Loss System® and the Kardashians claiming interaliadeceptive advertising and seeking tens of millions in damages. Bruce negotiated a nationwide class action settlement and successfully argued the California appeal which rejected the objectors’ challenge to the settlement.

• Recovery of over $50 million in wrongful birth actions including failure to detect genetic diseases including Tay-Sachs, Canavans, Nieman-Pick, Wolf-Hirschhorn, Trisome 18.

• Landmark class actions against Horizon, Aetna and AmeriHealth establishing medical coverage for eating disorders as biologically based mental disorders and the payment of millions in denied claims. Over 3.5 million class members benefitted by these settlements. The federal judge who approved these settlements observe that Nagel Rice provided class members with “very valuable relief” and the firm represented the “lofty side” of class action practice. Drazin v. Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of NJ, 832 F. Supp. 432 (D.N.J. 2011).

• New Jersey RICO action on behalf of publicly traded insurance company against short-selling hedge funds which targeted their stock. Settlement and jury verdict of $30 million, including punitive damages.

• $16 Million Jury Verdict against a division of Goldman Sachs on behalf of a former CEO of a major telecom company for breach of fiduciary duties in connection with the sale of variable life insurance policies.

• Court appointed member of settlement committee in multi-district litigation pending in Louisiana involving the drug Taxotere. In re Taxotere (Docetaxel) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No.: 2740.

• Confidential settlement against the Short Hills Mall in case involving the carjacking wrongful death of a mall patron.

Reported Cases

• In re Volkswagen “Clean Diesel” Marketing, Sales Practices, and Product Liability Litigation, 914 F.2d 623 (9th 2019)

• Donnenfeld v. Petro, Inc., 333 F.Supp. 3d 208 (E.D.N.Y. 2018)

• Serico v. Rothberg, 234 N.J. 168 (2018)

• Fairfax Fin. Holdings Ltd. v. S.A.C. Capital Mgmt., L.L.C., 450 N.J. Super. 1(App. Div. 2017)

• Finkelman v. Nat’l Football League, 877 F.3d 504 (3d Cir. 2017)

• NAF Holdings, LLC v. Li & Fung (Trading) Ltd., 118 A.3d 175 (Del. 2015)

• Franco v. Conn. Gen. Life Ins., 299 F.R.D. 417 (D.N.J. 2014)

• Clark v. Prudential Ins. Co. of Am., 940 F.Supp. 2d 186 (D.N.J. 2013)

• Kuzian v. Electrolux Home Prod., Inc., 937 F.Supp. 2d 599 (D.N.J. 2013)

• Newmark-Shortino v. Buna, 427 N.J. Super. 285 (App. Div. 2012)

• Drazin v. Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, 832 F.Supp. 2d 432 (D.N.J. 2011), aff’d, 528 F.App’x 211 (3rd 2013)

• Newmark-Shortino v. Buna, 427 N.J. Super. 285 (App. Div. 2012)

• DeVito v. Aetna, 536 F. Supp. 2d 523 (D.N.J. 2008)

• New Jersey Dept. of Environmental Protection v. Exxon Mobil Co., 393 N.J. Super. 388 (App. Div. 2007)

• New Jersey Eye Center v. Princeton, Ins. Co., 394 N.J. Super. 557 (App. Div. 2007)

• Rosen v. Smith Barney, 3 N.J. Super. 578 (App. Div. 2007)

• Brodsky v. Grinnell Haulers, Inc., 181 N.J. 102 (2004)

• Macedo v. Dello Russo, 178 N.J. 340 (2004)

• Howard v. UMDNJ, 172 N.J. 537 (2002)

• Myers v. Epstein, 282 F. Supp. 2d 151 (S.D.N.Y. 2003)

• Lodato v. Kappy, 353 N.J. Super. 439 (App. Div. 2002)

• In re Citigroup, Inc., Capital Accumulation Plan Litigation, 150 F. Supp. 2d 274 (D. Mass. 2001)

• In re Citigroup, Inc., Capital Accumulation Plan Litigation, 2001 WL 1423721 (D. Mass. 2001)

• Moscatello v. UMDNJ, 342 N.J. Super. 351 (App. Div. 2001)

• RFE Industries, Inc. v. SPM Corp., 105 F.3d 923 (4th Cir. 1997)

• Caputa v. Antiles, 296 N.J. Super. 123 (App. Div. 1996)

• National Property Investors VIII v. Shell Oil Co., 917 F. Supp. 324 (D.N.J. 1995)

• Ladner v. Mercedes-Benz of North America, Inc., 266 N.J. Super. 481 (App. Div. 1993)

• Hummel v. Reiss, 129 N.J. 118 (1992)

• Town of Kearny v. Hudson Meadows Urban Renewal Corp., 829 F.2d 1263 (3rd Cir. 1987)

• Jacobs v. Great Pacific Century Corp., 104 N.J. 580 (1986)