Bret Stanley

Over the course of his career, Mr. Stanley’s practice areas have focused on litigating rideshare cases, pharmaceutical device and drug claims, mass tort litigation, complex first-party insurance litigation, and catastrophic personal injury litigation.

Rideshare Litigation

Bret Stanley has actively litigated against Uber Technologies, Inc. and Lyft, Inc. since 2020. In March of 2024, Mr. Stanley tried the very first jury trial in America against Uber Technologies, Inc. under the Fair Labor Standards Act in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Division. Also, Mr. Stanley tried the very first Uber Driver Employee Status case in California through final arbitration hearing and obtained the first ever finding from an Arbitrator that Uber Drivers are Employees under California’s “ABC Test.” In addition to this California arbitration, Mr. Stanley has tried eight other employment cases through final arbitration in Texas against Uber.

Next, Mr. Stanley argued in front of the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) for the creation of the Uber Passenger Sexual Assault Multidistrict Litigation and successfully persuaded the JMPL Panel to create In re: Uber Technologies, Inc., Passenger Sexual Assault Litigation, MDL 3084. Thereafter, MDL 3084 was assigned to Judge Breyer in the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division. Judge Breyer appointed Bret Stanley to executive leadership of MDL 3084. As a named member Plaintiff’s Steering Committee in MDL 3084, Mr. Stanley will performing leadership duties on the Discovery Committee, Case Specific Litigation Committee, and the Trial Committee.

Finally, Mr. Stanley actively litigates against rideshare companies concerning car jackings, murders, physical assaults, car wreck injuries, and other claims that arise due to the negligence of rideshare companies.

Pharmaceutical Drug and Devices / Mass Tort Litigation:

A large part of Bret Stanley’s practice concerns litigation of pharmaceutical device and drug claims and mass torts. Over the past decade, Mr. Stanley has litigated claims in the Transvaginal Mesh multi-district litigation, Inferior Vena Cava Filter multi-district litigation, Hurricane Harvey Eminent Domain litigation, Hurricane Ike property damage and business loss litigation, Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill business loss litigation, Las Vegas Shooting litigation, multiple diabetes drug litigations, and independent contractor misclassification wage-claims. Collectively, these litigations comprise thousands of claims and have been prosecuted against some of the biggest corporations in the world.

Mr. Stanley has gained substantial litigation experience against major pharmaceutical drug and device manufacturers. In 2023, Mr. Stanley was first-chair trial attorney in a three-week Texas Trial against a major vaginal mesh manufacturer. Mr. Stanley has deposed many hostile corporate witnesses of pharmaceutical companies, taken many 30(b)(6) depositions of hostile corporate representatives, deposed hostile pharmaceutical company expert witnesses, developed multiple general causation expert witness reports effecting thousands of cases, prepared and presented general causation plaintiff experts for depositions, developed case specific expert reports on hundreds of cases, prepared and presented case specific experts for depositions, drafted and served full written discovery, completed full motion practice (dispositive motions, Daubert motions, motions in limine, etc.), and drafted and filed appeals to the circuit court.

In addition to the leadership appointment in MDL 3084, Mr. Stanley has previously been named to leadership positions in the Zantac MDL, SGLT2 Diabetes Drug Consolidations in Delaware and Connecticut, Option™ Vena Cava Litigation in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas of Pennsylvania, and Transvaginal Mesh MDLs in the Southern District of West Virginia.

In addition to litigating claims, Mr. Stanley has developed mass tort management processes for all phases of pharmaceutical device and drug cases from initial intake, complaint filing, medical record acquisition, discovery, profile form / fact sheet submission, expert designation, settlement negotiation, and final resolution / settlement. Mr. Stanley has managed mass tort dockets consisting of thousands of clients.

First Party Insurance Litigation / Contract Dispute:

Bret Stanley also has substantial experience litigating first-party insurance cases. Mr. Stanley has litigated hundreds of claims against insurance carriers concerning business interruption and property damage related to hurricanes, negligent property damage by third parties, and other covered peril events. Mr. Stanley has fully prepared insurance related cases for trial and recently successfully tried business a loss claim to verdict in 2019.

Catastrophic Injury / Automobile Injury / Maritime Injury Litigation:

Bret Stanley has substantial experience litigating catastrophic injury claims. Mr. Stanley handles all phases of a personal injury claim, whether they occur on the highways, at the workplace, or at sea. Bret Stanley has tried multiple personal injury cases to verdict. Mr. Stanley’s trial and litigation experience with personal injury claims maximizes the potential for recovery for injured clients.