Practicing law for over 25 years, Attorney Meneo has a diverse professional resume. He is experienced in pharmaceutical and medical device litigation, sexual abuse litigation, securities litigation and arbitration, tax litigation, administration and planning, estate and will litigation and administration, and commercial transactions and litigation. Since 2005, Attorney Meneo has consistently received the prestigious AV® Preeminent Rating by Martindale Hubbell, the widely recognized and premier national attorney ratings organization. The AV® Preeminent Rating is Martindale Hubbell’s “Highest Possible Rating in both Legal Ability and Ethical Standards, It is only awarded to attorneys who, in the opinions of their peers, possess high to preeminent legal ability based on one's expertise, experience, integrity and overall professional excellence. Following are highlights of Attorney Meneo’s noteworthy experience.
In pharmaceutical and medical device litigation, Attorney Meneo represents individuals (and their families) injured by defective drugs and medical devices. Currently, he (The Meneo Law Group) is investigating potential claims involving the anti-clotting drug Xarelto®, the Depuy Pinnacle, metal-on-metal hip implant and those involving Inferior Vena Cava (IVC) filters. Here are summaries of his roles and accomplishments in prior pharmaceutical and medical device litigations.
Recently concluded with a $650 million settlement, the Pradaxa litigation was consolidated both in federal court (MDL 2848 assigned to Judge David Herndon in St. Louis) and in Connecticut state court (In Re Pradaxa Litigation assigned to Complex Litigation Judge Grant Miller in Hartford).Having filed one of the first Pradaxa product liability cases in the country and having the first nationwide trial date assigned to that case, Attorney Meneo played a significant role in the litigation. In addition to Co-Lead counsel for the Connecticut litigation, US District Court Judge Herndon appointed him State-Federal Liaison Counsel for Connecticut. In that role he served as a member of the Plaintiffs’ Negotiating Team that crafted a global settlement for some 4,000 plaintiffs nationwide.
Attorney Meneo played a significant role in the nationwide litigation involving OTC appetite suppressant and cough/cold products containing the vaso-constricting compound phenylpropanolamine, commonly referred to as “PPA.” Beyond his leadership positions described below and drawing on his experience with the nationwide Diet Drug Settlement, he is very proud to have fashioned the original contours of a PPA settlement model that served as the genesis and framework for the final Dexatrim Settlement and Case Scoring System.
In addition to representing several individuals who suffered hemorrhagic strokes and other injuries after ingesting PPA, he served on the MDL Plaintiffs Discovery Committee, assuming primary responsibility for conducting discovery and developing the liability case against the manufacturers of PPA-containing appetite suppressants, Thompson Medical Company and Chattem, Inc. Ultimately, these two manufacturers entered into a nationwide settlement of all pending claims brought by people who alleged injury after taking the PPA-containing appetite suppressant Dexatrim®.
As an integral member of a select group of attorneys who negotiated the only global PPA settlements, Attorney Meneo served on the Dexatrim® Settlement Subcommittee of the PPA-MDL Plaintiffs' Steering Committee and as one of four Class Counsel in the Chattem Dexatrim® Class Settlement. He also served as a member of the Creditors Committee in the Delaco (formerly Thompson Medical Company) Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, playing an instrumental role in fashioning a global settlement of Delaco's PPA-containing Dexatrim claims. Until all administrative matters regarding the settlement are completed, he continues to serve as the Chairman of the Delaco Dexatrim® Settlement Trust Advisory Committee (TAC).
In the Diet Drug (fen-phen) litigation, Attorney Meneo represented over 400 clients including people suffering from valvular heart disease, endocardial fibrosis, and Primary Pulmonary Hypertension (PPH), an often fatal respiratory illness. Among the many claims he has handled, Attorney Meneo represented the families of two young women who died after taking Diet Drugs. On their behalf, he zealously and steadfastly prosecuted claims based on a finding of endocardial fibrosis. These two claims were among but a handful of such Diet Drug claims brought to a successful conclusion nationwide. He has also represented several clients afflicted with PPH, resolving their cases and obtaining substantial recoveries for them and their families.[One such client, Sharon Faye, expressed her gratitude in a testimonial which you can read here],Through hard work and perseverance, Attorney Meneo has obtained over $60 million in recoveries for clients who were injured as a result of using Diet Drugs.
Along with two other prominent law firms, Attorney Meneo (The Meneo Law Group) served as Co-Lead Counsel for the Ketek® litigation that was consolidated in New Jersey State Court. In that role, he co-managed all of the litigation and, along with his Co-Lead counsel conducted initial and ongoing discovery, took all depositions of company witnesses, engaged in significant, ongoing motion practice, engaged all necessary scientific and medical expert witnesses and assisted in producing their reports, conducted and defended expert witness depositions, developed our clients’ cases, vigorously defended our clients’ depositions and negotiated a confidential and substantial global settlement of all cases with the two primary defendants.
Our lead client, a young Iraqi war veteran from Ohio, was seriously injured and hospitalized with severe liver failure as a result of his exposure to the antibiotic Ketek®. His case and our efforts were chronicled on the “CBS News with Katie Couric.” Throughout the litigation, we worked with a former FDA Medical Officer who left the FDA as a result of his vocal and unwavering opposition to the approval of Ketek® He and Defendants’ company officials were called to testify before Congress by Senator Charles Grassley who was investigating allegations of fraud and other improper conduct in the clinical trials that were used in support of the approval of Ketek®
Attorney Meneo also represented over 95 individuals who alleged injuries as a result of taking the atypical anti-psychotic Zyprexa®. His clients were part of a $700 million settlement of Zyprexa®-related claims that was announced by the Eli Lilly Company. He formerly served as a member of the Plaintiffs' Discovery Committee in the nationwide Zyprexa® Multi-District Litigation (MDL).
Attorney Meneo also represented individuals who were injured after taking the following drugs:
Among the more notable pharmaceutical cases handled by Attorney Meneo are the following:
In other areas of law, Attorney Meneo has successfully represented individuals who suffered economic injuries and losses. Some of the more noteworthy are:
Annually since 2005, Attorney Meneo has been awarded an AV® rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the widely recognized and premier national attorney ratings organization. The AV® rating is only awarded to attorneys who, in the opinions of their peers, possess high to preeminent legal ability based on one's expertise, experience, integrity and overall professional excellence.
Attorney Meneo is a graduate of Fairfield University (BA 1975), Western New England School of Law (JD 1978, cum laude) and Boston University School of Law (LLM 1980). He is admitted to practice in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and the District of Columbia and is a member of the Connecticut Bar Association, New York State Bar Association, District of Columbia Bar Association, American Bar Association and the American Association of Justice (AAJ). He is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Claims, the United States Tax Court and the United States District Court for Connecticut. He formerly served as an adjunct faculty member in the School of Business at Southern Connecticut State University and as a member of the Legal Committee of USA Triathlon.
Attorney Meneo has been an invited speaker at Mealey's PPA Litigation Conferences (2001, 2002 and 2005) and has presented at other conferences involving PPA litigation including the PPA-MDL Liability Conferences. Attorney Meneo has served as a Contributing Editor of The Journal of Individual Taxation and has contributed to the DePaul Commercial Law Journal.
Thank you Ron, for allowing me the formal platform to publicly say what happened to me in the early 1970’s. It may have not been the “jury of my peers” but it was a group of respected professionals who verbally confirmed to me that what “may have” happened… “it was not my fault”. I will say that I am now at a different place in my head; maybe starting to feel closure? When we initially communicated, I had no idea I would be writing this email. Please forgive my delay in expressing my appreciation to you for your guidance and support in this extremely difficult realization of my past. Judge [name redacted] stated that you were true advocates for the abused, and he is so right. If you can, please extend my deepest appreciation to Judge [name redacted] for his kindness and wisdom. Please continue to assist lost souls like myself. May you and your family be safe and healthy.
- A Client-Survivor of Clergy Childhood Sexual Abuse