Has Won Billions of Dollars for Thousands of Clients : ‘People’s Lawyer’ Is Class-Action Expert

PHILADELPHIA —  Attorney David Berger has recovered billions of dollars from the government, the nation’s biggest oil companies and utilities for tens of thousands of small clients.

He calls himself a “people’s lawyer.”

Berger, at 72 a dapper dresser who often wears red suspenders under his blue or gray pinstripe suits, is one of the nation’s leading advocates of class-action cases, which bring together a group of similar plaintiffs and make it easier, and cheaper, for them to sue.

‘Resourceful, Effective’ Peter Liacouras, Temple University president and former dean of its law school, said that Berger “is one of the premier antitrust lawyers in a city that is renowned for exceptional antitrust lawyers. He is resourceful and effective.”

Berger said that his antitrust career began when he was the city solicitor of Philadelphia in the 1960s and filed what he said was the first antitrust suit for non-governmental agencies, a case involving burglar alarms.

$2-Billion Settlement “It was amazing how many very small businessmen were involved in that, businessmen with claims of $100 and $200 who couldn’t possibly bring their own cases,” he said.

Since then, Berger has counted among his achievements:

--A $2-billion settlement from the government on behalf of the bankrupt Penn Central Railroad and thousands of its shareholders.

--A $25-million settlement for residents of the Three Mile Island area against General Public Utilities, owner of the nuclear power plant. The award included an unprecedented $5-million public health fund to study the effects of low-level radiation exposure on persons who live near the plant.

--A $25-million settlement from 13 of the biggest U.S. oil companies on behalf of 30,000 gasoline station operators. In addition, the settlement allowed the station operators to buy gasoline from competing oil companies, which could save consumers money.

School Asbestos Suit --A suit against the nation’s asbestos firms on behalf of every public and private elementary and secondary school in the United States, seeking funds for removal of cancer-causing asbestos from walls, ceilings, pipes and heating systems.

--A suit against more than 90 electric utilities in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, New York, Oregon, Washington and other states seeking to recover, on behalf of stockholders and bondholders, hundreds of millions of dollars because of violations of security laws in construction of nuclear power plants.

--Recovery of more than $1 billion in numerous antitrust cases involving such products as rock salt, electrical equipment, copper tubing, water heaters and corrugated paper.

Faced 300 Attorneys --Recovery of approximately $25 million from a major cereal firm for damages caused by a sewer explosion in Louisville, Ky.

“In all of these cases, we are always up against the toughest, best and richest lawyers in the country,” he said. “When we were fighting the oil companies, in a case now 13 years old and almost over, our opposition consisted of at least 300 lawyers who were determined we would not get a single penny, and it was a forced-march, scorched-earth battle all the way.”

Berger, who sits at a big leather-top desk in a 20-by-85 foot office that includes a huge conference table and comfortable sofas, said that he is motivated “to use the law as an instrument of necessary change.”

“Over the years, I’ve come to the decision that the class action is a very fine basis for doing that,” he said. “There’s no way in the world that a small shareholder can bring suit against the corporation and its directors for failing to disclose true information about the firm.”

Berger’s firm employs 30 lawyers, who are assisted by 70 other employees.

Berger said he benefits only when he wins.

“No individual pays me,” he said. “What I get is absolutely determined on what the judge decides.”

Berger, although refusing to discuss his financial status, said that he knows many top-flight lawyers who have forsaken class-action cases for more lucrative legal practices.

“My professional goal is to try to universalize the lessons I have learned from Penn Central, from Three Mile Island, from the asbestos and gasoline station cases, and trim the lengthy procedures which have become utterly exorbitant in time and money,” he said.

Berger was born in Archbald, Pa., near Scranton, where his father operated a small department store. He said that his first ambition was to be a major league baseball player, but he decided to become a lawyer after his father had some legal problems.

He came to Philadelphia as a student at the University of Pennsylvania, where he received bachelor and law degrees, and never left.