Four Goldberg Kohn Lawyers Receive 2007 Trial Lawyer of the Year Award

July 18, 2007

Principals Frederick H. Cohen and David J. Chizewer and associates Chad A. Blumenfield and Ann H. Chen received the 2007 Trial Lawyer of the Year Award from Public Justice Foundation (formerly the Trial Lawyers for Public Justice Foundation) for obtaining a record-breaking verdict against Amerigroup Corporation and its Illinois health plan for  Amerigroup's defrauding the Medicaid program by discriminating against people on Medicaid based on their health status.  Samuel B. Cole and Michele M. Fox of the United States Attorney's Office in Chicago and Paul Gaynor, David J. Adams and Anne R.K. Reader of the Illinois Attorney General's Office also received the award.

In United States ex rel. Tyson v. Amerigroup, Case No. 02 C 6074, the Goldberg Kohn litigation team obtained the largest jury verdict ($48 million) in the 150-year history of the False Claims Act by proving that Amerigroup had submitted 18,130 false claims to the federal and state governments. After the jury trial, Judge Harry D. Leinenweber added penalties and treble damages to the jury verdict, which increased the total award to the state of Illinois and the federal government to $334 million.

The Public Justice Foundation also named lawyers who worked on seven other cases as finalists for its 2007 Trial Lawyer of the Year Award.  This nationally prestigious award is bestowed annually upon the trial lawyer or lawyers who have made the greatest contribution to the public interest by trying or settling a precedent-setting case. The winners were announced on July 17, 2007 in Chicago.