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Gary E. Mason

Gary E. Mason

Founding Partner
Whitfield Bryson & Mason LLP
1625 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Ste. 605
Washington, DC 20036
work Main Telephone: 202-429-2290
pref Direct Telephone: 202-640-1160
fax Fax: 202-429-2294
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@GaryEMason

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Gary is a nationally recognized leader of the class action bar. Focusing on consumer class actions and mass torts, Gary has recovered more than $1.5 billion in the 22 years he has represented plaintiffs.

With his broad experience, Gary is nationally known for representing consumers in class actions involving a wide range of defective products, including Chinese drywall, fire retardant plywood, polybutylene pipe, high-temperature plastic venting, hardboard siding, pharmaceutical products, consumer electronics and automobiles. 

Gary has served in leadership positions in many consumer class actions in State and Federal Courts nationwide as well as in Multi-District Litigation (see Practice Highlights, below).

Gary graduated magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from Brown University in 1984 and earned his law degree from Duke University Law School. He then clerked for the Honorable Andrew J. Kleinfeld, U.S. District Court Judge, in Anchorage, Alaska. 

Practice highlights

  • Appointed Lead Counsel for class of Google Buzz users who alleged wrongful disclosure of private information which settled for $8.5 million.
  • Co-Lead Counsel in collective action for unpaid overtime, settled for $42 million, on behalf of more than 5,000 current and former assistant store managers at Staples.
  • Co-Lead Counsel in class action against Department of Veterans Affairs for theft of private information which settled for $20 million.
  • Co-Lead Counsel in class actions arising from defective synthetic stucco.
  • Co-lead Counsel in class action, settled for $10.1 million, on behalf of owners of residential and commercial properties constructed with defective concrete.
  • Co-Lead Counsel on cases against Toshiba America, Chevron U.S.A. and General Motors.
  • Represented class of Alaska Natives in the Exxon Valdez litigation.
  • Currently representing owners of more than 800 homes and condominiums built with defective Chinese drywall.
  • Currently representing assistant managers working for a variety of companies, including Pizza Hut, Rite Aid, and Avis, for unpaid overtime.

Selected papers (partial list)

  • Environmental Contamination Treatise:  Overview of the Litigation Process,”  The Environmental Law Reporter (Jan. 2007).
  • “New Studies Provide Further Proof Diet Drugs Cause Valve Damage,” Fen-Phen Litigation Strategist (Nov. 1998).
  • “How to Evaluate a Potential Product Liability Class Action,”   Leader’s Product Liability Law & Strategy (Feb. 1998).
  • “Don’t Judge All Class Actions By Some Failures,”  The National Law Journal (Jan. 19, 1998).
  • “A Management Question: Recent Decisions Tougher Standards for Class Certification,”  Legal Times (Feb. 18, 1997).
  • “The Reaction to Class Action,” Legal Times (July, 1997).
  • “Nuisance and the Recovery of ‘Stigma’ Damages: Eliminating the Confusion,” The Environmental Law Reporter (Feb. 1996).

Bar Admissions

  • Bar of the District of Columbia            
  • Bar of the State of New York                                   
  • Bar of the State of Maryland                                   
  • U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
  • U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York
  • U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado
  • U.S  District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
  • Supreme Court of the United States

Professional Associations and Memberships

  • American Bar Association , 1988 (Member)
  • American Association for Justice, 1993 (Member, Class Action Litigation Group)
  • American Association for Justice, 1993 (Member, Wage & Hour Litigation Group)
  • American Association for Justice, 1993 (Member, Chinese Drywall Litigation Group)
  • Maryland Bar Association, 2001 (Member)
  • District of Columbia Bar Association, 1988  (Member)
  • The Corporate Observer, Editorial Board, 2012
  • American Association for Justice, 2012, Co-Vice Chair, Class Action Litigation Group

Honors and Awards

  • Washington DC & Baltimore Top Rated Lawyers, 2013
  • Washington DC “Super Lawyers”  list, 2012, 2013
  • Benchmark Plaintiff Litigation, DC list of “Local Litigation Stars,” 2012
  • Award for Litigation Excellence, Urban Justice Center, 2009
  • LawDragon list of “500 New Stars,” 2006
  • Washingtonian Magazine list of “40 under 40,” 1998
  • Public Justice Achievement Award the polybutylene pipe product liability litigation.
  • Listing in Who's Who in American Law.
  • Martindale-Hubbell – A.V Preeminent, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
  • Editor, Law & Contemporary Problems,  1986 - 1987

 Seminars

  • Faculty, "Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (MERS) Teleseminar, AAJ Teleseminar (June 13, 2012).
  • Speaker, “Dealing with Condominiums and Other Multi-Family Projects,” HarrisMartin’s Chinese Drywall Litigation Conference (Miami, Florida, October 20-21, 2011)
  • Speaker/Moderator, “Historical Comparisons and Criminal Liability,” HP BP Oil in the Gulf Litigation Conference (Miami, Florida, November 4-5, 2010).
  • Speaker, “Recovering Economic Loss Under OPA 90,” HP Oil in the Gulf Litigation Conference (Atlanta, Georgia, June 25, 2010).
  • Faculty/Speaker, “What You Need to Know About the Economic Loss Rule,” AAJ Chinese Drywall – MDL 2047 Seminar (New Orleans, Louisiana, August 11, 2009).
  • Speaker, “Construction Defect Class Actions,” HarrisMartin’s Drywall Litigation Conference (Orlando, Florida, June 4, 2009).
  • Speaker, “Emerging Issues in Class Actions,” Mealey’s Construction Defect and Mold Litigation Conference (Lake Las Vegas, Nevada, Dec. 10. 2004).
  • Faculty/Speaker, Mealey’s Construction Defects in 2002: EIFS, CCA Treated Wood and Mold (Oct. 14, 2002).
  • Panelist, “Litigating Mortgage Servicing Issues,” NCLC Consumer Rights Litigation Conference (Baltimore, Maryland, Oct. 28, 2001).
  • Panelist/Faculty, 4th Annual Mass Tort Litigation Institute (Georgetown University Law Center, November 4-5, 1999).
  • Panelist/Faculty, ABA Third Annual Symposium on Class Actions (Washington, D.C. October 9, 1999).
  • Speaker, “Inspection Issues Symposium:  Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems,”  US Inspect (June, 1999).
  • Panelist, “Road Warriors and Their Tools,” Association of Legal Administrators Educational Expo (June, 1999).
  • Panelist, NOVASHOC EIFS Seminar (May, 1999).
  • Guest Speaker, Advanced EIFS Litigation Seminar, North Carolina Bar Association (May, 1999).
  • Guest Speaker, “ADR and Mass Torts,” Georgetown Law Center (Apr. 5, 1999).

Education

  • Duke University  School of Law, Durham, North Carolina, J.D., 1987
    Law Review: Law & Contemporary Problems., Editor,  Member, 1986 - 1987
  • Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, A.B., 1984 (Honors, Phi Beta Kappa)

You can reach Gary at 202-640-1160 or by emailing him at gmason@wbmllp.com