Rachel Soffin Appointed Co-lead Counsel in Seresto Case
by pgarland
In March 2021, USA Today announced two pet owners filed a class-action lawsuit against Elanco Animal Health, a pet pharmaceutical company owning rights to the Seresto flea and tick collar for cats and dogs. Pet owners claimed Elanco falsified the safety of this animal “protective” product. Both plaintiffs confirmed their pets suffered either death or a substantial injury after using the Seresto collars. Uncoincidentally, a few days before this formal filing, the Midwest Center for Investigating and USA Today both uncovered thousands of other pet owners claiming the Seresto flea and tick collars had harmed not only their pets but them as well. Proving to harm both people and pets, the lawsuit moved forward with great gravity.
Fast forward to February 7, 2021, and the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois’ Eastern Division appoints Milberg’s Rachel Soffin as Co-lead Counsel for Seresto Flea and Tick Collar Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation (No. 1:21-cv-04447). Earlier, United States District Judge John Robert Blakey announced while seeking lead counsel for this case’s plaintiff representation, the court required three key traits:
- Counsel’s loyalty and commitment to a long-term case
- Counsel’s ability to respectfully collaborate and contribute to the team
- Counsel’s previous experience regarding leadership roles in multi-party litigation
“I am thrilled to be among the incredible group of attorneys appointed by the Court to lead this important case,” Ms. Soffin says. A Partner at Milberg, her work has proven not only her capability but a previous embodiment of these crucial characteristics.
Ms. Soffin is focused on consumer class action litigation. She has spent most of her career prosecuting class action cases, including state and federal class actions involving defective products, false advertising and mislabeling, deceptive and unfair trade practices, privacy violations, and insurance and banking disputes.
Ms. Soffin has been appointed to leadership roles in numerous large class action cases across the country and has successfully obtained contested class certification, defended dispositive motions, managed cases involving complex discovery, and obtained millions of dollars on behalf of consumers.
With an impressive list of admissions, Ms. Soffin can practice in state courts including Florida and Georgia, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit.
In addition, Ms. Soffin has been designated by Super Lawyers as a Florida Rising Star (2011-2013) and as a Florida Super Lawyer (2014-2018) in the fields of Class Actions/Mass Torts.
Milberg is confident in Ms. Soffin’s ability to bring loyalty, commitment, collaborative strategy, and previous experience to this case, bringing justice to pets and their owners harmed by Elanco Animal Health’s false safety advertisements regarding the Seresto flea and tick collars.
