BASIC INFORMATION
Defendants’ records show that you were—or someone in your family, someone whose estate you represent, or someone for whom you are next of kin was—a beneficiary of the 1994 MCIC Settlement Agreement between MCIC and a number of its insurers, on the one hand, and the Angelos Law Firm and several other firms, on the other hand; and that attorneys from the Angelos Law Firm represented you in pursuing claims against MCIC.
The Court authorized this Notice because you have a right to know about a proposed settlement of a class action lawsuit, and about all of your options, before the Court decides whether to approve the Class Settlement. If the Court approves the Class Settlement, the Administrator appointed by the Court will provide the benefits that the Class Settlement allows.
This Notice explains the lawsuit, the Class Settlement, your legal rights, what benefits are available, who is eligible for them, and how to get them.
The Court in charge of the Case is the Circuit Court for Baltimore City. The Honorable John S. Nugent is overseeing this Class Settlement. The asbestos victims who sued in this Case are called the Plaintiffs, and the lawyer and law firm that they sued—the Angelos Estate and the Angelos Law Firm—are called the Defendants.
In 1994, the Angelos Law Firm reached a settlement agreement with a Baltimore-based asbestos installer named MCIC, Inc. (formerly known as McCormick Asbestos Company) and its insurers, settling thousands of its clients’ asbestos injury claims against MCIC for between $1,000 and $9,500 each (depending on the progress of disease at that time). In the MCIC Settlement Agreement, MCIC and its insurers agreed that the settlement was for all available insurance, and they promised that if any additional insurance was discovered that was applicable to the settlement beneficiaries’ claims, they would arrange to distribute that additional insurance to the beneficiaries on a pro rata basis.
Some time during or before 1998, Defendants discovered that there was, in fact, substantial additional insurance applicable to the claims. Defendants demanded that MCIC and its insurers honor their agreement to distribute that additional insurance, and when they failed to do so, Defendants brought two actions in court in Maryland—a Motion to Enforce the MCIC Settlement Agreement filed in 2002, and a Tort Action filed in 2005. Unfortunately, the Maryland courts determined that Defendants had waited too long to bring these actions, and both actions were dismissed as time barred.
This Case alleges the following three claims for legal malpractice against all Defendants:
- In Count I, Plaintiffs allege that Defendants did not move timely to enforce their rights and the rights of thousands of similarly situated Angelos Law Firm clients under the MCIC Settlement Agreement.
- In Count II, Plaintiffs allege that Defendants did not pursue timely fraud and negligent misrepresentation claims on behalf of Plaintiffs and thousands of similarly situated Angelos Law Firm clients against MCIC and its insurers.
- In Count III, Plaintiffs allege that Defendants failed to challenge a buyback by Reliance Insurance Co., prior to the 1994 settlement, of insurance coverage it had issued to MCIC, thereby depleting the pool of coverage for the settling claimants.
Defendants deny that they committed legal malpractice.
Additional information about the Case is available in the Court files, which are kept at the clerk’s office for the Circuit Court of Baltimore City, located at 111 North Calvert Street, Room 412, Baltimore, Maryland 21202. You may view any unsealed records in person at the clerk’s office by providing the clerk with the Case number (24-C-21-000847) and requesting to view the Case records. You may also request a copy of unsealed documents in the file. There is a fee for copies.
In a class action lawsuit, one or more people called “class representatives” or “named plaintiffs” sue on behalf of other people who have similar claims.
The Class Representatives in this case are: Cynthia M. Clark, as successor personal representative of the Estates of Walter F. Kacala and Helen M. Kacala; Norman J. Loverde, as successor personal representative of the Estates of Stephen J. Loverde, Sr. and Mary Anna Loverde; and Maria M. McCarthy and William J. McCarthy, Jr., as personal representatives of the Estate of Anne Major and successor personal representatives of the Estate of Bernard L. Major.
Together, the Class Representatives and the MCIC Settlement Beneficiaries and Surviving Family Members they represent are a “Class” or “Class Members.” One court resolves the issues for everyone in the Class—except for those people who choose to opt out of the Class.
In order for a case to proceed as a class action, the court overseeing the case must “certify” the class—i.e., the court must rule that the case can proceed as a class action, rather than as many individual cases or as one case with many plaintiffs. There are many factors a court must consider when determining whether or not a class should be certified.
At the time the Parties agreed to the proposed Class Settlement in this Case, the Court had not yet certified the Class. However, the Court now has conditionally certified the Class for purposes of the Class Settlement. If the Class Settlement is not ultimately given final approval by the Court, the conditional certification will no longer stand, and the Parties will have to litigate whether the Class should be certified in this Case.
The Court did not decide in favor of Plaintiffs or Defendants. The Class Representatives think the Class could have recovered a substantial amount if the Class won at trial. The Defendants think they would have prevailed in the Case. But there was no trial. Instead, both sides agreed to a Class Settlement. That way, they avoid the cost and uncertainty of a trial, and the people affected will get compensation. The Class Representatives and Class Counsel think the Class Settlement is best for all Class Members.
WHO IS IN THE CLASS SETTLEMENT?
The Circuit Court for Baltimore City has decided for purposes of the proposed Class Settlement that everyone who fits this description is a Class Member:
All persons (or their estate representatives or next of kin) represented at any time by Defendants in connection with the Motion to Enforce and/or the Tort Action who are identified on the MCIC Settlement Beneficiary List and the Surviving Family Member List.
“MCIC Settlement Beneficiary” means an individual listed on the MCIC Settlement Beneficiary List, or such a person’s estate representative. “Surviving Family Member” means an individual listed on the Surviving Family Member List, or such a person’s estate representative.
Both the MCIC Settlement Beneficiary List and the Surviving Family Member List are attached to the Settlement Agreement, which can be found at www.LegalMalpracticeClassAction.com.
If you are the recipient listed on this Notice, Class Counsel have determined that you fit the Class Member description and therefore are a Class Member, subject to the exclusions listed below.
Yes. Excluded from the Class are:
a. All directors, officers, employees, and shareholders of the Angelos Law Firm, and their immediate family members;
b. All attorneys for the Defendants in the current matter, and their immediate family members;
c. Each and every judge assigned to this action and members of those judges’ staffs, and their immediate family members;
d. Those persons who previously settled or whose associated MCIC Settlement Beneficiary previously settled legal malpractice claims against Defendants equivalent to any of the Claims asserted in the Case;
e. For the avoidance of doubt, all persons listed on exhibit 3 to the third amended complaint in the Tort Action (a list of persons who did not participate in the MCIC Settlement Agreement, which is available for viewing at www.LegalMalpracticeClassAction.com); and
f. Those persons who affirmatively opt out of the Class.
If you are not sure whether you are included, you can ask for free help. You can call 1-866-274-4004 or visit www.LegalMalpracticeClassAction.com for more information. In responding to inquiries, the Administrator, who is not an attorney, will not be deemed to be providing legal advice or entering into an attorney-client relationship with the inquirer.
THE SETTLEMENT BENEFITS—WHAT YOU GET
Defendants have agreed to pay a total of $57 million (the “Settlement Payment”) to the Class. This money will be paid into a Qualified Settlement Fund and then distributed in gross to certain of the Settlement Class Members in five annual installments, following final approval of the Class Settlement by the Court.
A. Which Settlement Class Members will receive payment?
Every Settlement Class Member’s family is eligible to receive payments from the Qualified Settlement Fund, but not every individual Settlement Class Member is eligible to receive payments.
Every Settlement Class Member is either an MCIC Settlement Beneficiary or a Surviving Family Member of an MCIC Settlement Beneficiary (or an estate representative of the foregoing).
Only MCIC Settlement Beneficiaries are eligible to receive payments from the Qualified Settlement Fund. If you are a Surviving Family Member, you personally will not be the member of your family who receives the settlement checks. However, so long as the MCIC Settlement Beneficiary with whom you are associated does not opt out of the Class Settlement, your family will be compensated.
B. Why are Surviving Family Members not eligible for their own payment?
Surviving Family Members are not eligible for separate payment because the MCIC Settlement Agreement provided payment for principal asbestos victims only, and not for family members who released derivative claims such as loss of consortium and wrongful death in consideration of an MCIC Settlement Beneficiary’s payment.
C. The MCIC Settlement Beneficiary’s Expected Payment Subgroup
For the purposes of receiving a share of the Settlement Payment, MCIC Settlement Beneficiaries will be divided into the following four subgroups, corresponding to the disease categories included in the MCIC Settlement Agreement:
For the purposes of receiving a share of the Settlement Payment, MCIC Settlement Beneficiaries will be divided into the following four subgroups, corresponding to the disease categories included in the MCIC Settlement Agreement:
- Subgroup A includes all MCIC Settlement Beneficiaries who participated in the 1994 settlement as a result of their non-malignant condition (e.g., asbestos lung disease).
- Subgroup B includes all MCIC Settlement Beneficiaries who participated in the 1994 settlement as a result of their cancer other than lung cancer.
- Subgroup C includes all MCIC Settlement Beneficiaries who participated in the 1994 settlement as a result of their lung cancer.
- Subgroup D includes all MCIC Settlement Beneficiaries who were participated in the 1994 settlement as a result of their mesothelioma.
According to Defendants’ records, the MCIC Settlement Beneficiary with whom you are associated is identified as a member of the Subgroup that is listed in the Notice mailing you received, for purposes of receiving payments from the Settlement Fund.
This is because Defendants’ records show that the MCIC Settlement Beneficiary in your family was an MCIC Settlement Beneficiary as a result of that specific disease category.
We understand that the asbestos disease from which the MCIC Settlement Beneficiary suffered may have progressed since the time of the 1994 MCIC Settlement Agreement. However, that is not relevant for purposes of this Class Settlement. MCIC Settlement Beneficiaries are eligible for payments based on their disease category at the time of the MCIC Settlement Agreement. That is what the MCIC Settlement Agreement requires.
D. Approximate Payment to Each MCIC Settlement Beneficiary
Every MCIC Settlement Beneficiary within each Subgroup will receive a pro rata share of the Settlement Payment based on their injury category at the time of the MCIC Settlement Agreement. MCIC and its insurers paid the following amounts to the beneficiaries of the MCIC Settlement Agreement, based on disease category:
| Disease Category per MCIC Settlement Agreement | 1994 Payment per Case |
| Non-Malignancies (e.g., asbestos lung disease) | $1,000.00 |
| Other Cancers | $1,500.00 |
| Lung Cancer | $4,250.00 |
| Mesothelioma | $9,500.00 |
In addition to what they received in 1994, and based on the pro rata schedule established in the MCIC Settlement Agreement, each MCIC Settlement Beneficiary can expect to receive approximately the following amounts, which are net of attorneys’ fees and expenses that the Court will be asked to approve, administrative costs, and incentive fees to the Class Representatives:
| Disease Category per MCIC Settlement Agreement | Subgroup in this Class Settlement | Total Class Settlement Payment per Settlement Class Member |
| Non-Malignancies (e.g., asbestos lung disease) | A | $3,340.51 |
| Other Cancer | B | $5,010.76 |
| Lung Cancers | C | $14,197.15 |
| Mesothelioma | D | $31,734.80 |
These amounts will be divided into five annual Payment Installments, the first of which is largest. Thus, each MCIC Settlement Beneficiary can expect to receive five payments in total, in approximately the following amounts:
| Subgroup | Payment 1 | Payment 2 | Payment 3 | Payment 4 | Payment 5 |
| A | $846.71 | $623.45 | $623.45 | $623.45 | $623.45 |
| B | $1,270.04 | $935.18 | $935.18 | $935.18 | $935.18 |
| C | $3,598.43 | $2,649.68 | $2,649.68 | $2,649.68 | $2,649.68 |
| D | $8,043.56 | $5,922.81 | $5,922.81 | $5,922.81 | $5,922.81 |
These amounts are estimates only. Because some Class Members may opt out of the Class Settlement, and because the costs of administration are not yet final, these dollar amounts may be adjusted up or down.
E. Additional Amounts to be Paid from the Settlement Fund
The following costs and expenses will also be paid from the $57 million Qualified Settlement Fund:
I. Counsel Fees and Expenses
Class Counsel have prosecuted the Case for more than three years without receiving any attorneys’ fees, and without any assurance of receiving attorneys’ fees, and also have advanced all of the costs necessary to prosecute the Case. In these circumstances, Class Counsel will ask the Court to award them 33% of the gross Qualified Settlement Fund as attorneys’ fees, plus reimbursement of out-of-pocket costs. The requested fee award is typical of many cases in which plaintiffs’ firms represent their clients on a contingency basis. Counsel fees and expenses are subject to Court approval.
II. Payment of Administrative Costs of the Class Settlement
All costs associated with the administration of the Class Settlement will be paid from the Qualified Settlement Fund. Given the thousands of members of the Class, and the cost, in some instances, associated with locating members with whom the Angelos Law Firm has not communicated recently, the Settlement Administration Expenses are estimated to total at least $500,000.
III. Incentive Payment for Class Representatives
Class Counsel will seek an incentive payment of $10,000 for each of the three Class Representatives—Ms. Clark, Mr. Loverde, and the McCarthys—to compensate them for the substantial time they devoted to the pursuit of this Case. The incentive payments ($30,000 in the aggregate) will be funded from the Qualified Settlement Fund and will be paid in five equal installments over the course of five years. The incentive payments are subject to Court approval.
F. Remaining Funds / Cy Pres
The Settlement Agreement recognizes and accounts for the possibility that some Settlement Class Members cannot be located or have died, and therefore there may be some money remaining in the Qualified Settlement Fund each year after all Settlement Class Members who can be located are paid. If any money is remaining in the Qualified Settlement Fund in a given year following that year’s payment to all MCIC Settlement Beneficiaries in the Settlement Class, then the balance will be paid into a Cy Pres Fund that will distribute monies annually to not-for-profit organizations that serve the greater Baltimore community where many of the MCIC Settlement Beneficiaries and Surviving Family Members once lived or still live today.
With the approval of the Court, the Cy Pres Fund will be donated on an annual basis to the following entities, in the following percentages:
(a) 23.5% to the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law for purposes of sponsoring the clinical law program (which provides law students with hands-on experience in a variety of crucial legal fields);
(b) 23.5% to the University of Baltimore School of Law for purposes of sponsoring the Fannie Angelos Program for Academic Excellence, which serves underrepresented student populations;
(c) 23.5% to Public Justice Center, Inc., which advocates on behalf of social justice causes;
(d)23.5% to Associated Catholic Charities Inc., for use by the Esperanza Center (an immigration law clinic); and
(e) 6% to Franciscan Center, Inc., which provides free meals and other services to Baltimoreans in need.
The MCIC Settlement Beneficiary in your family will receive five Settlement Checks: one per year for five years, beginning after the Class Settlement is approved by the Court.
No. This Class Settlement will have no effect on any claims you may have against MCIC based on an asbestos injury you contracted or that worsened after 1994.
Yes. The parties have agreed that your participation in this Class Settlement will not impact any ongoing legal representation you have with the Angelos Law Firm.
HOW YOU RECEIVE A SETTLEMENT CHECK
No. Because our records reflect that you are a member of the Class, you or the MCIC Settlement Beneficiary with whom you are associated will receive payments from the Settlement Fund after the Court considers and approves the Settlement, unless the MCIC Settlement Beneficiary with whom you are associated opts out of the Class.
The Court will hold a hearing on November 22, 2024, to decide whether to approve the Class Settlement. If the Court approves the Class Settlement after that, and there are no appeals, all MCIC Settlement Beneficiaries who do not opt out will be sent their first annual settlement check by the Settlement Administrator within sixty days of the Court’s approval, and further settlement checks each of the four years thereafter.
Unless you opt out of the Class, you will be a member of the Settlement Class, and that means that you can’t sue, continue to sue, or be part of any other lawsuit against Defendants or Former Defendants concerning any transactions, claims, or matters concerning MCIC, the MCIC settlement, operations coverage with respect to MCIC or its insurance, or the Claims. In the Settlement Agreement, “Claims” means the causes of action asserted by Class Representatives in the operative Third Amended Class Action Complaint in the Case, or that could have been asserted by Plaintiffs relating to the subject matter thereof. Staying in the Class also means that all of the Court’s Orders will apply to you and legally bind you.
If you have a pending lawsuit against any of the Defendants or Former Defendants for legal malpractice related to the 1994 MCIC Settlement Agreement, speak to your lawyer in that case immediately. In order to continue your own lawsuit, you must opt out of this Class within 45 days of this Notice, as described below.
OPTING OUT OF THE CLASS SETTLEMENT
To opt out of the Class Settlement, you must complete the form entitled “Request to Opt Out of the Settlement Class”, a copy of which is available by visiting www.LegalMalpracticeClassAction.com. You must complete the form in its entirety, sign it where indicated, and send it by certified mail, return receipt requested, so that it is received no later than 45 calendar days from the date of this Notice by the Administrator at the following address:
Angelos Settlement
c/o Strategic Claims Services
P.O. Box 230
600 N. Jackson Street, Suite 205
Media, PA 19063
You may not opt out of the Settlement by phone or email. You must send the opt-out form to the Administrator by certified mail to opt out of the Class Settlement. If you have any questions about the opt-out form, please call the Administrator toll-free at 1-866-274-4004 or visit www.LegalMalpracticeClassAction.com. In responding to inquiries, the Administrator, who is not an attorney, will not be deemed to be providing legal advice or entering into an attorney-client relationship with the inquirer.
No. If you opt out, you cannot be part of this Class Settlement. You will not be eligible for any payments from the Qualified Settlement Fund, and you cannot object to the Class Settlement. You will not be legally bound by anything that happens in this Case.
If you opt out, you may sue, continue to sue, or be part of a different lawsuit against any or all of the Defendants or Former Defendants about the legal issues in this Case in the future. You will assume the risk of failure of any such litigation, which may quickly become time-barred (if it is not already time-barred) due to the statute of limitations. You may wish to consult with independent counsel before opting out of this Class Settlement.
THE LAWYERS REPRESENTING YOU
The Court decided that the law firm of Gallagher Evelius & Jones LLP (“GEJ”) in Baltimore, Maryland will represent you and all Settlement Class Members in this Case. The Court appointed GEJ attorneys Paul S. Caiola, Joe Dugan, Brian T. Tucker, Sarah R. Simmons, and Tory S. Trocchia as Class Counsel. More information about the law firm, its practice, the attorneys serving as Class Counsel, and their experience is available at www.LegalMalpracticeClassAction.com.
If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, you may hire one at your own expense. You may enter an appearance in the case through that attorney, if you so desire. The cost of engaging private counsel and pursuing your individual claims outside this class action is likely to exceed the value of those claims.
Class Counsel will ask the Court to approve a payment for legal fees equal to 33% of the Qualified Settlement Fund, as well as payment of the litigation expenses Class Counsel incurred to prosecute the Case. The attorneys’ fees would pay Class Counsel for investigating the facts, litigating the Case for years, and negotiating the Class Settlement, all of which Class Counsel did without any guarantee of a single dollar of compensation. Any award of attorneys’ fees and expenses will be paid out of the Qualified Settlement Fund. Defendants have agreed not to oppose a Court award of attorneys’ fees and expenses.
OBJECTING TO THE CLASS SETTLEMENT
If you’re a Settlement Class Member, you can object to the Class Settlement if you don’t like any part of it. You can give reasons why you think the Court should not approve it. The Court will consider your views. To object, you must send a letter saying that you object to the Class Settlement. Be sure to include your name, address, telephone number, signature, and the reasons you object to the settlement. Mail the objection to all of the parties listed below, postmarked no later than October 28, 2024.
- Court
Clerk of the Court
Circuit Court for Baltimore City
111 N. Calvert St., Room 412
Baltimore, MD 21202 - Class Counsel
Paul S. Caiola
Gallagher Evelius & Jones LLP
218 N. Charles St., Suite 400
Baltimore, MD 21201 - Defense Counsel
Benjamin Rosenberg
Rosenberg Martin Greenberg, LLP
25 S. Charles St., 21st Floor
Baltimore, MD 21201 - Defense Counsel
Jeffrey M. Schwaber
Stein Sperling Bennett De Jong Driscoll PC
1101 Wootton Parkway, Suite 700
Rockville, MD 20852 - Defense Counsel
David A. Wilson
Thompson Hine LLP
1919 M Street NW, Suite 700
Washington, DC 20036 - Settlement Administrator
Paul Mulholland
Strategic Claims Services, Inc.
600 N. Jackson St., Suite 205
Media, PA 19063
Objecting is simply telling the Court that you don’t like something about the Class Settlement. You can object only if you stay in the Class. Opting out is telling the Court that you don’t want to be part of the Class. If you opt out, you have no basis to object because the Case no longer affects you.
THE FINAL APPROVAL HEARING
The Court will hold a Final Approval Hearing at 9:00 AM on November 22, 2024, remotely via Zoom.
At this hearing, the Court will consider whether the Class Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate. If there are objections, the Court will consider them. During or after the hearing, the Court will decide whether to approve the Class Settlement. We do not know how long these decisions will take.
We will post information on www.LegalMalpracticeClassAction.com about how to attend and, if appropriate, participate in the remote hearing.
No, you do not have to come to the hearing to receive the benefits of the settlement. But, you are welcome to attend. If you send a written objection, you don’t have to come to Court to talk about it. As long as you mailed your objection on time, the Court will consider it. You may also pay your own lawyer to attend, but it’s not necessary.
You may ask the Court for permission to speak at the Final Approval Hearing. You must send a letter saying that it is your “Notice of Intention to Appear in Cynthia M. Clark, et al. v. Peter G. Angelos, et al., Case No. 24-C-21-000847.” Be sure to include your name, address, telephone number, and your signature. If you intend to object to or oppose any aspect of the Class Settlement, you must also indicate the basis for your objection or opposition and provide any supporting documentation. Your Notice of Intention to Appear must be postmarked no later than October 28, 2024, and must be sent to the Clerk of the Court, Class Counsel, Defense Counsel, and the Settlement Administrator at the six addresses in question 19.
If you do not send this letter, the Court may not allow you to speak at the hearing. You also may not speak at the hearing if you opt out of the Class.
IF YOU DO NOTHING
If you do nothing, you will be a Settlement Class Member. You or the MCIC Settlement Beneficiary with whom you are associated will receive five annual settlement checks from the Qualified Settlement Fund, so long as Court approves the Class Settlement, and so long as the MCIC Settlement Beneficiary does not opt out.
However, you won’t be able to file a lawsuit of your own, continue with a lawsuit of your own, or be part of any other lawsuit against any of Defendants or Former Defendants about the legal issues in this Case.
GETTING MORE INFORMATION
This Notice summarizes the proposed Class Settlement. More details are included in a Settlement Agreement. You can get a copy of the Settlement Agreement by visiting www.LegalMalpracticeClassAction.com.
You can call the Settlement Administrator, Strategic Claims Services, Inc., at 1-866-274-4004 toll free, or visit the website at www.LegalMalpracticeClassAction.com, where you will find answers to common questions about the Class Settlement and other information.
In responding to inquiries, the Administrator, who is not an attorney, will not be deemed to be providing legal advice or entering into an attorney-client relationship with the inquirer.