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Exhibit 2 to Plaintiffs' Unopposed Motion for Preliminary Approval of Settlement
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JOSEPH GOLDBERG
Joseph Goldberg is a shareholder in the law firm of Freedman Boyd Hollander Goldberg
Ives & Duncan, P.A., and is licensed to practice in the state courts of New Mexico and Connecticut
and in the federal courts in the Districts of Connecticut, Vermont and New Mexico, the Second,
Sixth, Eighth and Tenth Circuits, as well as in the United States Supreme Court.
Since 1987, Mr. Goldberg has been in full-time practice, limited primarily to complex
commercial litigation. Since that time, Mr. Goldberg has taken a leadership position in class actions
and other complex litigation which have settled or resulted in jury verdicts in a collective amount
in excess of two billion dollars. He was co-lead counsel in the Polypropylene Carpet Antitrust
Litigation, the Nylon Carpet Antitrust Litigation, the Commercial Explosives Antitrust Litigation,;
the Philip Morris Securities Litigation; the Resident Physicians Antitrust Litigation; and the New
Mexico Vitamins Indirect Purchasers Antitrust Litigation. He was chair of the Expert Committee
in the Flat Glass Antitrust Litigation, the Bulk Vitamins Antitrust Litigation; and the Nasdaq
Marketmakers Antitrust Litigation. Mr. Goldberg also served on the Executive Committee in the
Linerboard Antitrust Litigation; Domestic Air Transportation Antitrust Litigation; and Red Eagle
Resources Corp. v. Baker Hughes, Inc., et al. He is currently co-chair of the Executive Committee
in the Payment Card Interchange Fee Antitrust Litigation. Mr. Goldberg was liaison counsel in Sun
Healthcare Securities Litigation; and In Re Diagnostek, Inc., Securities Litigation). In addition, Mr.
Goldberg is currently actively involved in the DRAM Indirect Purchaser Antitrust Litigation; the
OSB Antitrust Litigation; the Polyurethane Antitrust Litigation; the Polystaple Fiber Antitrust
Litigation; the Magnetic Audiotape Antitrust Litigation; the Carbon Fiber Antitrust Class; and in
Monosodium Glutamate Antitrust Litigation. He was one of the lead trial counsel in the Catfish
Antitrust Class Action; TransAmerican Refining Corp. et al. v. Dravo Corp.; Polypropylene Carpet
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Antitrust Litigation; and the Copper Cathode Antitrust Litigation. Mr. Goldberg was also actively
involved in Amco Steel Fence Co. et al. v. Master Halco, Inc., et al.; the Infant Formula Antitrust
Litigation, MDL No. 878 (N.D. Fla.); the Potash Antitrust Litigation, Civil File No. 3-93-197 (D.
Minn.) & MDL. No. 981; the Commercial Tissue Products Antitrust Litigation, MDL No. 1189
(N.D. Fla.); and the Carbon Dioxide Antitrust Litigation, MDL No. 940 (M.D. Fla.).
Mr. Goldberg has an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell; has been listed in The Best
Lawyers in America in both antitrust and commercial litigation since 1995; and has been listed in
Chambers USA since its inception.
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Geoffrey R. Romero, Esq.
Attorney at Law
Tel:
4801 All Saints Rd. NW
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87120
(505) 247-3338 Fax: (505) 271-1539
Geoffrey R. Romero
Geoffrey R. Romero is the principal, and founding member, of the
Law Offices of Geoffrey R. Romero. Mr. Romero graduated from the
University of New Mexico School of Law in 1991, after having worked as
intern to house counsel for State Farm, and clerking for New Mexico District
Court Judge Tibo Chavez, Sr. Since his admission to the New Mexico State
Bar in 1991, Mr. Romero has continuously focused his practice in the
representation of individuals for issues related to personal injury, wrongful
death, insurance coverage and insurance bad faith.
Mr. Romero is admitted to practice before the New Mexico Courts
including certain tribal courts, the United States District Court for the
District of New Mexico, the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th
Circuit, and the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.
Mr. Romero is a frequent lecturer on the topics of insurance litigation,
and issues related to injury and wrongful death civil litigation. Mr. Romero
is the President-Elect of the New Mexico Trial Lawyers Association.
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Mr. Romero has been a Southwest Super Lawyer for several years in
the area of personal injury. He also holds a Martindale-Hubbell “BVDistinguished” rating.
Mr. Romero has been counsel in several published opinions advancing
the rights of injured plaintiffs and insureds in New Mexico. Mr. Romero
was counsel on Ennis v. Kmart Corp., 2001-NMCA-068, 131 N.M. 32, 33
P.3d 32, Allstate Ins. Co. v. Independent Appliance & Refrigeration Serv.
Inc., 278 F.3d 1102 (10th Cir. 2002), and State Farm Mut. Ins. Co. v.
Luebbers, 2005-NMCA-112, 138 N.M. 289, 119 P.3d 169. In addition to
the Independent Appliance and Luebbers cases, Mr. Romero was co-lead
counsel, along with Ray Vargas, II, on various other insurance cases
including: Williams v. Farmers, 2009-NMCA-069, 146 N.M. 515, Jordan v.
Allstate Ins. Co., 2010-NMSC-051, 149 N.M. 162, Gallegos v. Nevada Gen.
Ins. Co., 2011-NMCA-004, 149 N.M. 364.
Mr. Romero has authored materials for lectures for the New Mexico
Trial Lawyers Association, and has authored a section on uninsured motorist
coverage for NMTLA’s Litigation Series.
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Ray M. Vargas, II
Ray M. Vargas, II is the Principal, and founding member, of the Vargas Law Firm,
LLC. After graduating from the University of New Mexico School of Law in 1998, Mr.
Vargas worked as an associate attorney at Sheehan, Sheehan, and Stelzner,
specializing in insurance defense litigation, insurance coverage litigation, and
commercial litigation. After practicing as a shareholder/director at the Sheehan firm for
several years, Mr. Vargas decided to start his own practice, committed to the
representation of individuals and consumers, leaving behind his defense practice.
Since 2005, Mr. Vargas’ practice has focused exclusively on litigating the rights
of individuals and consumers in insurance coverage litigation, commercial litigation, and
medical malpractice litigation.
Mr. Vargas is admitted to practice before the New
Mexico Courts, the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico, the
United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, and the United States Supreme
Court.
A frequent lecturer on the subjects of insurance litigation, ethics, and litigation
strategy, Mr. Vargas is an adjunct professor of law at the University of New Mexico
School of Law, teaching students the practical aspects of litigation in Evidence & Trial
Practice, and Advanced Evidence & Trial Practice. Additionally, Mr. Vargas serves on
the New Mexico Supreme Court’s Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission, a
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commission created by the New Mexico Supreme Court to evaluate District and
Appellate Court judges and provide recommendations in retention elections.
Mr.
Vargas is the immediate past president of the New Mexico Trial Lawyers’ Association.
Mr. Vargas has been a Southwest Super Lawyer for several years in the areas of
commercial litigation and personal injury litigation. Additionally, Mr. Vargas has been
listed in Best Lawyers in America in 2012 and 2013 in the area of personal injury
litigation. Mr. Vargas has held a Martindale-Hubbell “BV-Distinguished” rating since
2003.
Dedicating approximately 50% of his practice to insurance coverage and claims
practices litigation, Mr. Vargas is responsible for several law-changing, published
opinions that advance the rights of insureds in New Mexico. Specifically, Mr. Vargas
was co-counsel for the plaintiff in the 10th Circuit case of Fought v. UNUM Life Ins. Co.
of America, 357 F.3d 1173 (2004). Additionally, Mr. Vargas was co-lead counsel, along
with Geoffrey Romero, on various insurance cases that advanced the causes of
insureds including: Williams v. Farmers, 2009-NMCA-069, 146 N.M. 515, Jordan v.
Allstate Ins. Co., 2010-NMSC-051, 149 N.M. 162, Gallegos v. Nevada Gen. Ins. Co.,
2011-NMCA-004, 149 N.M. 364.
In addition to insurance coverage and claims practices litigation, Mr. Vargas is,
every ten years, a reapportionment attorney, having litigated the redistricting of New
Mexico’s Congressional and Legislative re-districting following the decennial census in
2001 and 2011. This has resulted in various published opinions including: Sharer v.
Lujan, 191 F.Supp.2d 1273 (D. N.M. 2001) and Maestas v. Hall, 2012-NMSC-006, 274
P.3d 66.
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Matthew L. Garcia
201 Third Street NW, Suite 480 Albuquerque, NM 87102 (505) 899-1030 [email protected]
EDUCATION
8/2003 – 12/2005
8/2001 – 5/2003
8/1999 – 7/2000
6/1995 – 5/1999
Albuquerque, NM
UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO, School of Law
Juris Doctorate
x
Julia Raymond McCulloch Memorial Award for Constitutional Law (2005)
x
Bondurant Merit Scholar (2002)
HARVARD UNIVERSITY, John F. Kennedy School of Government
Cambridge, MA
Master in Public Policy
x Concentration in Regulation and Industry Analysis
x Course work includes: advanced economics, advanced statistics, and policy analysis
HELSINKI SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS
Fulbright Scholar
x Research on Finnish-Russian Trade Policies
x Winner of the Fulbright Fellows Writing Competition
Helsinki, Finland
Albuquerque, NM
UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
B.A. Economics, distributed minor in applied mathematics and social science research methods
x Magna Cum Laude University Honors
x Magna Cum Laude Scholastic Honors
EXPERIENCE
9/2008 – Present
Albuquerque, NM
GARCIA IVES NOWARA
Attorney/Partner. Partnership specializing in civil rights litigation, personal injury, and
employment law.
x Providing representation to clients on a variety of civil matters.
x Experience in all phases of the litigation process including motion practice, depositions,
and trial.
x Admitted to practice in the New Mexico Supreme Court, United States District Court for
the District of New Mexico, and the United States Court of Appeals, 10th Circuit.
12/2005 – 9/2008
Albuquerque, NM
FREEDMAN BOYD HOLLANDER GOLDBERG URIAS &
WARD, P.A.
Attorney. AV rated firm specializing in class actions, antitrust law, and complex litigation.
x Drafted numerous trial briefs, motions, and oppositions thereto. Researched and prepared
other motions, as necessary.
x Provided representation to numerous clients on a variety of issues.
x Argued numerous motions in open court.
REPORTED CASES & PUBLICATIONS
x Matthew L. Garcia and George Bach, Iqbal is Not A Game-Changer for Discovery in
Civil Rights Cases, U.N.M. L. Rev. (forthcoming winter 2013).
x Lucero v. Progressive Halcyon Ins. Co., 2010-NMSC-51, 149 N.M. 162, 245 P.3d 1214.
x Ruby v. Sandia Corp., 699 F. Supp. 2d 1247 (D.N.M. 2010).
x Johnson v. Vigil-Giron, 2006-NMSC-051, 140 N.M. 667, 146 P.3d 312.
x Valdez v. Loma Linda Univ. Med. Ctr., 2007 WL 2730603 (Cal. App. 2007).
x Co-author Brief for American Antitrust Institute as Amicus Curiae in the United States
Supreme Court, Credit Suisse Securities LLC v. Billing, 127 S.Ct. 2383 (2007).
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES & AWARDS
x Selected by SuperLawyers Magazine as one of the Southwest’s Rising Stars – 2012 and
2013.
x Member of the New Mexico Trial Lawyers Journal.
x Appointed by the New Mexico Supreme Court to the Rules of Evidence Committee.
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O’CONNELL LAW LLC
ERIN B. O’CONNELL
Erin B. O’Connell is the principal in the law firm of O’Connell Law LLC. Ms. O’Connell
is a 2007 graduate of the University of New Mexico School of Law. After graduating, Ms.
O’Connell clerked for two years for the Honorable Charles W. Daniels of the New Mexico
Supreme Court. Ms. O’Connell has been in private practice in two civil litigation firms since her
clerkship, working for Garcia & Vargas, LLC, from 2009 to mid-2012, and with The Vargas Law
Firm, LLC, from mid-2012 until the opening of O’Connell Law LLC, in February 2013.
Ms. O’Connell is admitted to the New Mexico bar, the United States District Court for the
District of New Mexico, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. She was
appointed by the New Mexico Supreme Court to be a committee member of the New Mexico
Appellate Rules Committee in January 2011. Ms. O’Connell has an active appellate practice in
addition to her trial work, has expertise in class action cases, and focuses her practice primarily on
insurance coverage issues.
Ms. O’Connell is one of the attorneys representing named plaintiffs in the following
insurance class action cases: Lucero v. Trujillo, No. D-202-CV-2008-03951 (N.M. Second Jud.
Dist. Ct.) (Lucero is one of the three consolidated cases decided by the New Mexico Supreme
Court in Jordan v. Allstate Ins. Co., 2010-NMSC-051, 149 N.M. 162, 245 P.3d 1214); Casados v.
Safeco Ins. Co. of Am., No. 6:10-CV-00751 (D.N.M.); Jaramillo v. GEICO, No. 12-2018 (10th
Cir. argued Mar. 6, 2013), on appeal from No. 6:10-CV-01095 (D.N.M.); Otero v. Hartford Cas.
Ins. Co., No. 1:13-CV-00601 (D.N.M.); Ullman v. Safeway Ins. Co., No. 1:13-CV-00595
(D.N.M.).
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DAVID P. GARCIA, J.D.
CURRICULUM VITAE
Office Address:
303 Paseo de Peralta
Santa Fe, NM 87501
Phone: (505) 982-1873
Fax: (505) 982-8012
[email protected]
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2012 – present
THE LAW FIRM OF DAVID P. GARCIA, P.C., Santa Fe, NM
Principal in private practice from May 1, 2012, to the present time in Santa Fe, NM.
Practice primarily in the areas of personal injury, and insurance related litigation,
including insurance bad faith.
2005 – 2012
GARCIA & VARGAS, LLC, Santa Fe, NM
Partner in private practice from 2005 to May 1, 2012, in Santa Fe, NM.
Practice primarily in the areas of personal injury, wrongful death, and insurance related
litigation, including insurance bad faith.
1981 – 2005
MONTOYA, MURPHY & GARCIA, LLC, Santa Fe, NM
Private practice from October, 1981 to 2005 in Santa Fe, NM.
Practice primarily in the areas of personal injury, wrongful death, and insurance related
litigation (workers compensation suits from 1981-1990).
LITIGATION
Successfully conducted litigation in a variety of cases, large and small.
Some representative cases:
JUANITA ARMIJO, Plaintiff, v. FARMERS INSURANCE COMPANY OF ARIZONA,
Defendant.
D-0101 CV-000 98 000 1924
Bad-faith insurance claim, failure to timely evaluate and settle uninsured motorist claim.
1|Page
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VICTORIA WORK, Plaintiff, v. INFINITY INSURANCE COMPANY, Defendant.
D-101-CV-199903044
Bad-faith insurance claim.
JOE PAT SEGURA, as Personal Representative of the Estate of ELVIRA SEGURA, and JOE
PAT SEGURA, individually, et al., Plaintiffs, v. OTIS A. BURNS, ALLEN C. BURNS, ALLSTATE
INSURANCE COMPANY, INC., and GEICO GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY,
Defendants.
NO. D-0101-CV-2003-02161
Declaratory judgment action as to validity of uninsured motorist rejection form and BadFaith insurance claim.
ROXANNE MARTINEZ, CHARLIE JIMENEZ, JR., ADAN CARRIAGA, and CHRISTA OKON,
Plaintiffs, v. ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY, Defendant.
No. D-0101-CV-2004-963
The first Third Party Bad-Faith Insurance Claim, tried in New Mexico
RAYMOND ARANDA, individually and, as Personal Representative of the Wrongful
Death Estate of RAQUEL N. ARANDA, Deceased, et al., Plaintiffs, v. LIBERTY MUTUAL
EXCHANGE GROUP, A foreign corporation, d/b/a COLORADO CASUALTY INSURANCE
COMPANY, et al., Defendants.
NO. D-101-CV-2007-03210
Wrongful death claim and failure to timely evaluate and settle underinsured motorist claim.
RALPH and MAXINE GONZALES, Plaintiffs, v. PROGRESSIVE INSURANCE, Defendant.
No. D-0412-CV-2012-0221
Bad-faith insurance claim.
EDUCATION
University of New Mexico Law School – May 1981
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
Licensed in New Mexico – October 1981, Federal District Court – November1981,
Federal Court of Appeals10th Circuit – November 1981.
Member of the Board of Directors of NMTLA from 1987 – present.
President of the New Mexico Trial Lawyers Association from 1990 and 1991.
Appointed to the Uniform Jury Instruction Civil Committee on four occasions 1989-1992,
1992–1995, 2003-2005, and 2005-2008.
Board of Governors American Trial Lawyers Association 1994-1998.
Member - Academy of Trial Advocacy, 2005 to present (membership by invitation only)
2|Page
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Vincent J. Ward
Mr. Ward is a shareholder with Freedman Boyd Hollander Goldberg Urias & Ward, P.A. and has
worked for the Firm since 2010. His practice includes commercial, securities and antitrust
litigation, class action, and personal injury. Mr. Ward represents clients in civil and criminal
cases in federal and state courts, as well as in federal and state administrative proceedings. Prior
to joining the firm, Mr. Ward held senior level positions in both federal and state government.
Most recently he served as Senior Counselor to Solicitor Hilary Tompkins at the United States
Department of Interior, where he counseled the Secretary, Deputy Secretary, Solicitor and other
high-level officials on legal matters related to the Gulf Oil Spill, Cobell class action settlement,
renewable energy development on public lands, Indian law, including fee-to-trust and gaming,
and royalty collection issues. Mr. Ward also served as Chief and Deputy Chief Counsel to the
former Governor of New Mexico, Bill Richardson. In this capacity, Vincent advised the
Governor, Chief of Staff, and other senior officials in the administration on legal and policy
issues, including legislation, judicial appointments, executive orders, constitutional authority,
civil litigation and statutory interpretation. He also supervised the general counsels in more than
20 state executive agencies. From 2001 to 2004, Mr. Ward served on active duty in the United
States Navy, Judge Advocate General Corps, where he prosecuted felony level criminal offenses,
including the mishandling of classified materials, murder, sexual assault, and drug distribution
and importation. He also represented the Navy in administrative proceedings and conducted
internal investigations for senior military commanders. Mr. Ward graduated from the University
of New Mexico School of Law in 2001, where he was awarded the Sutin Award for Excellence
in Advocacy and the Helen S. Carter Prize for Outstanding Legal Writing. He holds a B.A. in
Political Science, Summa Cum Laude, from the University of New Mexico. The State Bar of
New Mexico recognized Mr. Ward as the Outstanding Young Lawyer of the Year in 2008. Mr.
Ward is a member of the New Mexico Board of Bar Examiners and a member of the New
Mexico Black Lawyers Association. Mr. Ward is licensed to practice in the state and federal
courts of New Mexico.