• On March 2, 2026, after a six-day trial, a federal jury in Pittsburgh returned a verdict in favor of Plaintiff Maurice D. Able, finding that correctional officers violated his constitutional rights under the Eighth Amendment. The Honorable Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan, U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Pennsylvania, presided over the trial.
• Mr. Able, who is incarcerated in a state prison in Greene County, Pennsylvania, brought a claim under the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution related to his conditions of confinement. Specifically, Mr. Able alleged that corrections officials improperly placed him in solitary confinement for 50 days—in a unit housing mentally ill prisoners—where he was denied basic life necessities including clean underwear, personal hygiene products, religious items and reading materials, and access to outside fresh air and exercise.
• The jury found that these conditions constituted a violation of Mr. Able’s constitutional rights and awarded Mr. Able punitive damages in the amount of $37,500, recognizing the need to punish and deter conduct that disregards fundamental constitutional protections.
• Kelly Iverson of Lynch Carpenter and Rachel McElroy of the McElroy Law Firm served as co-lead trial counsel. They were assisted at trial by Connor Hayes of Lynch Carpenter. Attorneys Iverson, Hayes, and McElroy were appointed by the Court to represent Mr. Able on a pro bono basis, driven by a shared commitment to ensuring that constitutional protections apply to every person—regardless of their circumstances.
• “This verdict sends a clear message that constitutional rights do not stop at the prison door,” said Kelly Iverson. “The result underscores the vital role of civil rights litigation in holding prison officials accountable and reinforces that individuals in custody are entitled to humane treatment under the Constitution—and we are proud to have stood up for that principle. We are grateful to Mr. Able for his trust, and to the jury for their vindication of Mr. Able’s constitutional rights.”

• On September 12, 2023, Lynch Carpenter partner, Kelly K. Iverson, was appointed by United States District Court Judge Stan Baker as Co-Lead Counsel in this consolidated litigation involving a data breach affecting 4.8 million consumers.
• The parties reached a settlement providing cash payments for losses and debt reduction for class members, along with TMX’s implementation of specified data security enhancements.
• Preliminary approval of the class settlement was granted in March 2025, and final approval was granted in August 2025.
• At final approval, the Court recognized the quality work of Plaintiffs’ Co-Lead Counsel, stating: “The pleadings in this case have been exemplary. What you’ve gone through in detail in your briefing, as well as what you’ve gone through in your oral presentation, has been extremely organized and has addressed all the things that the Court needs to address.”

Kolstedt v. TMX Finance Corporate Services, Inc., et. al., 4:23-cv-00076 (S.D. Ga.)

• Out of a pool of 75 applicants, Lynch Carpenter partner, Kelly Iverson, was appointed by the Honorable Joy Flowers Conti to serve as Plaintiffs’ Co-Lead Counsel in the high-profile Philips CPAP multidistrict litigation—one of the largest MDLs in recent history.
• Lynch Carpenter advocated for injured consumers who accused the company of knowingly using cancer-causing, toxic sound-abatement foam in their sleep apnea machines for over a decade.
• Alongside her co-counsel, Iverson challenged Philips’ attempts to downplay the health risks associated with their devices.
• The parties negotiated a resolution of the economic loss claims, valued at over $600,000,000, which received final approval in April 2024.
• In April 2024, the parties further resolved the personal injury and medical monitoring claims for $1,100,000,000.

In re: Philips Recalled CPAP, Bi-Level Pap, and Mechanical Ventilator Products Liab. Litig., MDL 3014, 2:21-mc-01230 (W.D. Pa.)

• Kelly Iverson was appointed to the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee representing victims of the train derailment that occurred in East Palestine, Ohio.
• The case settled for $600 million.

In re: East Palestine Train Derailment, 4:23-cv-00242 (N.D. Ohio).

• Kelly Iverson was appointed as Co-Lead in this litigation with parallel cases litigating in state and federal courts.
• A global $15.35 million settlement received final approval by both courts in December 2025.

Shields Health Care Group, Inc. Data Breach, 1:22-cv-10901 (D. Mass.) and 2282-cv-00561 (Mass. Comm. Ct.).

• Jamisen A. Etzel,Kelly K. Iverson, andGary F. Lynch(Argued), ofLynch Carpenter, litigated, briefed, and argued this case in the Third Circuit.
• Lynch Carpenter won reversal of a district court’s grant of summary judgment for defendants finding that their internet tracking was not an “interception” under WESCA, 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 5702, et. seq.
• The Third Circuit reversed. The court rejected the defendants’ attempt to establish a “direct party” exception to WESCA, which would have undermined the two-party consent requirement of the statute.
• The Third Circuit also confirmed that defendants bear the burden of proving a prior consent defense, and that the location of electronic interception of website communications under WESCA is at the point where software re-routes transmissions from a user’s device, not where the website communications are ultimately received.

Popa v. Harriet Carter Gifts, Inc., 52 F 4th 121 (3d Cir. 2022)

• Kelly Iverson was Co-Lead Class Counsel in coordinated actions against property owners and a towing company that were charging more than permitted by city ordinance for towing vehicles from private parking lots.
• On June 29, 2021, the Honorable Philip Ignelzi granted class certification, stating:
  This Court takes note of Plaintiff’s counsel’s candor and dedication to their ethical commitments in representing these respective class members. Counsel has shown a willingness to recognize, and even agree, that their class representatives were unsuitable. In the case of Markle v. Gordon, et al. GD 18-012037 – which was at one time consolidated with these actions – it came to Plaintiff’s counsel’s attention their clients had not actually parked in any of the lots in question. Id. at ECF 45. Recognizing the action was not sustainable counsel consented to dismissal of the action. Id. Throughout this litigation thus far, counsel on both sides have shown themselves to be incredibly competent.

• The six cases ultimately settled, collectively providing relief in excess of $500,000 for the approximate 2,300 class members.

Howards Towing Class Actions, GD-18-012298, 12332, 12304, 12063, 12021, and 12027 (Allegheny Cty., Pa.)

• Lynch Carpenter attorneys Jamisen Etzel (Argued) and Kelly Iverson won a significant consumer rights ruling earlier this year from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
• The appeals court held in a published decision that the temporary loss of money is a sufficient “injury-in-fact” under Article III of the Constitution to confer standing on a consumer to file a federal lawsuit.
• Lynch Carpenter and its client brought suit against the clothing company LuLaRoe, alleging it had improperly overcharged Alaska customers by charging them a non-existent “tax.”
• The district court dismissed the case based on lack of subject matter jurisdiction after finding that the plaintiff’s lost time value of money was “too little” to be a constitutionally recognizable harm conferring standing to sue.
• The Ninth Circuit reversed the lower court’s decision, finding that “[f]or standing purposes, a loss of even a small amount of money is ordinarily an ‘injury,’” and that “the temporary loss of use of one’s money constitutes an injury in fact for purposes of Article III.”
• The decision is an important one for consumers because it confirms that they may go to court and obtain interest or other compensation when their money has been improperly held by others for significant periods of time.

Van v. LLR, Inc., 962 F.3d 1160 (9th Cir. 2020)

• Chief Judge Joy Flowers Conti appointed Lynch Carpenter partner Kelly K. Iverson as Plaintiffs’ Liaison Counsel on behalf of the class of employees who alleged the defendants and their co-conspirators entered into unlawful agreements to reduce and eliminate competition among them for employees and to suppress the compensation of those employees.
• The two defendants agreed to class settlements worth a combined $48.95 million, and final approval was granted in August 2020.

In Re Railway Industry Employee No-Poach Antitrust Litigation, MDL 2850, (W.D. Pa.).