Mike has extensive experience successfully litigating complex, class action lawsuits as a plaintiffs' lawyer. Mike has played a primary role in cases resulting in settlements of more than $1 billion. He has prosecuted securities, derivative, merger & acquisition, ERISA, breach of fiduciary duties, personal injury, and consumer cases throughout the country in both state and federal court. 

When not practicing law, Mike trains and loves Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He has competed in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournaments in Arizona, Nevada, Utah, California, and Brazil. He also loves to surf, especially in the Pacific Ocean.      

Mike is a fighter. He's always been a fighter. It is in his DNA. Whether he's litigating a class action involving thousands of people against a multinational conglomerate, or an individual case protecting one client's rights, he fights with the same passion and conviction. He believes in standing up for every client – and he's willing to go to the mat for each one.  

Representative Cases

In re Conseco Life Ins. Co. Cost of Insurance Litigation, (cost of insurance class action, $400 million settlement) (2008).

In re: Insurance Brokerage Antitrust Litigation, (cost of insurance class action, $121 million settlement) (2009).

AGA Shareholders v. CSK Auto, Inc., (securities fraud, confidential settlement reached after the first day of trial) (2009).

“Senior Annuity” cases, (class actions against insurance companies including Allianz Life Insurance, National Western, Midland, American Equity, and AIG, for deceptive annuity sales practices, class settlements in the aggregate value between $552 million and $1.2 billion) (2010).

“Kitec” cases, (consumer protection class actions against plumbing fitting manufacturer and home builders, settlements in the aggregate valued between $125 million and $160 million) (2012).

Singleton v. Adick, (FLSA class action, first chaired bench trial, verdict in favor of clients, awarded for 100% of unpaid wages, plus liquidated damages, costs and attorney fees) (2013).

Theirot v. Celtic Ins., (cost of insurance class action, no motion practice, class settlement valued at $1 million) (2013).

“Auction rate securities” cases, (represented cities, municipalities in California, Texas, Pennsylvania, Utah, West Virginia, and other locations with claims stemming from losses associated with auction rate securities, confidential settlements in the aggregate valued between $100 million and $200 million) (2012-2014).

Local Bank v. SunTrust, (securities fraud claims against investment bankers who packaged preferred trust securities into CDOs and sold the bank positions in CDOs using false statements, confidential seven figure settlement) (2013).

“Bond insurance” case, (represented a city with cost of insurance related claims against bond insurance companies, confidential seven figure settlement) (2014).

Local Bank v. UBS, (securities fraud claims against investment banker who packaged toxic in-house securities into complex synthetic CDOs that were designed to fail and sold positions in the synthetic CDOs to local bank representing that they were investment grade, confidential seven figure settlement) (2014).

Anarkat v. Hypercom, (derivative action challenging merger, settlement included corporate governance changes and $510,000) (2014).

“Automobile financing and repossession” cases, (consumer protection class actions in Arizona, Idaho, and North Carolina against automobile finance companies for over charging for credit insurance and unlawful repossession practices, settlements valued in the aggregate at $22 million) (2015).

Louisiana Fire Fighters Retirement System v. Northern Trust, (securities fraud claims relating to securities lending, class of plans settlement valued in excess of $17 million) (2015).

Beynel v. Capital Investors, (securities fraud, senior citizen client lost 100% of her retirement savings and her home because of dishonest investment advisor, settlement provided return of 80% of retirement savings, waived attorney fees) (2015).

Marrion v. Collabnet, (securities fraud, minority shareholder rights, no motion practice, $3 million settlement) (2015).

Bilewicz v. Fidelity Investments, (ERISA breach of fiduciary duty claims, $9 million settlement) (2015).

D'Agostino v. JDA Software, (derivative action challenging merger, settlement included $350,000 and corporate governance changes) (2015).

Manthangadu v. LifeLock, (derivative action challenging corporate governance practices and failures to comply with prior FTC agreement, settlement valued at roughly $20 million) (2016).

“Uber airport fees” cases, (consumer protection class actions against Uber for charging fees charged by the airport for pick up or drop off service when in fact no such fees were charged by airports, $2 million settlement) (2016).

Kramer v. Aegon, (ERISA breach of fiduciary duty, $4 million settlement) (2016).

Minzer v. LifeLock, (derivative action challenging merger, no motion practice, settlement included corporate governance changes and $150,000) (2016).

Shufeldt v. Nextcare, (securities fraud, minority shareholder rights, $3.2 million settlement) (2016).

Koon v. AZ One AZ Credit Union, (FLSA class action, $200,000 settlement) (2017).

Harris v. Freeport McMoran, (Derivative action challenging executive compensation, settlement included corporate governance changes and $500,000) (2017).

Whitley v. JP Morgan, (ERISA breach of fiduciary duty claims, $75 million tentative class settlement) (2017).

Daugherty v. University of Chicago, (ERISA  breach of fiduciary duty claims, $6.5 million settlement) (2018).

Pease v. Jackson National, (ERISA proprietary fund claims, $4.6 million settlement) (2018).

Leary v. BP Lubricants, (Magnusson-Moss claims, $1.32 million settlement) (2018).

Venieris v. PVH Retail Stores LLC, (consumer class action, $500,000 settlement) (2019).

Santiago v. University of Miami, (ERISA breach of fiduciary duty claims, $1.9 million settlement) (2021).

Indie Caps, LLC v. Thomas P. Ackerman, (breach of fiduciary duty claims, $3.25 million jury verdict) (2022).  

Moon v. E.I. du Pont de Nemours, (ERISA breach of fiduciary duty claims, $7 million settlement) (2023).

Thompson v. NCL Corporation, (ERISA breach of fiduciary duty claims, $615,000 settlement) (2024).

Gotta v. Stantec Consulting Services, Incorporated, (ERISA breach of fiduciary duty claims, $2 million settlement) (2024).

Moler v. University of Maryland Medical System, (ERISA breach of fiduciary duty claims, $3.25 million settlement) (2024).

Representative Presentations 

Bridgeport Continuing Education, Lo Jolla, California
AT&T v. Concepcion, Assessing the Impact on Class Action Litigation, January 27, 2012

Bridgeport Continuing Education, San Francisco, California
Deposing Directors, Officers, and High-Level Executives, September 25, 2015

Education

Graduated with high honors from Syracuse University College of Law and Utah State University

Court Admissions

• United States Supreme Court
• Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
• United States District Courts: Arizona, Colorado and Michigan
• Arizona Supreme Court

Professional Affiliations

• Judge Pro Tem, Arizona Superior Court, Maricopa county
• American Bar Association
• State Bar of Arizona
• Maricopa County Bar Association        
• Scottsdale Bar Association
• American Association for Justice