Gerald J. Williams

Gerald Williams concentrates on toxic tort and complex personal injury cases in addition to handling consumer protection, civil rights, employment law, police litigation and class actions.

Mr. Williams received his law degree in 1982 from Temple University School of Law [Evening Division].  He was an associate at a Philadelphia law firm before starting his own practice in 1983.  A year later, he and Mark Cuker became partners.

Mr. Williams is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, as well as the U.S. District Courts for the Middle and Eastern Districts of Pennsylvania, the District of New Jersey, the United States Third Circuit of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.  Both he and his firm have received an “AV Preeminent” rating – the highest given – from legal publisher Martindale-Hubbell.  He has been named a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer 2006-2016 for environmental litigation.

Mr. Williams has won significant verdicts and settlements for plaintiffs in civil rights and environmental tort cases in many courts, including Merry v. Westinghouse, which established medical monitoring as a remedy under Pennsylvania common law, and Ambrogi v. Gould, the first case to hold medical monitoring available under Pennsylvania’s Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act.

Mr. Williams and two Williams Cuker Berezofsky colleagues, Beth Cole and Christopher Markos, were honored at a reception hosted by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania’s Prisoner Civil Rights Panel.

They were presented certificates of appreciation by the Honorable Judge M. Faith Angell for their service in representing hundreds of prisoners in claims that they were injured as a result of unconstitutional conditions of the Philadelphia Prison System.  Judge Angell noted that between 2011 and 2014, the attorneys accepted judicial appointments to represent more than 900 former pro se plaintiffs and resolved the vast majority of the cases, with more than 500 resulting in individual settlements with the city and private medical providers.

Before his law career, Mr. Williams held positions in the fields of mental health and social work, serving as director of research and evaluation at the Benjamin Rush Center in Philadelphia and as an evaluation analyst at St. Luke’s and Children’s Medical Center.  This background has been invaluable in his client relations, especially in working with the families of injured or abused children.

Mr. Williams continues his lifelong involvement in amateur baseball and is still an active player in the John DeBenedictis Men’s Senior Baseball League.

• Pennsylvania
• New Jersey
• United States Supreme Court
• U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
• U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
• U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey

• St. Joseph’s College Cum Laude (1973)
• University of Pittsburgh, M.A. (1976)
• Temple University School of Law, Evening Division (1982)

• Partner, Williams Cuker Berezofsky, LLC (1989-Present): 1515 Market Street, Suite 1300, Philadelphia, PA 19102-1929
• Partner, Slap, Williams & Cuker, Philadelphia, PA 19102 (1984-4/30/89)
• Associate, Wapner, Newman & Associates, Philadelphia, PA 19103 (1982-1983)
• Law Clerk, Wapner, Newman & Associates (1980-1982)
• Director, Research & Evaluation, Benjamin Rush Center (1977-1980)
• Evaluation Analyst St. Luke’s Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA 19122 (1975-1977)
• Graduate Teaching Assistant University of Pittsburgh Department of Sociology Pittsburgh, PA (1974-1975)
• Research Assistant, Diagnostic & Rehabilitation Center. Philadelphia, PA (1973-1974)
• Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Appellate Court Procedural Rules Committee (1995-1999)
• Board of Directors, Citizens for Consumer Justice Philadelphia, PA (1997-2006)
• Board of Directors, Cornerstone Savings & Loan Association Glenside, PA (1986-2000)
• Chairman, Citizens for Consumer Justice Political Action Committee, Philadelphia, PA (2002-2006)

• Pennsylvania “Super Lawyer,” Environmental Litigation Philadelphia Magazine (2006-present)
• “AV” Rating, Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory (1996 – present)
• American’s Preeminent Lawyers (1998)
• Who’s Who In American Law (1997)
• Life Member, National Registry of Who’s Who (1998)

• Philadelphia Association for Justice (Sustaining Member)
• New Jersey Association for Justice
• Roscoe Pound Institute (Supporting Fellow)
• Public Justice
• American Association for Justice
• Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association
• Philadelphia Bar Association

American Law Journal “Wage, Hour & Overtime: What’s Fair Pay Today?”, December 2015

American Law Journal “Anti-Depressants, Autism & Birth Defects: Battle of Experts“, May 2016

NBC 10 PA School Child Abuse Case, September 23, 2015

• Merry v. Westinghouse, 684 F. Supp. 852 (M.D. Pa. 1988)
• Merry v. Westinghouse, 697 F.Supp. 180 (M.D. Pa. 1988)
• Merry v. Westinghouse, 684 F.Supp. 847 (M.D. Pa. 1988)
• Lutz v. Chromatex, 718 F.Supp. 413 (M.D. Pa. 1989)
• Lutz v. Chromatex, 725 F.Supp. 258 (M.D. Pa. 1989)
• Lutz v. Chromatex, 730 F.Supp. 1328 (M.D. Pa. 1990)
• Toole v. Gould, Inc., 750 F.Supp. 1233 (M.D. Pa. 1991)
• Toole v. Gould, Inc., 764 F.Supp. 985 (M.D. Pa. 1991)
• Flick v. Borg-Warner Corp., 892 F.2d 285 (3d Cir. 1990)
• Petsinger v. Pennsylvania Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, 11 Nat’l Dis. Law Rptr. ¶60 (Ed. Pa. 1997)
• Smith v. Holtz, et al., 87 F.3d 108 (3d Cir. 1996)
• Hawkins v. Leslie’s Poolmart, 184 F.3d 244 (3d Cir. 1999)
• Schorr v. Borough of Lemoyne, Civ.A.1CV-01-930, 2003 WL 297364 (3d. Cir. 2003)
• Schorr v. Borough of Lemoyne, et al., 243 F.Supp. 2d 232 (MD Pa. 2003)
• Schorr v. Borough of Lemoyne, et al. 265 F.Supp. 2d 488 (MD Pa. 2003)
• Incollingo v. RCA, et al., U.S.D.C. or Dist. Of N.J., C.A. No. 87-4263 Rodriguez, J. [Real Estate Fraud]
• Goodman v. Pearlstein, Phila., CCP; Dec. Term, 1985; No. 553 [Consumer Protection]
• Duboff v. Smith-Kline, Phila., CCP; Dec. Term, 1990; No. 5004 Consumer Protection]
• Thibodeau v. Comcast, Phila., CCP; March Term, 2004; No. 4526 Consumer Protection]

Current:

• Doe v. S.E. Delco School District, et al.: Lead counsel. Case asserts civil rights and Title IX claims against past and current school officials on behalf of grade school students molested by one of their teachers.

• Kedra v. Schroetter: Lead counsel. Civil rights case on behalf of the family of a Pennsylvania State Trooper who died after he was shot by his firearms instructor.

•Home heating oil spill: Lead counsel in three cases.

•Whistleblower qui tam: Lead counsel in two cases filed under seal in federal court.

Past:

• Merry v. Westinghouse: Trial counsel. Established medical monitoring damages as a remedy in Pennsylvania environmental tort cases. Case settled after a plaintiffs’ verdict on liability.

• Ambrogi v. Gould: Lead counsel. Among other precedents, established the availability of medical monitoring under Pennsylvania’s Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act. Ambrogi, which involved lead contamination and related personal injury claims resulted in what was at the time the largest toxic tort settlement in Pennsylvania history.

• Palinkas v. Petro: Trial counsel. Obtained the largest known plaintiff’s verdict in Pennsylvania in a case involving the misdelivery of home heating oil.

• Schorr v. West Shore Police Department: Lead counsel. Applied the Americans with Disabilities Act to police encounters with victims of mental illness. Settlement included county-wide revision of procedures for processing the mentally ill through the criminal justice system.

• In re Northampton County Prison: Lead counsel. A civil rights case which ended with the settlement of dozens of claims of inmates suffering from the dangerous infection MRSA.

• McKissock v. York County, et al.: Lead counsel. Civil rights case which settled the wrongful death claims of the family of an inmate who allegedly received inadequate medical care in prison.

• Dimick, et al v. IBM: One of several principal counsel representing over 800 plaintiffs in claims arising from “vapor intrusion” of trichloroethylene emanating from a large industrial facility.

• “Representation of Multiple Plaintiffs in a Toxic Tort Case,”ABA Toxic and Environmental Tort Litigation Committee, April, 1986, San Francisco, California
• “Measure of Damages in an Environmental Tort Case,” Workshop Presentation, Hazardous Material Management Conference, June, 1986 Atlantic City, New Jersey
• “Corporate Responsibility for Environmental Practices,” National Safety Council, 1986, Reading, PA
• “Environmental Toxic Tort Litigation from the Plaintiffs’ Perspective,” ABA Environmental and Toxic Tort Litigation Committee, March, 1987, Keystone, Colorado
• “Legal Liability Associated With Hazardous Sites,” Louisiana Water Pollution Control Association, Annual Technical Conference, May, 1987, New Orleans, LA
• “Pleadings and Discovery in Toxic Tort Cases,” Course Planner, Lecturer, Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association, October, 1987, Philadelphia, PA
• “Pennsylvania Superfund and Private Actions,” Pennsylvania Bar Institute, February, 1989, Philadelphia, PA
• “Litigation and Waste Sites: The Plaintiffs’ View,” Conference sponsored by Environmental Compliance Reporter, December 19, 1989, New Orleans, LA
• “Cost-Shifting” in Environmental Toxic Tort Litigation,” Pennsylvania Bar Institute, January, 1991
• “Private Actions and Citizens Suits, A Legal Perspective,” Featured Address, Institute of Business Law, September, 1992, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania
• “Environmental Toxic Torts and Radon: Preventing Lawsuits,” Regional Meeting, American Association of Radon Scientists and Technologists (Eastern Pennsylvania Chapter), January 29, 1994
• “Toxic Tort Litigation: Basics in Pursuing a Single or Multi-Plaintiff Claim,” Panel Member, Continuing Legal Education Seminar, Philadelphia Bar Education Center, August 1, 1996
• National Employment Lawyers Association (New Jersey), Panel Member, Annual Third Circuit Conference: “Trial Evidence in Employments Cases,” May, 2000
• “Litigating Employment Discrimination Cases,” Panel Member, Pennsylvania Bar Institute, December, 2000
• “The Battle Over Scientific Evidence — Its Current Stage and Some Hopeful Development for Plaintiffs —“, Delaware Trial Lawyers Association, May, 2002
• “Can you Successfully Sue State & Local Government?” Pennsylvania Bar Institute, May, 2002
• “Pennsylvania’s Abolition of Joint and Several Liability and its Effect on Environmental Litigation.” Environmental Law Committee of the Philadelphia Bar Association, September, 2002
• “How to Survive Admissibility Challenges — Daubert From the Lawyers Perspective.” Mealey’s Toxic Tort Litigation 101 Conference, Boston, MA, November, 2002
• “Fundamentals of Water Law in Pennsylvania: Protecting Water Rights, Use and Quality.” Seminar, Faculty Member, National Business Institute, Philadelphia, PA, April 7, 2003
• “Ethical Consideration Related to Representation of Multiple Plaintiffs.” Mealey’s Toxic Tort Seminar, Philadelphia, PA, September, 2003
• “Vapor Intrusion Into Buildings: Risk to Homeowners.” Panel Member, Presenter, Society of Women Environmental Professionals (Philadelphia Chapter), November 12, 2003
• “Class Action Litigation in Employment Law.” Delaware State Bar Association (Labor Law Section), Invited Lecture, March, 2004
• “Toxic Torts – Proving Exposure and Causation”, presentation to American Association for Justice, Section on Toxic Environmental and Pharmaceutical Torts (STEP), Philadelphia, July, 2008
• “Federal Courts – Removal and Remand from the Plaintiff’s Perspective”, presentation to New Jersey Association for Justice, East Rutherford, NJ, Invited Lecture, November, 2010.
• “Prison Overcrowding and the Constitution” Guest Lecture, Widener University Law School (September, 2011)
• “Pleadings and Discovery: The Basics,” Paper published in Trial Advocacy Foundation of PA, Taking The Fear Out of the Toxic Tort Case (1987)

• “The Pennsylvania Superfund and Private Causes of Action,” Chapter (with James R. Ronca), Superfund: The New Pennsylvania Toxic Waste Law, Pennsylvania Bar Institution (1989)
• “Punitive Damages in Environmental Toxic Tort Cases,” (with Albert J. Slap), The Barrister (Spring 1989)
• “The Pennsylvania Whistleblowers Law: New Remedies for an Old Wrong,” Pennsylvania Employment Rights Reporter, Vol.1, No.2 (March 1989)
• “The Centolanza/Wack Rule: An Important New Tool for Toxic Tort Plaintiffs,” 23 Pennsylvania Law Weekly, 124 (4/00)
• “Protecting the Right to Clean Living,” Trial Magazine (February 2005)
• “The Pennsylvania Superfund and Private Causes of Action,” Chapter (with James R. Ronca), Superfund: The New Pennsylvania Toxic Waste Law, Pennsylvania Bar Institution (1989)
• “Punitive Damages in Environmental Toxic Tort Cases,” (with Albert J. Slap), The Barrister, Spring, 1989
• Lead Counsel, Published Decisions (Selected):
• “The Pennsylvania Whistleblowers Law: New Remedies for an Old Wrong,” Pennsylvania Employment Rights Reporter,  Vol. 1, No. 2 (March, 1989)
• “Employment Law and Immunity in the Public Sector,” course materials, Personnel Management and Advisory Council, Philadelphia, February, 1999
• “Court Permits Limited Discovery of EEOC Personnel in Employment Discrimination
• Case,” (with Stephen S. Pennington and Jamie C. Ray) Federal Discovery News, Vol. 5, No. 5, April, 1999
• “Expert Evidence: The New Trilogy” (with Esther E. Berezofsky), seminar materials Mealey’s Toxic Torts: New Exposures Conference, April 29-30, 1999
• “The Centolanza/Wack Rule: An Important New Tool for Toxic Tort Plaintiffs,” 23 Pennsylvania Law Weekly, 124 (4/00)
• Book Review, Environmental Justice in America by Edward Lao Rhodes, Trial Magazine, December, 2003
• “Protecting the Right to Clean Living” Trial Magazine, February 2005
• “Science Strikes Back: Strong Words from an American Journal” ATLA STEP (Section on Toxic, Environmental & Pharmaceutical Torts) Newsletter, Vol. 13 No. 1, Fall 2005

• Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America (2007)
• Member, Trial Law Institute (2009)
• Member, Diversity Law Institute
• Pennsylvania Association for Justice Public Justice Association
• American Association for Justice
• Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association Philadelphia Bar Association
• New Jersey Association for Justice
• Scoring Judge, ATLA Student Trial Advocacy Competition (Philadelphia Region) March, 2006