Jim Stranch is the senior member in the complex litigation group, which he helped start on behalf of the firm. He has served as lead counsel in virtually every large complex and other class action in which the firm has served as lead plaintiff. These include Sherwood v. Microsoft, which set the standard for indirect antitrust actions in Tennessee and ultimately resolved for a value of $64 million.
Mr. Stranch and his wife, Judge Jane Branstetter Stranch of the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, were early pioneers of 401(k) ERISA litigation. They jointly litigated numerous groundbreaking cases, such as Qwest Savings and Investment Plan ERISA litigation ($57.5 million total payout to class members) and In re: Nortel Networks Corp. ERISA litigation ($21.5 million settlement).
In addition to having founded the firm’s class action practice, Mr. Stranch also focuses on Labor and Employment Law, and brings more than four decades of experience in representing labor organizations and individual workers throughout Tennessee and the South. Mr. Stranch also has extensive expertise in matters arising under the National Labor Relations Act, ERISA, Title VII, and wage and hours laws such as the FLSA.
One of Mr. Stranch’s first hard-earned victories came in 1979 when, along with firm founder Cecil Branstetter, he won a jury verdict in a case against Frosty Morn Meats in Montgomery County. The bankrupt company was found by a jury to have been grossly negligent in its mishandling of more than 500 employees’ Christmas monies. The jury returned a nearly $473,000 judgment against the company’s board of directors, and the case helped solidify the firm’s reputation in Tennessee as one that fights for workers’ interests.
More recently, Mr. Stranch was lead counsel in the securities litigation on behalf of the State of Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System against Worldcom ($7 million recovery), Tennessee consumer protection and antitrust action against Microsoft ($64 million recovery to the consumer class, including a $30 million cy pres to Tennessee schools), the shareholder derivative action involving Dollar General Corporation ($31.5 million recovery), and ERISA/401(k) litigations on behalf of employees and pensioners of Qwest Communications, Inc. ($57.5 million total value recovery), Xcel Energy Inc. ($8.6 million recovery), Providian Financial, Inc. ($8.6 million) and Nortel, Inc. ($21.5 million recovery).
Mr. Stranch has spent his career contributing to a legacy of supporting labor unions, shareholders, small businesses and others. Mentored by the late Cecil Branstetter, Mr. Stranch also strives to mentor the firm’s younger attorneys.
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