Amy Zeman
Amy has built a reputation in the plaintiffs’ bar for delivering results and justice to consumers and sexual assault survivors in class action and mass tort litigation. She secured a $73 million settlement from UCLA on behalf of sexual assault survivors who brought claims against gynecologist Dr. James Heaps and achieved a historic $14.975 million dollar jury verdict as co-lead trial counsel on behalf of Pacific Fertility Center patients whose genetic material was destroyed in a catastrophic cryo-preservation tank failure. Media throughout the country have hailed the verdict as groundbreaking, and the Washington Post noted it as “a historic verdict that could have far-reaching consequences for the loosely regulated U.S. fertility industry.”
The Daily Journal recognized Amy among the Top Women Lawyers in California for 2023, and Northern California Super Lawyers named her a 2024 Super Lawyer. Amy has previously served in leadership roles for the American Association for Justice’s Class Action and Qui Tam Litigation Groups.
Amy is currently litigating a class action on behalf of investors who lost their savings as a result of a multi-decade Ponzi scheme the investors allege was aided and abetted by Umpqua Bank. The certified class action is scheduled for trial in September 2024. Amy also represents consumers whose Honda vehicles are subject to dangerous unintentional braking. Amy has previously litigated successful class actions on behalf of Nissan Altima owners, Ducati motorcyclists, Chase Bank credit card holders, Helzberg Diamonds customers, and many more.
Amy currently represents clients in a variety of mass injury matters, including service members injured by 3M’s Combat Arms earplugs and individuals harmed by the chemotherapy drug Taxotere (docetaxel). Amy has previously represented clients injured by transvaginal mesh, the birth control medications Yaz and Yasmin, the diabetes drug Actos, and the antipsychotic medication Risperdal.
Amy is also a member of our California whistleblower attorney practice group, representing qui tam whistleblowers alleging false claims against the government in the medical industry. Amy currently represents a relator who was the first to file particular whistleblower allegations in 2013 that Kaiser Permanente was overcharging Medicare through improper diagnostic coding; the case was unsealed upon intervention by the federal government in 2021.
Prior to attending law school, Amy pursued a career in the financial sector, acting as the Accounting and Compliance Manager for the Marin County Federal Credit Union for almost seven years. Amy was a spring 2010 extern for the Honorable Marilyn Hall Patel of the United States District Court, Northern District of California. She received her J.D. magna cum laude from the University of California at Hastings and her two B.A. degrees summa cum laude from the University of Missouri.
The lawsuit was pretty complicated, but Amy would take her time and go over it and then ask me if I had any questions. With her help, it made it much easier to understand the whole process.
- Elaine S.
The communication was just great. They always made me feel like I was important.
- K.B.
admissions−
awards+
Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyer, Lawdragon, 2023
Top Women Lawyers in California, Daily Journal, 2023, 2021
Winning Litigators Award Finalist, National Law Journal, 2021
MVP for Product Liability, Law360, 2021
Top Plaintiff Lawyers in California, Daily Journal, 2021
Super Lawyer, Northern California Super Lawyers, 2021-2023
Rising Star, Northern California Super Lawyers, 2013-2020
education+
- J.D., magna cum laude, University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, 2010
- B.A., summa cum laude, University of Missouri, 1998
memberships+
- American Association for Justice, Past Co-Chair of the Class Action Litigation Group; Past Co-Vice Chair of the Class Action Litigation Group; Past Co-Chair of the Qui Tam Litigation Group; Past Secretary of the Class Action Litigation Group; Member of the Women Trial Lawyers Caucus
- American Bar Association
- Association of Business Trial Lawyers
Presentations & Articles+
Fighting the Sealing of Settlements
American Association for Justice Annual Convention
July 2023
Trial Skills Workshop: Strategies for Cross Examination
CAOC Sonoma Seminar
March 2023
Fees in Class Action Cases
Mass Tort Med School and Class Action Conference
March 2017
Qui Tam Case Strategies
Mass Tort Med School and Class Action Conference
March 2017
Claims-processing Issues
2016 Duke MDL Conference
October 2016
Cross Pollination: Diversifying Your Case Garden
HB Litigation Conferences, Consumer Class Actions
May 2016
Best Practices in Law Firm Management
American Association for Justice 2016 Winter Convention, Women's Trial Lawyers Caucus Leadership Summit
February 2016
Effects of MIR 162 on U.S. Corn Farmers
Mass Tort Med School, HB Litigation Conferences
May 2015
Lumber Liquidators Litigation
American Association for Justice 2015 Annual Convention
July 2015
Recent Developments in Class Certification in the United States and Canada
American Association for Justice 2015 Annual Convention
July 2015
Tips on Client Contact and Case Management in Mass Torts Part I: Client Intake and Gathering Relevant Information, Co-author
American Association for Justice, Women's Trial Lawyers Caucus Connections Count Newsletter
2013
Tips on Client Contact and Case Management in Mass Torts Part II: Organizing and Working with Client Information
American Association for Justice Women Trial Lawyers Caucus Connections Count Newsletter
2013
Litigation Highlights
Pacific Fertility Center Litigation
Amy served as co-lead trial counsel in a three-week trial on behalf of several patients who tragically lost eggs and embryos in a catastrophic cryo-preservation tank failure at San Francisco’s Pacific Fertility Center in 2018. The jury found the cryogenic tank manufacturer, Chart Inc., liable on all claims, and awarded $14.975 million in aggregate damages to the five plaintiffs. Amy leads the Gibbs Law Group team, which first filed the lawsuit in March 2018 with co-counsel, and represents dozens of PFC patients whose frozen eggs and embryos were harmed or destroyed as a result of the tank failure. This was the first trial in the consolidated litigation, and five additional trials against Chart are scheduled for 2022 and 2023.
A.B. v. The Regents of the University of California
Amy served as plaintiffs’ counsel representing patients of former UCLA OB-GYN Dr. James Heaps in a class action lawsuit alleging assault, abuse, and sexual harassment against both Dr. Heaps and UCLA. The litigation resulted in a $73 million dollar settlement to compensate over 5,500 women who received treatment from Dr. Heaps, as well as mandatory reforms to UCLA’s patient safety measures. The settlement received final approval in July 2021.
Kaiser Medicare Qui Tam Litigation
Amy and Gibbs Law Group filed a qui tam lawsuit on behalf of a relator stating whistleblower allegations that Kaiser Permanente overcharged Medicare through improper diagnostic coding. On July 31, 2021, the Attorney General’s office and the Department of Justice elected to intervene in this litigation, and it was brought out from under seal into the public record. The litigation is ongoing.
Sanborn v. Nissan North America
Amy represented car owners in Florida in a class action lawsuit alleging that 2008 and 2009 Nissan Altima vehicles had defective dashboards that would melt into a dangerous shiny and gooey surface in hot climates. The case was just two weeks from trial when the parties reached a settlement that provided dashboard replacements and reimbursements. The Court granted final approval of the settlement in January 2017.
Chase Bank U.S.A., N.A. “Check Loan” Contract Litigation
Key member of the litigation team in this multidistrict case alleging that Chase Bank wronged consumers by offering long-term fixed-rate loans, only to later more-than-double the required loan payments. The litigation resulted in a $100 million settlement with Chase eight weeks prior to trial.
Sugarman v. Ducati North America, Inc.
Represented Ducati motorcycle owners whose fuel tanks on their motorcycles degraded and deformed due to incompatibility with the motorcycles’ fuel. In January 2012, the Court approved a settlement that provided an extended warranty and repairs, writing, “The Court recognizes that class counsel assumed substantial risks and burdens in this litigation. Representation was professional and competent; in the Court’s opinion, counsel obtained an excellent result for the class.”