I advise clients in high-stakes litigation which inevitably involves complex business and legal problems. My aim – always – is to tailor a solution to my client’s business objectives. This requires not only legal analysis, strategizing and consensus building, but a continuous commitment to creative problem solving.
Valeria “Valerie” Sercovich Guey is an experienced litigator who focuses on class actions and mass tort litigation. She has substantial experience in mass joinder and class action cases involving naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) and chemical exposures, in particular for major oil and chemical companies. Valerie has handled complex litigation involving thousands of plaintiffs, and she understands the unique issues that arise in organizing, supervising, coordinating and managing large cases. She has considerable experience in removing mass tort actions to federal court under the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA). In addition, she has represented clients in matters including asbestos, commercial disputes, executive officer liability, admiralty/maritime and products liability. She also has valuable experience in appellate advocacy.
Valerie also has an extensive background in the application and interpretation of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) guidelines and compliance with Section 111 of the Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP Extension Act, including identifying and resolving Medicare’s interest in settlements and judgments. From the beginning of a case, Valerie is able to identify whether Medicare’s interests are implicated and provide strategies to clients for managing discovery and settlement under the Medicare Secondary Payer Act as well as developing strategies and procedures for identifying Medicare Advantage Plans and recommendations to clients on issues involving Medicare Set-Asides.
Valerie is certified by the Louisiana Association of Self Insured Employers (LASIE) as a Certified Medicare Secondary Payer (CMSP) Professional. The CMSP certification is designed to identify those professionals who work within the workers’ compensation and liability insurance industry and have demonstrated superior knowledge and skills in the field of Medicare Secondary Payer Compliance.
Valerie also advises clients on government relations matters. She has liaised with Louisiana parish governments and state representatives regarding the impact of the Biggert-Waters Act, flood insurance rate maps and FEMA-related issues.
Valerie coauthored a published law review article on class actions.
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Acknowledgements
- AV® Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
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- Representing a Louisiana parish government regarding legal, scientific and technical grounds for appeals of flood insurance rate maps and acting as parish representative in FEMA’s pilot Levee Analysis and Mapping Procedures (LAMP) program.
- Leading role in a multi-faceted trial team focused on complex litigation related to damage claims resulting from NORM in oil and gas operations.
- Leading role in major victory for oil and gas company in removal of mass tort action to federal court under CAFA resulting in paradigm shift in strategy for resolving litigation.
- Defending a parish government in a class action for property damage from levee failures in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
- Defending oil companies in property damage cases involving soil contamination and demands for remediation by landowners.
- Counseling and advising major oil and gas company regarding Medicare reporting and compliance obligations under Section 111 of the Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP Extension Act (MMSEA) including developing protocols and procedures for evaluating Medicare’s interest in personal injury awards or settlement funds paid to plaintiffs.