PRACTICE AREA
Class Action
Class actions are the most powerful structural accountability mechanism in American civil litigation. They require vision, capital, discipline, and the ability to litigate against well-funded institutional defendants.
Adam A. Schwartzbaum has been appointed class counsel in matters across the country involving systemic insurance underpayments, unlawful financial practices, privacy violations, and investment fraud. His work reflects a consistent focus on identifying recurring institutional misconduct and pursuing relief at scale.
Areas of Concentration
Banking & Financial Technology Litigation
Schwartzbaum prosecutes nationwide class actions against financial institutions and emerging platforms that design products to maximize fees and minimize transparency. These cases confront unlawful charges, deceptive practices, and engineered lending structures built to evade consumer-protection laws. Schwartzbaum dismantles the architecture, exposes the economics, and pursues remedies that force meaningful industry change.
REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS
Hoard v. Capital One, N.A. (U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California).
Putative nationwide class action challenging Capital One’s classification of peer-to-peer transactions as cash advances; the case is proceeding toward class certification and addresses emerging fintech fee practices.
Stephenson v. Navy Federal Credit Union (U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California).
Appointed Class Counsel in litigation alleging systemic violations of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act arising from improper overdraft and transaction fee practices.
Dennie v. Bank of America, N.A. (U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina).
Consumer banking class action challenging uniform fee practices; the matter resolved through negotiated class settlement.
Insurance Valuation & Coverage Litigation
Schwartzbaum has represented policyholders in class actions challenging systemic claims-handling abuses, underpayment schemes, and uniform valuation practices that shortchange insureds at scale.
REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS
Holding Insurers to Real Replacement Value Standards
Mr. Schwartzbaum has been appointed Class Counsel in class actions against insurance companies across the United States which challenged exclusion of mandatory sales tax and fees from total-loss settlements. These include the following cases which settled on a classwide basis:
Cummings v. Allstate Fire & Casualty Insurance Co. (U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana).
Ardoin v. GoAuto Insurance Co. (Louisiana State Court).
Bass v. Imperial Fire & Casualty Insurance Co. (U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana).
Burklund v. Farm Bureau Property & Casualty Insurance Co. (Nebraska State Court).
McCullough v. New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Co. (U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey).
In similar “sales tax and fee” cases, Ubillus v. Progressive Marathon Insurance Co. (Michigan State Court) and Perry v. Progressive Marathon Insurance Co. (Michigan State Court), Mr. Schwartzbaum also helped lead a team that successfully defended class certification at the appellate level, helping set the stage for a $61 million class action settlement.
Challenging Unfair Negotiation Adjustments on Total Loss Vehicles
Mr. Schwartzbaum has also been appointed Class Counsel in cases challenging a negative “negotiation” adjustment that insurance companies allegedly used to uniformly lower the actual cash value payments for total loss vehicles, and which settled on a classwide basis:
Johnson v. American Family Insurance Co. (Missouri State Court).
Hobson v. Hartford Insurance Co. (Connecticut State Court).
Mr. Schwartzbaum also served on the team that successfully resolved negotiation deduction claims on a classwide basis, including the following cases:
Volino v. Progressive Casualty Insurance Co. (U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York).
Reynolds v. Progressive Direct Ins. Co. (U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama).
Brown v. Progressive Mountain Insurance Co. (U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia).
Knight v. Progressive (U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas).
This body of work represents one of the most sustained nationwide efforts challenging systemic automobile total-loss underpayments.
Reforming Insurer Payment Practices
Working in collaboration with first party property insurance attorneys, Mr. Schwartzbaum develop a novel new class action theory that held insurers accountable for paying settlement payments in an untimely manner and then refusing to pay statutory interest as required by Florida law. These resulted in favorable class action settlements:
Rollo v. Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Co. (Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Miami Dade County, Florida)
Bailey v. Florida Peninsula Insurance Company & Edison Insurance Company (Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, Broward County, Florida)
Schwartzbaum is currently litigating a similar class action against Citizens Property Insurance Corporation and investigating claims against other insurance companies engaged in similar practices.
Protecting Seniors’ Life Insurance Policies
In the Transamerica Life Insurance Cost-of-Insurance Litigation, Mr. Schwartzbaum fought for policyholders in class litigation challenging improper cost-of-insurance increases on universal life insurance policies issued by Transamerica. The case focused on whether the insurer’s rate hikes complied with policy language and governing law, and whether increases were implemented to bolster profitability rather than reflect permissible risk-based factors. The litigation resulted in an over $200 million class settlement providing monetary relief and structural protections for affected policyholders, addressing long-term premium escalation that threatened to erode policy value and coverage stability. Schwartzbaum assisted with similar litigation against Lincoln National Corporation and The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company, which ultimately resulted in a class settlement of over $117 million.
COVID-19 Business Interruption Litigation
Following nationwide pandemic shutdowns, Mr. Schwartzbaum litigated more than a dozen business interruption insurance cases in federal and state courts across the country. Although courts ultimately ruled against policyholders nationwide, he was among the early litigators advancing coverage theories under unprecedented circumstances and invested substantial resources in challenging uniform denials.
Investment & Fraud-Based Class Actions
When large-scale investment schemes collapse, victims are often left competing for limited assets while the professionals and financial institutions that enabled the misconduct attempt to distance themselves. These cases focus on tracing diverted funds, pursuing aiding-and-abetting and professional-liability claims, and expanding recovery beyond the primary fraudsters to reach the deeper pockets that made the scheme possible.
REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS
First Global Ponzi Scheme Litigation (11th Judicial Circuit, Miami Dade County, Florida; United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida)
Participated in coordinated class actions against attorneys, promoters, and accounting professionals alleged to have aided and abetted a large-scale investment fraud; resulted in class settlements.
In re EquiAlt Receivership Litigation (U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida).
Played a central role in achieving investor recoveries arising from a multi-million-dollar real estate fund Ponzi scheme.
Privacy & Data Misuse Class Actions
Schwartzbaum has extensive experience litigating claims involving unlawful transmission of protected viewing or medical information to third parties without consent. For example, Mr. Schwartzbaum litigated many cases against companies across the country for alleged violations of the federal Video Privacy Protection Act, achieving favorable settlements for certified classes, groups of claimants in mass arbitrations, and significant individual recoveries.
REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS
Sellers v. Bleacher Report, Inc. (U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California).
Appointed Class Counsel in Video Privacy Protection Act litigation resulting in class settlement.
Waller v. Tampa Bay Times (U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida).
Appointed Class Counsel in pixel-tracking privacy litigation involving alleged unlawful data transmission.
Czarnioka v. The Epoch Times Association, Inc. (U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York).
Served on litigation team in case where class certification was granted in VPPA litigation.
Ocampo v. LifeBridge Health, Inc. (Maryland State Court)
Substantially assisted in medical privacy litigation involving alleged disclosure of protected health information to third-party technology vendors.
Mass Tort Class Actions
Catastrophic failures demand coordinated, large-scale litigation. When structural collapse, infrastructure breakdown, or utility negligence harms entire communities at once, individual lawsuits alone cannot efficiently address overlapping causation, shared liability questions, and collective damages. These matters require rapid investigation, expert coordination, parallel proceedings management, and strategic positioning to protect victims in high-stakes, multi-party environments.
REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS
Surfside Champlain Towers South Collapse Litigation
In the immediate aftermath of the historic collapse of Champlain Towers South, Adam Schwartzbaum was among the first attorneys on the ground—meeting with survivors, families, and stakeholders and helping rapidly develop and file class action complaints. The tragedy was personal: his grandparents had lived in the building for more than thirty years, and close family friends were among those who survived and those who perished.
Working alongside his partner, who was appointed Lead Counsel for the economic-loss claims, Adam helped litigate against multiple defendants, participated in high-stakes mediation among competing claimant groups, and personally worked with more than 80 survivors to prepare and submit detailed claims for personal and economic injury.
Within one year of the collapse, the plaintiffs secured approximately $1.3 billion in recovery—one of the largest residential structural-collapse settlements in American history—with funds distributed to families of those who lost their lives and to survivors suffering profound physical and emotional harm.
Fort Lauderdale Water Main Break
In litigation arising from a catastrophic water main rupture that flooded large portions of downtown Fort Lauderdale, representation focused on coordinated recovery for businesses and property owners facing substantial economic losses. The case involved complex engineering causation disputes and allocation of fault among utilities and related entities. Adam was part of a team who certified a class on the issue of liability among the various defendants, and defended that effort on appeal, ultimately securing an affirmance from the Fourth District Court of Appeals. Following issue class certification, a Broward County jury ultimately assigned responsibility in a case involving tens of millions of dollars in claimed damages, underscoring the stakes when critical infrastructure fails. As a result of these efforts, millions of dollars in damages were returned to businesses that were financially harmed by the defendants’ negligence.
Practice Areas
-
![Close-up of a judge's gavel and a golden legal scale in a legal or court setting.]()
CLASS ACTION
When corporations harm large groups of consumers, employees, or investors, a class action allows individuals to unite in one powerful case. Our firm represents clients in complex class action lawsuits involving fraud, defective products, data breaches, wage violations, and other widespread misconduct. We work to hold corporations accountable while pursuing maximum recovery for those affected. -
![A judge's gavel, a person with a hand raised, and a scale of justice in a legal office.]()
MULTIDISTRICT LITIGATION
Multidistrict litigation consolidates similar federal cases before one court to streamline complex proceedings involving dangerous products, pharmaceuticals, or large-scale corporate wrongdoing. We represent individuals in MDLs nationwide, ensuring each client’s claim is strategically positioned and individually valued within high-stakes coordinated litigation.
-
![Gavel and scales of justice on a table, with the word 'APPEALATE' overlayed in the center.]()
APPELLATE
Successful litigation does not end at trial. Our appellate practice focuses on challenging and defending court decisions before state and federal appellate courts. We craft persuasive legal arguments grounded in precedent and strategy, protecting our clients’ victories and pursuing reversals when errors occur. -
![Legal gavel and scales of justice on a desk, with the word 'TRIAL' overlaid.]()
TRIAL
When a case must be decided in the courtroom, preparation and precision matter. Our trial attorneys are experienced in presenting complex cases clearly and persuasively before judges and juries. From opening statement to verdict, we advocate relentlessly to secure just outcomes for our clients. -
![Close-up of a judge's gavel, a balance scale, and a person's hand, with the text 'PRO BONO' overlayed.]()
PRO BONO
Access to justice should not depend on financial resources. Our firm is committed to providing pro bono representation in matters involving civil rights, consumer protection, and community advocacy. We dedicate time and resources to causes that advance fairness, accountability, and meaningful change beyond the courtroom.
Your Voice Deserves to Be Heard.
We represent individuals harmed by unfair and unlawful corporate practices. Submit your information today to see if you qualify to join an active investigation or class action.