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James M. Evangelista

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Practice Areas

  • Complex Business Litigation
  • Consumer Class Action Litigation
  • Securities and Financial Fraud
  • Whistleblower/Qui Tam Litigation

Biography

Representing individuals, corporations, bankruptcy trustees and county governments as plaintiffs and public companies as defendants, Jim Evangelista has over thirty years of diverse, hands-on, complex financial fraud, commercial and class action litigation experience in federal and state courts around the United States. Prior to focusing his practice on plaintiffs' causes, Jim represented corporate clients as defendants for over 12 years in high-profile class action litigation, commercial litigation and internal investigation matters at Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP and Leboeuf Lamb Green & MacRae LLP. As a plaintiff's class action attorney, Jim has been appointed to numerous leadership positions in a wide variety of complex consumer class actions, securities fraud litigation and shareholder derivative matters including, for example:

• Co-lead counsel to class of consumers against large mattress retailer in Dennis et al v. Good Deal Charlies, Inc., No. 20-cv-295 (N.D. Ok.);

• Co-lead counsel to class of consumers against large community banking system in Glass v. Delta Community Credit Union, No. 2019CV317322 (Fulton Sup. Ct, Ga.);

• Co-lead counsel to class of consumers for data breach in Orr v. Intercontinental Hotel Group, No. 1:17-cv-1622 (N.D. Ga.);

• Co-lead counsel to consumer data breach class in In Re: The Home Depot, Inc., Customer Data Security Breach Litigation, No. 1:14-md-02583 (Aug. 23, 2016, N.D. Ga) ("The Court . . . finds that Lead Counsel have prosecuted the case vigorously and in the best interests of the Settlement Class.... This Settlement reflects an outstanding result for the Class in a case with a high level of risk...");

• Co-lead counsel to consumer class alleging defective roofing products in Buske et al v. Owens Corning Corp., No. 16-cv-00709 (N.D. Ga.);

• Co-lead counsel to investor class alleging securities fraud in In Re: Evergreen Ultra Short Opportunities Fund Securities Litigation, No. 1:08-cv-11064-NMG (Dec. 12, 2012, D. Mass) ("[The recovery was] the product of considerable time and labor expended by Lead Counsel who faced novel and difficult legal obstacles ... [and was] due, at least in part, to the quality of the representation provided by Lead Counsel.");

• Liaison class counsel to shareholder derivative class alleging breaches of fiduciary duties, abuse of control, and gross mismanagement of public company in In Re: Ebix. Inc. Shareholder Derivative Action, No. 2011CV205276 (Fulton Sup. Ct, Ga.);

• Co-lead counsel to investor class alleging securities fraud in In Re: Bank of America Corp Stockholder Derivative Litigation, C. A. No. 4307-VCS (Del. Ch.), and intervention action in In Re: Bank of America Corp. Securities, Derivative, and Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) Litigation, Master File No. 09-cv-00808 (S.D.N.Y.).

• Liaison class counsel to shareholder derivative class alleging breaches of fiduciary duty in In Re: EasyLink Services International Corp., Superior Court of Gwinnett County, GA, Civil Action No. 12A-04020-3;

• Liaison class counsel to investor class alleging securities fraud in Plymouth County Retirement Systems v. Carter's, Inc. et al., 1:08-CV-2940-AT (N.D. Ga.); and

• Liaison class counsel to investor class alleging securities fraud in In Re: Internap Network Services Corp. Securities Litig., No. 1:08-cv- 03462-JOF.

Education

  • Rutgers School of Law – Camden, Camden, New Jersey
    • J.D. – 05/1991
    • Rutgers Law Journal, Articles Editor
    • Honors: Recipient, International Law Honors Award
    • Honors: Quarter Finalist, Hunter Moot Court
  • Rutgers University
    • B.A.
  • Purdue University

Pro-Bono Activities

  • St. Marlo Homeowners Association Vice President & Board Member Duluth, GA 2015 – 2016 Premier gated swim & tennis community, approx. 1,000 homes, multi-million annual budget
  • Grand Cascades Homeowners Association, Board Member, Suwanee, GA 2017
  • SpringMont (f/k/a First Montessori School of Atlanta) Secretary & Trustee Sandy Springs, GA 2008 – 2014 Private 280 student Montessori school, grades K-8, multi-million annual budget
  • National Horse Shows Association of America General Counsel, New York, NY 1994null998 Provided pro bono legal advice to board of national organization with mission of promoting equestrian sports in the United States

Published Works

  • Polishing the Gold Standard on the E-Discovery Cost-Shifting Analysis: Zubulake v. UBS Warburg LLC et al, 9 J. Tech. L. & Pol'y 1 (2004)
  • Note, Toward a More Competitive Common Market: European Economic Community Council Regulation No. 4064/89, On the Control of Corporate Mergers Within the European Community, 22 Rutgers L.J. 457 (1991)
  • Comment, Cogdell v. Hospital Center At Orange, 22 Rutgers L.J. 255 (1990) (addressing New Jersey's entire controversy doctrine)

Current Employment Position

  • Member

Bar Admissions

  • Georgia
  • New York
  • New Jersey
  • Colorado
  • District of Columbia
  • U.S. District Court Northern District of Georgia
  • U.S. District Court Southern District of New York
  • U.S. District Court Eastern District of New York
  • U.S. District Court District of New Jersey
  • U.S. Court of Appeals 1st Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals 2nd Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals 8th Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals 11th Circuit

Other Representative Cases

  • Palmer, As Liquidation Trustee For the Baxano Liquidation Trust v. Reali, et al, No. 15-CV-00994 (D.Del., Sept. 29, 2016)
  • County of Cook v. HSBC North America Holdings, Inc. et al, 2015 WL 5768575, No. 14-CV-02031 (N.D.Ill., Sept. 30, 2015)
  • County Of Cook v. Bank of America Corporation et al, 2015 WL 1303313, No. 14-CV-02280 (N.D.Ill., March 19, 2015)
  • DeKalb County et al v. HSBC North America Holdings Inc. et al, No. 12-CV-03640 (N.D.Ga., Mar. 3, 2015)
  • DeKalb County et al v. HSBC North America Holdings Inc. et al, No. 12-CV-03640, 2013 WL 7874104 (N.D.Ga., Sept. 25, 2013)
  • Jones, as Liquidating Trustee of Verso Technologies v. Tauber & Balser P.C., et al, 503 B.R. 162 (N.D.Ga., July 5, 2013)
  • Coast Buick GMC Cadillac, Inc. et al v. Mahindra & Mahindra, LTD., No. 12-CV-01935, 2013 WL 870060 (N.D.Ga., Mar. 7, 2013)
  • In re Verilink Corporation, 457 B.R. 832 (N.D.Ala. 2011)
  • U.S. ex rel. Compton v. Circle B. Enterprises, Inc., No. 07-CV-32, 2011 WL 382758 (M.D.Ga., Feb. 3, 2011)
  • Plymouth County Retirement Systems v. Carter’s, Inc. et al, No. 08-CV-2940, 2010 WL 299145 (N.D.Ga., Jan. 15, 2010)
  • Atwater v. National Football League Players Ass’n, NO. 06-CV-1510, 2007 WL1020848 (N.D.Ga., Mar. 29, 2007)
  • Wagner v. First Horizon Pharmaceutical Corp., 464 F.3d 1273 (11th Cir. 2006)
  • Koehler v. Green, 370 F. Supp. 2d 904 (E.D. Mo. 2005)
  • In Re Novastar Financial Securities Litigation, No. 04-CV-0330W, slip op., 2005 WL 1279033 (W.D. Mo., May 12, 2005)