Attorneys > Niall P. McCarthy
Niall P. McCarthy, a principal at Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, is a graduate of the University of California at Davis and Santa Clara University School of Law. He joined the firm in 1992.
In 2002, McCarthy was selected as one of the top 20 attorneys in the State of California under 40 by the Los Angeles Daily Journal and the San Francisco Daily Journal, and has been recognized in the National Law Journal as one of the most successful litigators in America. From 2004 to 2009 he was selected as a Northern California “Super Lawyer” by San Francisco Magazine. He was also selected as one of the top 500 plaintiff lawyers in the United States by the legal affairs magazine Lawdragon, and has been selected to various top plaintiff lawyer lists. He has the highest possible rating, AV, from Martindale-Hubbell. In 2010, McCarthy was presented the William Nagle, Jr. Memorial Award by the San Mateo County Bar Association for innovations in the law and for professionalism.
He has represented qui tam relators in False Claims Act cases in state and federal courts, including obtaining a $25 million settlement in a groundbreaking case brought under the California False Claims Act on behalf of the University of California San Francisco with respect to direct and overhead costs to the university. McCarthy has extensive experience pursuing false claims cases arising out of health care fraud against the government. He coauthored the articles “Qui Tam Litigation, A Primer for the General Litigator,” “Answering the Call: Attacking Healthcare Fraud with the False Claims Act,” “Recent Developments in False Claims and Healthcare Litigation,” and “False Claims Act Fundamentals.” McCarthy is presently working with the California Attorney General's office in a well publicized False Claims case involving the Lab Industry.
McCarthy has handled many predatory lending cases on behalf of borrowers. He has acted as Co-Lead National Class Counsel in actions against some of the largest lenders, banks and credit card companies in the country. He is the author of “Home Equity Loss in California Through Predatory Lending,” “Combating Predatory Lending in California,” and has spoken in many forums on subprime lending. McCarthy handles all areas of business litigation including Antitrust and Securities.
McCarthy also has practiced extensively in the area of elder abuse, including obtaining multi-million dollar recoveries on behalf of senior citizens in actions involving reverse mortgages. He has been retained by San Mateo County, Santa Clara County, Alameda County and Santa Cruz County to prosecute financial elder abuse cases. In addition, he has handled many notable cases against nursing homes, including well-publicized actions for the families of three victims who died at a San Mateo County nursing home during a heat wave and an action on behalf of a developmentally disabled person who was severely burned while left unattended in a nursing home shower.
He authored “The Elder Abuse Statute: California's Underutilized Law,” “Elder Abuse: Recent Legal and Legislative Developments,” “Financial Elder Abuse in Real Estate Transactions Under the 2000 Revisions to the Elder Abuse Act” and “Elder Abuse Claims Not Subject to MICRA.” He is a frequent speaker on elder abuse and has been featured in California Lawyer with respect to his work for seniors.
McCarthy is a past president of the San Mateo County Barristers and the San Mateo County Trial Lawyers. He was chairman of the Business Litigation Section of the San Mateo County Bar Association. He presently is a Vice President for the Consumer Attorneys of California. He has been an MCLE panelist on many topics including courtroom conduct, complex litigation, financial and physical elder abuse, the fundamentals of business litigation, Business and Professions Code 17200, predatory lending, qui tam actions, discovery for trial, and taking effective depositions. He also is active in various Peninsula community activities, including having served as chairman of the Board of Directors of Community Gatepath, a nonprofit organization which benefits children and adults with disabilities.
McCarthy's other notable cases include compelling an insurance company to pay for a lifesaving bone marrow transplant for a cancer patient, and obtaining a punitive damage jury verdict in a case which unveiled a multi-state health insurance fraud. McCarthy obtained a defense award on a multi-million-dollar fraud claim against his clients, and obtained a million-dollar recovery for the same clients on a cross-complaint in a year-long arbitration arising out of a failed healthcare industry merger. As co-lead counsel, he tried an action on behalf of the victims of a balcony collapse in San Francisco which resulted in a $12 million verdict. He served as lead class counsel obtaining a multi-million dollar verdict against Old Republic Title Co. after a trial in San Francisco Superior Court. He also obtained a substantial verdict against the government in a high profile FTCA case after a trial in federal court. He served as lead class counsel in several national and state settlements which returned hundreds of millions of dollars to consumers.
McCarthy has tried cases in state and federal court, including class actions. McCarthy also defends clients in business and other disputes.