Attorneys > Frank M. Pitre
Frank M. Pitre, Frank M. Pitre, a San Francisco native, earned a B.S. cum laude and a J.D. from the University of San Francisco. Pitre served a legal externship with the California Supreme Court while at USF.
Considered to be one of the outstanding trial lawyers in areas of consumer fraud, commercial torts, and personal injury cases, Pitre has won millions of dollars for victims of consumer fraud and injury.
His skill as a trial lawyer has earned him recognition among his peers who have elected him as a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers, American Board of Trial Advocates, International Academy of Trial Lawyers and the National Board of Trial Advocacy. His membership in all four of these prestigious trial organizations is a remarkable accomplishment.
In 2009, Pitre was recognized by the National Law Journal’s “Plaintiff’s Hot List” for his work as co-lead trial counsel in the In Re: Bextra and Celebrex Mktg., Sales Practices & Product Liability Litigation (MDL 1699), which culminated in Pfizer agreeing to pay $894 million to settle consolidated injury and class action cases related to its pain killers Bextra & Celebrex.
He was honored by the San Mateo County Trial Lawyers Association as Trial Lawyer of the Year in 2006, has been selected for inclusion in Best Lawyers in America each year since 2006 and ranked among the top 500 litigators in America by Lawdragon Magazine. In addition, he has been named a Northern California (Top100) Super Lawyer for each year since 2005.
He is a past president of Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC), the 3,000-member group of lawyers dedicated to protecting and seeking justice for consumers.
Pitre had served as liaison counsel and a member of the Plaintiffs Steering Committee in the Alaska Air Flight 261 air crash. In addition, he was a member of the Plaintiffs Executive Committee arising out of the Singapore Airlines Flight 006 air crash in Taiwan. Immediately prior to his committee appointments in Alaska Air and Singapore Airlines, he served as a member of the Plaintiffs Management Committee in the California Diet Drug Litigation where thousands of individuals were victimized by the diet pill combination Fen-Phen, which was condemned by the FDA for causing adverse health effects.
Pitre’s numerous jury trials include a multi-million dollar wrongful death verdict in Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana, California, against the State Department of Transportation, a highway contractor and a trucking company. The verdict, one of the largest of its kind for Orange County at the time, was affirmed on appeal, and as a result Pitre was a finalist for CAOC’s Trial Lawyer of the Year award (2004).
Pitre served as co-lead trial counsel for Consumers Union, obtaining a defense verdict in favor of Consumers Union in a product disparagement case where the plaintiff, Isuzu Motors of Japan, sought damages of multi- million dollars. His work in defense of Consumers Union earned him recognition as a finalist for Trial Lawyer of the Year Award 2000.
Pitre won a multi-million dollar verdict for the victims of a high profile San Francisco balcony collapse. He also secured a large verdict for compensatory and punitive damages before a San Francisco jury which found the defendant to have wrongfully deprived the plaintiff of her partnership interest in a successful business. In addition, he served as co-lead trial counsel with Joseph W. Cotchett for E. & J. Gallo, winning a landmark trade dress infringement case for the winery.
His notable federal class action cases include Livingston v. Toyota Motor Sales USA, Inc., involving a nationwide antitrust class action under the Sherman Act by purchasers of more than three million Toyota vehicles.
His experience in mass tort cases began in 1987 with the PSA Air Crash Cases, representing numerous plaintiffs in wrongful death actions following the crash of PSA Flight 1771, where he served as a member of the Plaintiffs Steering Committee, and later as plaintiffs co-lead trial counsel for the six-week jury trial which established the defendants' liability. The success of the PSA Air Crash Cases led to his appointment as a member of the Plaintiffs Steering Committee in Carnahan et al. v. State of California, which successfully resolved hundreds of claims for personal injuries and damages against more than 100 defendants.
Pitre is the author of numerous articles, including “Abuse of Process,” California Tort Damages, California Continuing Education of the Bar, 1988; and “Tort Trends,” The Docket, San Mateo County Bar Association, 1989-1994. He is co-author of “Jury Instructions: A Practical Approach to their Use,” Civil Litigation Reporter, March, 1984; “Arguing Punitive Damages,” Civil Litigation Reporter, California Continuing Education of the Bar, 1991; “Effective Opening Statements,” California Litigation, Journal of The Litigation Section, California State Bar, 1991; “Jury Trial Tips: Witnesses,” California Litigation, Journal of The Litigation Section, California State Bar, 1991; and “Winning Through a More Effective Direct Examination,” California Litigation, Journal of the Litigation Section, California State Bar, 1991. Since 1998 he has served as the author of the Annual Supplement to “California Personal Injury Proof,” published by the California Continuing Education of the Bar.
Pitre has served on the faculty of the Hastings College of Advocacy and the University of San Francisco Trial Advocacy Program. He also has served as Judge Pro Tem, San Mateo County Superior Court.
Pitre is a member of the Bar Association of San Francisco; San Mateo County Bar (Member, Board of Directors, 1990-1992); American Bar Associations; and the State Bar of California; San Mateo County Barristers (Member, Board of Directors, 1984-1986); Consumer Attorneys of California (Vice President 2002, 2004; President 2005-06); Consumer Attorneys of San Mateo County (Member, Board of Directors 1996 to 2001); Association of Trial Lawyers of America; American Trial Lawyers Association (Top 100); Litigation Counsel of America; Association of Business Trial Lawyers (Member, Board of Directors 1996 to 2000); and a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, San Francisco Chapter, and National Board of Trial Advocacy. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and the American Bar Foundation.