Justin T. Berger

Justin T. Berger is a Partner at Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, LLP, where he handles high-profile cases of corporate fraud, including representing whistleblowers in qui tam actions under the federal and California False Claims Acts, individuals who have been wrongfully terminated by their employers, and consumers who have been ripped off. Justin handles complex cases across California and around the country.

As a prominent California whistleblower attorney, Justin has been recognized as one of California's top litigators. In 2022, for his work prosecuting healthcare fraud cases under the False Claims Act, Justin was named one of the 25 Top Health Care Lawyers in California by the California Daily Journal. Justin has twice received a California Lawyer Magazine Attorney of the Year (CLAY) Award, and in 2019 was named Consumer Attorney of the Year by the Consumer Attorneys of California. Earlier in his career, he was listed by the Daily Journal as one of the “Top 40 Under 40” attorneys in California, and in The Recorder’s "Lawyers on the Fast Track," as one of the top 50 attorneys in California with less than 10 years of practice. Each year since 2013, Justin has been selected as a Northern California “Super Lawyer" by San Francisco Magazine, and from 2009 to 2012, was named as a “Rising Star.”

Justin is active in the community, currently serving on the Board of Directors of the San Mateo County Bar Association, San Mateo County Health Foundation, and Berkeley Law's Civil Justice Research Initiative. He is also the current Board President of Housing and Economic Rights Advocates (HERA), an Oakland-based non-profit serving working class Californians facing economic hardships. For his mentorship of newer and aspiring attorneys in the community, Justin was recently honored with the San Mateo County Bar Association Barristers Award.  

"Berger has developed a reputation for handling complex litigation on behalf of employees and consumers. He represents employees in high-stakes whistleblower litigation and has helped his clients win some of the largest recoveries in the history of the False Claims Act." -The Daily Journal

Read More Read Less

Representative matters:

• In 2022, Justin led a successful trial team before a federal jury in San Antonio, Texas, which found in favor of Justin's three whistleblower clients in a case brought under the False Claims Act against Peripheral Vascular Associates ("PVA"), a physician group specializing in peripheral vascular disease. The jury entered a verdict that will result in a damages award of $8.1 million after mandatory tripling under the False Claims Act, along with civil monetary penalties of over $11,000 for each of thousands of false claims submitted to Medicare. The suit alleged that the group overcharged taxpayers when it routinely billed Medicare for ultrasound services that were not provided.
• In 2021, after extensive litigation, Prime Healthcare, its founder and CEO, Dr. Prem Reddy, and a California cardiologist agreed to pay a total of $37.5 million to settle a whistleblower lawsuit that alleged the for-profit hospital chain paid kickbacks to the cardiologist, buying his practice and surgical center for far more than they were worth. This was the largest settlement ever of a case brought against a hospital over kickbacks allegedly paid to a single physician. Prime operates one of the biggest hospital systems in the nation.
• In 2019, three former lead paint manufacturers agreed to pay $305 million to ten California cities and counties—money that will save tens of thousands of low-income California children from lead poisoning. For his work on the case, Justin was named Consumer Attorney of the Year, along with Joseph W. Cotchett and Mary Alexander, by the Consumer Attorneys of California. 
• Justin helped recover $102 million for California taxpayers against BP, in a case under the California False Claims Act alleging that the oil company overcharged the State of California on purchases of natural gas. The case was brought on behalf of a terminated employee, Christopher Schroen.
• Justin represented four former employees of Hyperloop Technologies, Inc. (d/b/a Hyperloop One), former Chief Technology Officer Brogan BamBrogan, Dr. Knut Sauer, David Pendergast, and William Mulholland, in a lawsuit against the company and its CEO Robert Lloyd, Board Chair Shervin Pishevar, Board member Joseph Lonsdale, and former General Counsel Afshin Pishevar (Click here for article).
• Justin obtained $11 million for taxpayers from Marinello Schools of Beauty in a qui tam action filed by six whistleblowers, former employees of Marinello. Based on overlapping allegations, the United States Department of Education denied Marinello’s reapplication to receive federal student loan funds, forcing Marinello to close its doors. Prior to its closure, Marinello was one of the largest chains of for-profit beauty schools in the United States.

• Justin helped recover $75.5 million for taxpayers from VMware, Inc., in a qui tam suit alleging misrepresentations to the federal General Services Administration (GSA). Justin was selected as a finalist for Consumer Attorney of the Year, along with Niall McCarthy, for his work on this case.

• Justin represented the campaign committees of United States Senator Dianne Feinstein and several other elected officials against Kinde Durkee—the “Bernie Madoff of campaign treasurers.” Durkee was sentenced to seven years in federal prison for embezzling millions of dollars from hundreds of campaign and political action committees.

• Justin recovered $19.4 million from Diagnostic Laboratories, Inc., the largest provider of laboratory and x-ray services to nursing homes on the West Coast, in a case brought by two whistleblowers under the False Claims Act.

• In 2011, Justin was selected as a finalist for Consumer Attorney of the Year along with Niall McCarthy, for their work in recovering a record $300 million on behalf of the State of California in a case brought under the California False Claims Act against Quest Diagnostics and other medical laboratories.

News

Blog Posts

Honors & Recognitions

California Daily Journal, "Top Health Care Lawyers" (2022)

Consumer Attorney of the Year, Consumer Attorneys of California (2019)

California Lawyer Magazine Attorney of the Year (CLAY) Award (2012, 2019)

California Daily Journal, "Top 40 Under 40" (2017)

Selected by The Recorder in 2012 as a "Lawyer on the Fast Track," one of the top 50 attorneys in California under 10 years of practice (2012)

Named a finalist for the 2011 Consumer Attorney of the Year Award by the Consumer Attorneys of California (2011)

Honored as a Northern California "Super Lawyer," by Northern California Super Lawyers and San Francisco Magazine (2013-2021), and “Rising Star” (2009-2012)

Named a finalist for the 2008 Consumer Attorney of the Year Award by the Consumer Attorneys of California (2008)

Affiliations

American Bar Association

California Bar Association

San Mateo County Bar Association

Consumer Attorneys of California

American Business Trial Lawyers

San Mateo County Trial Lawyers Association

Million Dollar Advocates Forum

Taxpayers Against Fraud

Community Involvement

San Mateo County Health Foundation (Board Member, 2022-present)

Taxpayers Against Fraud (TAF) (Education Committee Member, 2020-2023)

Berkeley Law, Civil Justice Research Initiative (Board Member, 2019-present)

Housing and Economic Rights Advocates (Board President, 2018-present)

San Mateo County Bar Association (Board Member, 2020-present)

Northern California Peace Corps Association (Board Secretary, former)

San Mateo County Barristers (President, 2013-2014)

San Diego Peace Corps Association (Board Member, former)

Americorps-Vista Volunteer, Casa Cornelia Law Center (2002-2003)

United States Peace Corps Volunteer, Ecuador (1999-2001)