MARY ALEXANDER
MARY ALEXANDER & ASSOCIATES, P.C.
Mary Alexander was recognized as one of the Top 100 Attorneys in California in 2019 as a
result of obtaining some of the largest verdicts and
settlements in the state. Two such cases include:
$305 Million Settlement in Lead Paint
Case - The People of the State of California v.
ConAgra Grocery Products et al
Mary Alexander was a lead attorney working
tirelessly to negotiate a $305 million settlement on
behalf of ten California counties against several
paint companies involved in the nearly 20-year
lawsuit over lead paint in California. Ms. Alexander
worked on this case for its entirety with the
settlement ending two decades of litigation, which
included a $1.15 billion bench verdict. The lawsuit
was initially filed in 2000, and soon 10 California
local governments joined in bringing a “public
nuisance” suit against the companies that once
sold lead paint, arguing that lead is a proven toxin
causing brain damage in children. The suit sought
to hold the paint companies responsible to pay
for the cleanup. A trial court in Santa Clara County
agreed, ordering the companies to pay more than
a billion dollars for the cleanup; subsequent appeal
court rulings limited their liability to homes built
before 1951. In San Francisco alone, over two thirds
(68 percent) of homes were built before 1951,
which is more than 235,000 residential units.
$21.4 Million Jury Verdict in Benzene Case - The case is Regina Eaves et al. v. Ashland Inc., et al.,
Contra Costa Superior Court Case No. C16-00815.
Mary Alexander obtained a $21.4 million jury verdict on behalf of the families of two brothers who died
of cancer as a result of their exposure to the known cancer-causing chemical benzene. The trial lasted over
four weeks with the jury deliberating for roughly 3 days. The families of Gary Eaves and his brother Randy
Eaves filed a lawsuit against Union Oil which made the benzene-containing rubber solvent the brothers
regularly worked with at their jobs in a tire manufacturing plant. The brothers were longtime employees of
the plant and exposed to large amounts of benzene in their work. Gary was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s
lymphoma in June of 2013 at the age of just 59. Randy was diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia in
June of 2016 also at the age of 59. Union Oil was accused of failing to warn Gary or Randy of the potential
dangers of benzene exposure. The jury sided with the plaintiffs who contended the oil company knew the
solvents they sold contained benzene.
44 Montgomery Street, Suite 1303, San Francisco, CA 94104
Phone: 415.433.4440, Fax: 415.433.5440 • www.maryalexanderlaw.com
CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO
