· CANCER CLAIMS LEADING ATTORNEY IN INDUSTRY LAWSUITS . . . Wendell
Gauthier, one of the most outspoken critics of the firearm industry and a
leading attorney in lawsuits against gun makers, died of liver cancer in
New Orleans Dec. 11. Gauthier had built a national reputation as an
attorney in successful lawsuits over silicone breast implants and hotel
fires, and had organized the Castano Group of prominent law firms that
targeted the tobacco industry before turning his attention to firearms.
Gauthier persuaded New Orleans Mayor Marc Morial to file the first lawsuit
against gun manufacturers. He aggressively solicited other cities to
pursue firearms litigation, and his firm along with several others from
the tobacco suits formed a coalition to represent a number of cities in
their firearm cases. He is the second plaintiff's lawyer to die in recent
months. In October, Ohio attorney Jack Maistros, who represented the
cities of Cleveland and Atlanta in their firearms litigation, died in an
automobile accident.