Biography
Pravin has been intimately involved in and led the defense of numerous nationwide and multi-state putative class actions, and he is directly involved in all aspects of these and other cases, ranging from discovery and dispositive motions to settlement and case resolution. He has assisted with the representation of clients across various industries, including consumer products, investment banking, healthcare, insurance, media and entertainment, oil and gas, and energy.
Pravin has been regularly recognized as a top attorney nationally and in Florida. In 2024, he was recognized by Chambers USA as a leading lawyer in Florida for General Commercial Litigation, with clients recognizing him as “both a truly strategic thinker and a creative, solution-minded practitioner,” and for being “savvy and nimble,” and known for providing “prompt advice in response to complex legal issues at any time of the day or night.” They also praise Pravin as “highly skilled,” and note his “in-depth technical knowledge,” “astute legal analysis,” “creativity to craft a resolution,” and his ability to “work through complex matters.” He also is regularly recognized as a recommended lawyer nationally for General Commercial Disputes and Product Liability by Legal 500, and in 2023 and 2024 was named a “Lawyer to Watch” in the areas of Commercial Litigation, Product Liability, and Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions by Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America. In 2024, he earned a spot on Benchmark Litigation’s “40 & Under List,” which recognizes “top emerging talent” in U.S. litigation, was named by Lawdragon 500 to its “X – The Next Generation” list, was recognized as one of only five national Class Action “Rising Stars” by Law360, and was also named a “Rising Star” by the South Asian Bar Association of North America – one of just six lawyers to earn the distinction. In 2020, Pravin was honored as one of just 25 recipients of Daily Business Review’s “On the Rise” award, which recognizes attorneys under 40 years of age for their early-career accomplishments. He also has been recognized by Florida Super Lawyers as a “Rising Star” since 2016.
Some of Pravin’s recent notable experience includes serving on Weil teams representing:
- 2019 NBA #1 draft pick Zion Williamson and Creative Artists Agency (CAA) in connection with two multi-hundred million dollar litigations arising out of a marketing agreement with his former agent.
- Pilgrim’s Pride in federal class actions across the country brought by direct and indirect purchasers alleging that the major chicken producers reduced output to raise the price of broiler chickens.
- Dometic, a major manufacturer of gas absorption refrigerators, in securing summary judgment and defeating class certification, as well as transfer and consolidation victories prior to those case dispositive rulings, in numerous putative nationwide consumer class actions in Florida and California federal courts alleging that the cooling units in several models of Dometic’s refrigerators purportedly contained a latent defect.
- Repsol, a global energy company, in complex environmental litigation concerning liabilities associated with the pollution and clean-up of the Passaic River in New Jersey, which involved, amongst a host of others, claims of “alter ego” and fraudulent conveyance. Pravin and the Weil team first secured a victory defeating all claims involving more than $1 billion in damages, and then won summary judgment upholding Repsol’s $65 million counterclaim. In a related bankruptcy litigation in Delaware, the team secured a significant summary judgment ruling on alter ego damages, allowing a very favorable settlement to follow soon after.
- Nortek, a global manufacturer of HVAC systems, in multiple putative class actions in Florida and Tennessee federal courts alleging that Nortek failed to disclose defects in its air conditioning equipment. Pravin and the Weil team obtained the denial of plaintiffs’ motion for class certification in the Florida case, as well as the dismissal of all claims, with prejudice, in the Tennessee case.
- Procter & Gamble in a high-profile class action in which more than 150 plaintiffs alleged that they were injured from using the popular denture cream, Fixodent. After winning three separate motions to exclude plaintiffs’ general causation experts, including an affirmation on appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in the lead case, all of the plaintiffs stipulated to a dismissal with prejudice.
- UnitedHealth Group in the successful defense of multi-billion dollar RICO and related conspiracy claims brought by a nationwide class of 700,000 doctors.
- Various creditors and debtors in significant chapter 11 bankruptcies and related litigation, including Claire’s Stores, Westinghouse Electric, and Lehman Brothers Holdings.
Pravin also is actively involved in the Firm’s pro bono initiatives and in the local community, and has achieved nationally recognized results in these engagements. Notable among these are: his representation of members of the Humane Society of the United States in a nationwide putative class action challenging the sales of puppies from “puppy mills”; and his representation of members of the Florida Immigrant Coalition and WeCount!, amongst others, in a putative class action challenging the constitutionality of Miami-Dade County’s practice of compliance with voluntary detainer requests by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement to hold individuals for up to 48 hours after they are entitled to lawful release.
Pravin is the Associate Editor of Weil’s quarterly Class Action Monitor, Co-Chair of the Discovery Strategies subcommittee of the American Bar Association’s Mass Torts Committee, and a member of the Florida Bar and the Dade County Bar Association. Pravin received his B.A. from the University of Miami, where he majored in political science and graduated summa cum laude in 2009. He was also tapped into Iron Arrow while at the University. Pravin received his J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School in 2012, where he was an Edith Lowenstein Scholar and a Caplan Fellow.
Awards and Recognition, Speaking Engagements, Guides and Resources, Latest Thinking, Firm News & Announcements
Awards and Recognition
- Pravin Patel Named a “Rising Star” Award Brief — SABA North America 2024
- Pravin Patel Named to “40 & Under List” Award Brief — Benchmark Litigation
- Pravin Patel Named a 2024 Class Action “Rising Star” Award Brief — Law360
- Pravin Patel Named to “X – The Next Generation” List Award Brief — Lawdragon 500 2024
- Pravin Patel Recognized as a Recommended Lawyer Nationally for Product Liability Award Brief — Legal 500 2024
Speaking Engagements
-
Trends and Insights on Class Actions in 2023
Speaker(s):
Pravin R. Patel
July 22, 2023 — Boston, MA — Counsel Pravin Patel spoke on a panel entitled " Trends and Insights on Class Actions in 2023," which took place at the South Asian Bar Association of North America (SABA) annual conference.
-
The Great Tuna Debate Continues: Proving Injury at Class Certification
Speaker(s):
Pravin R. Patel
April 20, 2023 — Atlanta, GA — Counsel Pravin Patel spoke on a panel entitled "The Great Tuna Debate Continues: Proving Injury at Class Certification," which took place at the American Bar Association’s 2023 Litigation Section Annual Conference. The panel discussed the ongoing circuit split regarding whether and in what amount a proposed class can include “uninjured” class members, which is the crux of a recent Ninth Circuit ruling in Olean v. Bumble Bee Foods.
Latest Thinking
- Gatekeeping & Class Certification: The Eleventh Circuit’s Stringent Approach to Admitting Expert Evidence in Support Class Certification Publication — University of Miami Law | Class Action Monitor — By Pravin R. Patel — May 16, 2024
- Strategies to Defending Class Certification Among the Federal Circuits Alert — Class Action Monitor — By Konrad L. Cailteux and Pravin R. Patel — PDF — October 02, 2023
- Strategies to Defending Class Certification Among the Federal Circuits Publication — Bloomberg Law — By Konrad L. Cailteux and Pravin R. Patel — September 18, 2023
- Looking Beyond Predominance: A Survey of Alternatives to Defeat Class Certification Alert — Class Action Monitor — By David R. Singh, Pravin R. Patel, Elaina Aquila, Zhi Yang Tan, Natalie Howard, Evelyn Medai, Krystel Delauney and Katheryn Maldonado — PDF — July 31, 2023
- Beware of Testing the Waters: Wading Into Litigation Could Cost the Company Its Arbitration Right Publication — University of Miami Law Review — By Pravin R. Patel, Nicole Comparato and Katheryn Maldonado — June 09, 2023
Firm News & Announcements
- Benchmark Litigation Names Six Weil Partners to 40 & Under List for 2024 Firm Announcement — August 09, 2024
- Pravin Patel Named 2024 Rising Star for Class Action by Law360 Firm Announcement — July 23, 2024