Tom Girardi Obituary – Death: former attorney and co-founder Cause Of Death

Former attorney and co-founder of Girardi & Keese law firm in downtown Los Angeles, Thomas Girardi, born on June 3, 1939, was disqualified from practicing law in 2022 following accusations of defrauding customers. Girardi attended Loyola High School in Los Angeles, graduating in 1957 and earned his degree from New York University in 1965. He was the first attorney in California to receive an award of more than $1 million in a medical malpractice case in 1970.

Girardi gained notoriety for handling significant cases against major corporations, such as Lockheed Corporation (now Lockheed Martin Corporation), Pacific Gas and Electric Company, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and seven major Hollywood movie studios. One of his notable cases against Pacific Gas & Electric resulted in a $460 million settlement for 650 residents of the Hinckley Desert community in California, which was depicted in the film Erin Brockovich (2000) starring Julia Roberts.

In 2003, Girardi was inducted into the Trial Lawyers Hall of Fame by the California Bar Association and served on the California Judiciary Board, the decision-making body of state courts. He was also a board member and past president of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, an invitation-only global organization of 500 trial lawyers.

Girardi was active in Democratic politics and made significant contributions to campaigns, fundraisers, and advised governors on judge appointments. In 2010, he was part of a group of attorneys seeking to enforce a $489 million default judgment in a US court against Dole Food and Shell Chemicals allegedly filed by a Nicaraguan court over the effects of the pesticide DBCP on exposed workers. However, the US court revoked the judgment due to flawed document translations submitted by Girardi and others, resulting in formal reprimands and fines for his law firm’s failure to disclose information to the courts.