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Meet Gabriel
Gabriel joined Cohen & Malad, LLP in 2007 and has focused his practice in the areas of class action, mass torts, and business litigation. He has a wealth of experience in appellate advocacy as a result of his prior clerkship with the Honorable Paul Mathias of the Indiana Court of Appeals as well as serving as lead counsel in many of the below-cited appeals. Gabriel has worked on several notable cases including In re 2005 U.S. Grand Prix, Weinberger medical malpractice litigation, and ViaStar Energy, LLC v. Motorola, Inc. which involved a multi-million dollar contract dispute. He served as the chief brief writer in each of these highly contested cases.
Gabriel has continued to litigate high-profile cases by way of his work on Bixby, et al. v. KBR, Inc., et al, a toxic tort case in which American soldiers were exposed to sodium dichromate, a deadly carcinogen. The jury returned a verdict of $85,200,000 in favor of these soldiers. Gabriel takes great satisfaction in assisting wounded veterans and smaller companies against multi-billion dollar corporations in complex litigation.
He is also proud of his pro bono work assisting financially-disadvantaged parents who are confronted with attempts to deprive them of the custody of their children. Gabriel believes that the monetary challenges and social stigmas against the poor often result in court actions that wrongly deprive these parents of their children. In addition to championing the rights of underprivileged parents by way of his pro bono practice, Gabriel is currently in the process of publishing a book entitled The Legacy of the Poor Laws, which explains the origin of the injustices facing impoverished and minority parents who are confronted with attempts to separate them from their children.
NON-LEGAL ACTIVITIES
Gabriel has twice chaired the Saint Joan of Arc Winter Reverse Raffle festival, and assists with administering the Parish’s French Market festivities. For the past 7 years, Gabriel has supported his alma mater by serving on the Moot Court at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law in Bloomington. Gabriel lives in Indianapolis with his wife and two children. In his spare time, Gabriel enjoys baseball, wine, and spending time with his family.
PAST EMPLOYMENT
Indiana Court of Appeals, Law Clerk for the Honorable Paul Mathias, 2002-2005Price Waicukauski & Riley, LLC, Associate, 2005-2007
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Practice Areas
- Class Action
- Personal Injury
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Education & Awards
EDUCATION
JD, Indiana University Maurer School of Law, Bloomington, 2002
- Cum Laude
- Executive Articles Editor, Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies
- Awarded “Top Brief” in Sherman Minton Moot Court Competition
- Volunteer Tutor of Financially Disadvantaged Minority Children
MA (History), University of Illinois, 2000
BA (History), Southern Illinois University, 1998
- Cum Laude
- University Logic Tutor for Financially-Disadvantaged and Learning Disabled Students
- Chapter President of Southern Illinois University Historical Honors Society (Phi Alpha Theta)
AWARDS
Indiana Super Lawyers, Thomson Reuters, 2021-2023
Indiana Super Lawyers Rising Star, Thomson Reuters 2010-2015
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Professional Memberships
BAR ASSOCIATION MEMBERSHIPS
Indiana Bar Association
- Member Since: 2010
JURISDICTIONS ADMITTED TO PRACTICE
- Indiana, 2002
- United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, 2007
- United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, 2006
- United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, 2006
- United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois, 2011
- United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, 2012
- United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 2013
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Featured Cases
ViaStar Energy, LLC v. Motorola, Inc., 2007 WL 101810 (S.D., Ind. Jan. 9, 2007)
- Gabriel served as primary brief writer and played a significant role in obtaining a settlement in this multi-million dollar contract dispute against a Fortune 100 company despite Motorola’s vigorous defense.
Bixby v. KBR, Inc., 2012 WL 4063498 (D. Or., Sept. 13, 2012)
- In this case involving KBR’s knowing exposure of American soldiers to the deadly carcinogen sodium dichromate, Gabriel was instrumental in obtaining an $85,200,000 verdict. Gabriel served as primary brief writer, was responsible for expert depositions, Daubert motions, and performed numerous other trial and non-trial functions that were essential in obtaining this verdict.
Weinberger, et al. v. Boyer, 956 N.E.2d 1095 (Ind. Ct. App. 2011), trans. denied, and Weinberger, et al. v. Gill, 2013 WL 372641 (Ind. Ct. App., Jan. 31, 2013)
- In these two cases, Gabriel successfully defended these high-profile mass tort trial verdicts on appeal in cases involving a doctor’s act of puncturing hundreds of patients’ maxillary sinuses rather than performing the surgery that he indicated he would perform.
Dennerline v. Atterholt, 886 N.E.2d 582 (Ind. Ct. App. 2008)
- Gabriel assisted with sustaining this $17.9 million class action verdict on appeal in a case involving individuals who were improperly deprived of their health insurance coverage.
Paul & Julia Christy v. Sebo, 930 N.E.2d 1154 (Ind. Ct. App. 2010)
- By way of this real estate and adverse possession dispute, Gabriel successfully advanced a unique theory that allowed his clients to obtain attorney fees underlying an adverse possession dispute.
Manns v. Faler, 941 N.E.2d 1117 (Ind Ct. App. 2011)
- Gabriel successfully assisted a financially-disadvantaged mother in overturning on appeal an adverse trial court decision regarding the custody of her son.
Prior results do not guarantee future outcomes. Case results vary dramatically depending on specific facts and circumstances.