Robert “Bobby” Gilbert has deep roots in South Florida. Bobby was born and raised in Miami, where his family settled nearly 100 years ago. Bobby graduated from the University of Miami School of Law.
Bobby has more than three decades of experience in complex business litigation, class actions and multidistrict litigation. He has been appointed lead and co-lead counsel, coordinating counsel and liaison counsel in class actions in federal and state courts. Bobby has served as trial counsel in class actions and complex business litigation tried before judges, juries and arbitrators. He has argued dozens of appeals, including two precedent-setting cases before the Supreme Court of Florida.
In 2020, Bobby was appointed Plaintiffs’ Co-Lead Counsel in In re Zantac (Ranitidine) Products Liability Litigation, MDL 2924, involving thousands of individual personal injury and classwide economic loss claims arising from FDA’s mandated withdrawal of all Zantac and ranitidine drugs from the U.S. market. The drug withdrawal came as part of the FDA’s ongoing investigation of a contaminant known as N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) in ranitidine medications. NDMA is a probable human carcinogen. The FDA determined that NDMA impurity in ranitidine products increases over time and when stored at higher than room temperatures and may result in consumer exposure to unacceptable levels.
In 2011, Bobby was appointed Plaintiffs’ Coordinating Counsel in In re Checking Account Overdraft Litigation, MDL 2036, class actions brought on behalf of customers against 30-plus banks that challenged the banks’ practice of reordering debit card transactions in a manner designed to maximize the number of customer overdrafts, thereby generating substantially increased overdraft fees. In that role, Bobby managed a large team of plaintiffs’ lawyers; served as primary contact with defense counsel and the Court in the coordination, management and administration of the litigation; and negotiated settlements exceeding $1.2 billion, including Bank of America ($410 million), Citizens Financial ($137.5 million), JPMorgan Chase Bank ($110 million), PNC Bank ($90 million), TD Bank ($62 million),U.S. Bank ($55 million) and Capital One ($31.7 million).
Since 2000, Bobby has served as lead counsel for over 200,000 Florida homeowners in class actions to recover full compensation resulting from the Florida Department of Agriculture’s taking and destruction of the homeowners’ private property. Bobby argued before the Supreme Court of Florida to establish the homeowners’ right to pursue their constitutional taking claims; served as trial counsel in trials that determined liability and established the amount of full compensation owed to the homeowners; and handled all appellate proceedings. To date, Bobby’s efforts have resulted in judgments exceeding $93 million.
Bobby has been involved in a number of other class actions and MDL proceedings. He is currently serving as liaison counsel in In re Disposable Contact Lens Antitrust Litigation, MDL 2626, and as liaison counsel in In re 21st Century Oncology Customer Data Security Breach Litigation, MDL 2737. Bobby previously served as co-lead counsel and trial counsel in Estes and Smith vs. First Union National Bank, a class action brought on behalf of victims of a Ponzi scheme, and as liaison counsel for indirect purchasers in In re Terazosin Hydrochloride Antitrust Litigation.
Bobby lectures on class action and MDL issues. In 2015, Bobby was an Adjunct Professor at Vanderbilt University Law School, where he co-taught a course on complex litigation in federal courts that focused on multidistrict litigation and class actions.
Bobby is actively involved in community service, where he has served for many years as a trustee and member of the executive committee of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation. He also served as chairman of the board of the Alexander Muss High School in Israel, and as a trustee of The Miami Foundation. Bobby and his wife Nancy live in Coral Gables, where they raised two sons.