Daniel Seltz is a partner in Lieff Cabraser’s New York office.

Daniel recently served as class counsel in a case brought on behalf of coffee farmers in the Kona region who sued nearly two dozen companies for selling “Kona coffee” that was not coffee from the Kona region. In approving settlements that delivered more than $122 million in economic value to the class, the Court described the case as one “of the most impressive class action cases I have dealt with in my time on the federal bench,” and one that was “great for justice.”

Daniel worked on a series of federal cases in Virginia, Pennsylvania, Arkansas, and Mississippi, in which plaintiffs alleged that certain natural gas companies underpaid gas royalties to the owners of the gas. In one of the cases that settled, royalty owners recovered approximately 95% of the damages they suffered. In another, the Court praised Daniel’s and class counsel’s work as “diligent, expert, and performed at the highest level of professional standards.”

Daniel had a large role in litigation involving alleged overcharges in foreign currency exchange transactions by BNY Mellon as a custodian for pension funds. On September 24, 2015, the Court granted final approval to a $335 million settlement, which combined with settlements with other government and regulatory agencies, will result in total compensation to BNY Mellon’s customers of $504 million. Daniel was part of the team whose work led to a $72.5 million settlement in 2019 in another similar case against BNY Mellon.

He has also worked on several cases involving alleged pharmaceutical marketing fraud, including participating on the trial team in a case against Pfizer Inc. for violating a federal anti-racketeering law by promoting its drug Neurontin for unapproved uses. The Neurontin jury returned a $142 million verdict in favor of our clients, and the Court approved a class settlement of $325 million in 2014.

Daniel has been selected by Lawdragon as a “Lawdragon 500 Top Plaintiff Financial Lawyer in America” every year since 2020, and a “Super Lawyer” for the New York region every year since 2016.

Before joining our firm, Daniel served as Law Clerk to Honorable John T. Nixon, U.S. District Court, Middle District of Tennessee, 2003-04.

Long form bio (click to open pdf).