Troy Rafferty is a shareholder at Levin, Papantonio, Rafferty. He litigates mass tort, pharmaceutical, and major personal injury cases throughout the country. Mr. Rafferty has been recognized as one of the country’s top lawyers through inclusion in the publication, The Best Lawyers in America, as well as The Legal 500. He has also been recognized as one of Florida’s top lawyers by Florida Super Lawyers.

Mr. Rafferty has been awarded an AV rating by Martindale-Hubbell legal directory, the highest rating for competence and ethics issued by that publication, and reserved for attorneys designated as outstanding in their field. Mr. Rafferty has been selected by the American Trial Lawyers Association as one of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers. He is a fellow in the International Society of Barristers, and one of only 500 U.S. attorneys inducted into the International Academy of Trial Lawyers.

Mr. Rafferty has been appointed to handle some of the nation’s largest pharmaceutical and mass tort cases. He currently serves as Liaison Counsel in the case In Re: National Prescription Opiate Litigation pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. He has also been appointed as: (1) co-lead counsel in the In re: Gadolinium-Based Contrast Agent Litigation, which is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio; (2) the Plaintiff’s Executive Committee in the In re: Abilify Products Liability Litigation pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida; (3) the Plaintiff’s Executive Committee in the In re: Benicar Products Liability Litigation pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey; (4) the Plaintiff’s Steering Committee in the In re: Actos (Pioglitazone) Products Liability Litigation pending in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana; and (5) the Plaintiff’s Steering Committee in the In re: Fresenius Granuflo/Naturalyte Dialysate Products Liability Litigation pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

He also has been appointed by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky to serve on the Executive Committee for the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee regarding the Yamaha Rhino defective product litigation. He was appointed by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana to serve on the Plaintiffs Steering Committee in the national Vioxx Litigation, which resulted in a $4.7 billion national settlement. He was also appointed to the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in the national Zyprexa Litigation in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. This litigation resulted in a $700 million settlement on behalf of clients throughout the country. Mr. Rafferty was also one of the leading attorneys in the national Rezulin litigation, which was filed in the Southern District of New York. In 2001, he and his partner obtained a $40 million jury verdict in Corpus Christi, Texas for a woman who took the diabetes drug Rezulin. He has tried numerous complex pharmaceutical cases throughout the country.

In 2017 Mr. Rafferty obtained jury verdicts in two pharmaceutical cases of $150 million and $140 million which were the 13th and 15th largest jury verdicts in the country that year.

Mr. Rafferty is board certified in civil trial law by The Florida Bar. He is active in the Florida Justice Association, where he served as President from 2014 – 2015. Prior to that he served on the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors. In 2016 he was awarded the Perry Nichols Award, the highest award given by the FJA and is awarded to an attorney whose perseverance, commitment, and unmatched dedication to the civil justice system is at the forefront of their lives.

In 2018, he was awarded the Living the Dream HK Matthews Legacy Award in recognition of his commitment, vision, leadership, service, and contribution to keeping Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream alive.

Mr. Rafferty is a frequent lecturer throughout the country to trial lawyers on mass tort litigation and general trial practice. He is currently licensed to practice law before all Florida state courts, the United States District Courts for the Northern and Middle Districts of Florida, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

Mr. Rafferty is also an active philanthropist, and along with donating to many local charities, he also funds two local scholarships under his name (The Rafferty Scholarship/Award), which are awarded annually to two area high school prep athletes. Each of the area high schools also competes to be awarded the Rafferty Cup for excellence in athletic achievement. In addition, he founded the Rafferty Hope Scholarship which is given each year to two underprivileged children to pay their college tuition.

Year Joined Law Firm
1994

Areas of Practice
Personal injury
Mass torts
Pharmaceutical litigation

Bar Admissions
Florida
U.S. District Court Northern District of Florida
U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida
U.S. Court of Appeals 11th Circuit

Certification/Specialties
Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer by the Florida Bar
Appointed to the Civil Trial Certification Committee by the Florida Bar

Education
Valparaiso University School of Law, Valparaiso, Indiana
Honors: Magna Cum Laude
Law Review: Valparaiso University Law Review, Note Editor
Michigan State University
Major: International Relations
James Madison College
Major: International Relations

Honors and Awards
Florida Justice Association
Perry Nichols Award (2016)
President’s Award (2016)
Centurion Award (2016)
Last Round Award (2016)
Eagle Legend Award (2013)
Silver Eagle Award (2011, 2012, 2016)
Rough Rider Award (2011)
Gold Eagle Award (2009, 2010, 2013-2015)
Florida’s Legal Elite
Best Lawyers in America
Florida Super Lawyers
AV Rated by Martindale Hubbell
Top 100 Trial Lawyers – National Trial Lawyers Association
INWeekly Power List – Most Influential People in Northwest Florida

Sample Published Works/Presentations
Multidistrict Litigation 101 – How a Tort Becomes a Mass Tort, Florida Justice Association Journal, March/April 2015
Benicar – Big Pharma Hides the Dangers to Protect the Profits, Florida Justice Association Journal, January/February 2015
Anatomy of a Personal Injury Lawsuit, co-author, book chapter, Anatomy of a Personal Injury Lawsuit, 4th Ed. John Romano, Editor, 2015
Testosterone Therapy – Debunking the Fountain of Youth, Florida Justice Association Journal, April/May 2014
Tylenol Acute Liver Failure Litigation: Hidden Danger and Mispalced Trust, Florida Justice Association Journal, July/August 2013
GranuFlo – FMC’s Dark Secret Revealed, Florida Justice Association Journal, March/April 2013
Transvaginal Mesh: Device Failures Lead To Disastrous Results, Florida Justice Association Journal, January/February 2013
The Case Against Daubert – “Junk Legislation” Backed by Business, Florida Justice Association Journal, January/February 2012
Antidepressants and Birth Defects: How The Past Should Guide The Future, Florida Justice Association Journal, September/October 2011
The Bisphosphonate Irony – Fosamax-Induced Femur Fractures, Florida Justice Association Journal, Issue 551, February 2011
Yaz – Beyond Negligence, The Trial Lawyer Winter 2011
The DePuy ASR Hip Implant Recall – Defective Design Leads to Disastrous Results for Patients, Florida Justice Association Journal, Issue 549, November/December, 2010
The BP Oil Catastrophe – An Introduction to the Oil Pollution Act and Relevant State Laws, Florida Justice Association Journal, Issue 547, July/August, 2010
Pharmaceutical Litigation: Recent Trends and Developments, Florida Justice Association Journal, Issue 522, August, 2007
With Contrast or Without Contrast – What is the Gadolinium Based Contrast Agent Litigation?, Florida Justice Association Journal, Issue 530, June, 2008

Classes/Seminars Taught
Daubert for the Advanced Practitioner: Answering the Daubert Challenges of Top Notch Corporate Defense Lawyers, Florida Justice Association Advanced Trial Skills Seminar, June, 2015.
“The Next Five Years of Plaintiff’s Personal Injury Practice – Hot and Vital Areas of Litigation and Practice – The Paradigm is Shifting…Don’t Let It Pass You By” — FJA 29th Annual Workhorse Seminar; February 18, 2015
“Five Do’s and Don’t For Using Demonstrative Aids to Persuade Jurors” – National Trial Lawyers Summit, January 19, 2015
“Have You Considered Mass Torts? A Practical Summary and Update on Select Mass Torts” – Florida Justice Association Advanced Trial Skills Seminar (June 2014)
“Winning the Plaintiff’s Daubert Motions” – Florida Justice Association Workhorse Seminar (February 2014)
Six Key Steps to Successful Challenges for Cause in Federal Court “Judicial” Voir Dire, National Trial Lawyers Summit (2014)
Mass Tort Update: A Summary Discussion on “What’s Hot and What’s Not” National Trial Lawyers Summit (2014)
Advanced Trial Advocacy – Faculty and Steering Committee (2013)
Building the Trial Package for a Pharmaceutical Case
A Trial Package Presentation – Rezulin Cases
The Scary Stuff: Legal Malpractice and Ethics
Rezulin Cases – The Opening Statement
The Use of Technology in Jury Selection
Transvaginal Mesh: A Decade of Defective Devices – Workhorse Seminar (2013)
Zyprexa Litigation Update
Vioxx Trial Package Presentation
Vioxx Litigation Update
Effective Use of Demonstratives and Technology
Trying Tough Cases Against Tough Defendants – What Has Been Learned

Professional Associations and Memberships
American Bar Association, member
American Association for Justice, member
American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), member
Florida Justice Association
President (2014)
President-elect (2013)
Board of Directors 2008 – 2010
Executive Committee 2009 – 2010, 2010 – 2011
Secretary – 2011
Treasurer – 2012
International Academy of Trial Lawyers. Fellow
International Society of Barristers (ISOB), Fellow
Summit Council
National Trial Lawyers Association, Executive Committee

Representative Cases
Mr. Rafferty has received numerous jury verdicts and settlements in excess of $1 million, including recent jury verdicts for $9.2 million and $12.6 million in Escambia County, Florida and a verdict of $18 million in New Jersey, which was one of the top 100 jury verdicts in the country in 2012. In 2017, he obtained verdicts of $150 million and $140 million which were the 13th and 15th largest jury verdicts in the country.