Matthew L White is a founding partner in the firm of Gray & White. Matt White has represented countless families whose lives have been tragically changed because of catastrophic injuries from car and truck accidents, nursing home abuse and neglect, medical malpractice, and defective products. He is a tireless, meticulous worker and will fight to the end for his clients. This approach has earned him tremendous results for his clients and numerous honors over the past two decades.
Background and Experience
For the past two decades, Matt has represented individuals and small businesses against professionals and large corporations in a variety of catastrophic personal injury and large loss claims including nursing home abuse, trucking and car accidents, defective devices and drugs, medical malpractice, wrongful death, and financial fraud. He has individually obtained numerous seven and eight-figure recoveries for his clients during his career and been part of several plaintiff teams that have secured recoveries exceeding 10 figures. In addition, he is consistently rated among the top attorneys in Kentucky and the region by his clients and peers and has been awarded Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers for his work on behalf of his clients.
Matt is a recognized leader in Kentucky and throughout the United States in the field of complex and catastrophic loss litigation. Contributing to his practice is a vast understanding of healthcare, insurance, and corporate regulatory compliance. He also maintains up to date knowledge of nursing home regulations, federal motor carrier safety regulations, as well as medical device and pharmaceutical regulatory compliance. His work on behalf of injured clients has caused significant changes to be made concerning consumer and patient safety as well as financial fraud prevention.
Matt has an extensive practice in class actions and complex multi-district litigation. He has acted as lead counsel in class actions that have been certified in both state and federal courts in Kentucky as well as throughout the United States. His work as plaintiff’s counsel in numerous class actions has led to total recoveries for his clients exceeding $1 Billion.
Recently, Matt resolved a national class action against an insurance company engaged in predatory marketing of annuities to senior citizens through a living-trust-mill scam. The case settled at a value exceeding $16 million dollars. In addition, he recently acted as lead counsel in resolving a single closed-neighborhood environmental pollution odor nuisance case with only 10 homes valued at $5.4 million dollars and a multi-state auto lease turn-in case with a settlement valued at over $30 million dollars.
Matt has significant lead counsel experience in complex litigation. He served a principal litigator and co-lead plaintiff’s counsel for a certified class of over 297,000 class members in In Re: First Command Securities Litigation, one of the nation’s largest broker-dealer securities fraud class actions. After filing the first lawsuit in the nation regarding this scam, the case was litigated for over five years and resulted in a national class action cash settlement valued at over $50 million
and a settlement with the NASD and SEC that furthered federal legislation prohibiting the sale of systematic investment plans (SIPs) to consumers.
Matt was recently selected to serve as a member of the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in MDL No. 1974 In Re: Countrywide Financial Corp. Mortgage Lending Practices Litigation being litigated in United States District Court Southern District of California and as Plaintiffs’ counsel in In re Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation (MDL 1720). He is a member of Plaintiffs’ counsel in In re National Prescription Opiate Litigation (MDL 2804) as part of the team representing most counties in Kentucky. In addition, Matt served on the plaintiffs’ team responsible for offensive discovery versus Cardinal Health in the national opioid litigation taking depositions of key executive level witnesses. He is also part of the Provider Plaintiffs’ principal team litigating against Anthem in In re Blue Cross Blue Shield Antitrust Litigation (MDL 2406). Currently, Matt serves as lead and co-lead class counsel for several class actions pending in both state and federal courts involving environmental pollution and contamination, consumer and financial fraud, unpaid overtime (FLSA/wage and hour), and anti-trust violations. He also regularly represents private investors against stockbrokers and financial planners for mishandling investments (FINRA litigation).
Mr. White is a frequent national speaker concerning catastrophic injury and complex litigation.
Matt is actively involved in many local philanthropic organizations as well as offering hundreds of hours of pro bono legal services each year to citizens throughout Kentucky.
Born and raised in Kentucky, Mr. White earned his law degree from the Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville on a full academic scholarship. In law school, he was an acclaimed editor on the Journal of Law and Education, booked several core classes, and was top 5 in his class: all while working over 40 hours a week at a full-time job. Only three years after graduating from law school and working for a renowned medical malpractice firm, Matt started his own firm at the age of 28. He has spent the last 20+ years as a proven advocate for his clients.
“The practice of law is serious business. Our client’s place a tremendous amount of trust in us when they hire us to represent them. They deserve nothing short of total dedication to their case. We take each client’s case personally and fight until the end to get them the results they deserve.”-Matt White
He is admitted to practice law in all state and federal courts in Kentucky.
Record-Breaking Jury Verdict
In 2018, Matt filed a personal injury lawsuit against GEICO on behalf of a Kentucky woman severely injured when a 26,000 lb. tow truck, responding to a GEICO roadside assistance run, slammed into the back of her vehicle while she was stopped at a red light on December 29, 2017.
On March 18, 2024, a jury in Jefferson County, Louisville, Kentucky, awarded a $163,973,761.00 million verdict to Jilianne Warner for compensatory damages. This is the largest jury verdict in Kentucky for compensatory damages for a single plaintiff.
The wreck occurred on December 29, 2017, when a tow truck owned by Midnight Recovery, Inc., rear-ended Jilianne Warner’s Toyota Scion while stopped at a red light at the intersection of Greenbelt Highway and Greenwood Road in Louisville, Kentucky. The tow truck had just completed a GEICO Roadside Assistance run and was en route to another GEICO roadside assistance run when the wreck occurred. Accident reconstructionists estimate the truck was traveling nearly 45 mph when the impact occurred sending Ms. Warner’s vehicle over 150 feet through the intersection.
This case is one of first impression in Kentucky and the United States because it involves the liability of a roadside assistance provider, GEICO, while using a separate tow truck company to service its customers.
Plaintiff, Jilianne Warner, suffered lifelong catastrophic injuries because of the wreck including quadriplegia. She will require 24/7 care for the remainder of her life.
“JIlianne is the bravest person I know. She was 27 when the wreck occurred and just starting her adult life. She brought this lawsuit to hold GEICO accountable and to raise awareness of the dangers of roadside assistance companies putting large trucks on public roadways. I filed her case six years ago and GEICO fought us every step of the way to prevent us from keeping them in this case and holding them accountable in front of a jury. Jilianne’s strength is what helped get us all to the finish line. It has been an honor and inspiration to represent her. Our team worked around the clock to force GEICO to be held accountable in front of a Louisville, Kentucky jury. Tonight the jury has spoken. Let this be a loud and clear message to GEICO, and all roadside assistance companies that dispatch large trucks on Kentucky’s roadways, that safety needs to be of upmost priority to ensure that such a tragedy never happens again.” – Matt White, co-founder Gray & White
