Looking Back on an Unprecedented Year

We are delighted to bring to you our Year in Review for 2020—an unprecedented year for us all, during which our team of attorneys continued to provide exemplary counsel to our clients.

This review looks back at a year that challenged us all but compelled M&S to stand up for our fellow Americans suffering at the hands of systemic racism and the COVID-19 pandemic. We hope our 2020 accomplishments serve as a reminder, in dark times, that seemingly insurmountable obstacles can be overcome through the strength and courage of people like our clients.

As co-founder Cyrus Mehri notes in his annual letter, 2021 brings with itself a promise of hope for a better future for us all. We look forward to emerging from the pandemic together. We also look forward to continuing our fight against racial discrimination to change what we can in the world around us.

Read our Year in Review here.

Mehri & Skalet Fights for Enlisted Service Members in Anti-Discrimination Suit Against USAA

This February, Mehri & Skalet, PLLC, announced a class action lawsuit against USAA insurance, filed on behalf of current and former enlisted service members of the military. The lawsuit alleges that USAA charges higher insurance rates to enlisted service members than officers, in apparent violation of California civil rights and anti-discrimination law. The plaintiffs are represented by Cyrus Mehri, Jay Angoff, and Desiree Langley of M&S, Harvey Rosenfield and Benjamin Powell of Consumer Watchdog, and Gary Mason and Danielle Perry of Mason Lietz & Klinger, LLP.

In the suit, plaintiffs allege that USAA hides from customers the fact that enlisted status factors into determining insurance premium rates. M&S argues that USAA’s discriminatory business practices violate the California Unruh Civil Rights Act, as well as the Military and Veterans Code.

M&S and its legal partners filed the case in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, and the case is Coleman et al. v. USAA et al.

Learn more:

• Law360: “USAA accused of discrimination against enlisted personnel”
• ABC San Diego: “Lawsuit claims USAA has violated the rights of enlisted personnel”