News & Updates

Greene Espel is pleased to announce that a team of 3M and Greene Espel attorneys have been recognized by Minnesota Lawyer as 2021 Attorney of the Year honorees. The team includes 3M attorneys Colette Durst, Cheryl Hamilton, Eva Mendelsohn, and Kevin Rhodes, as well as Greene Espel attorneys Sybil Dunlop, Amran Farah, Holley Horrell, Faris Rashid, Nicholas Scheiner, Anna Tobin, and Kevin Zhao.

Since the beginning of the global Covid-19 pandemic, 3M has been working diligently to seize counterfeit N95 masks—both to protect its  intellectual property and protect the public from sometimes dangerous and ill-fitting fake masks.

Greene Espel represents 3M in a number of these matters, filing TROs, and seeking ex parte seizures of counterfeit N95 masks (which have proliferated during the global pandemic). In one matter, the U.S. Marshals—working in conjunction with 3M—seized over a million suspected counterfeit 3M N95 respirators from a warehouse in Lexington, Kentucky in June 2021. In another matter, Greene Espel obtained an ex parte seizure from a warehouse in Houma, Louisiana, seizing approximately 500,000—600,000 counterfeit masks. And in yet another matter, Greene Espel obtained an ex parte seizure from a warehouse in California, seizing over 1 million counterfeit masks.

Beyond these seizures, Greene Espel has represented 3M in three additional lawsuits involving the sale of counterfeit masks and sent over 30 cease and desist letters to individuals and entities selling counterfeit masks. Removing the counterfeit masks from the stream of commerce is tremendously important because doctors and nurses have complained that unlike genuine 3M N95 masks, the counterfeit masks don’t fit well, and the materials used in the creation of the counterfeit masks are unknown.

3M has worked with law enforcement to seize over 41 million counterfeit N95 masks globally. Greene Espel is proud to support 3M's important work.

To view the full list of honorees, visit: "Minnesota Lawyer honors some of profession’s best."