GENTLE TURNER & BENSON - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Founding Partner
- Partner
- Member of the Birmingham and American
Mr. Gentle has comprehensive experience in serving as Special Master and Claims Administrator in Mass Tort Litigation, and providing claims administration and financial and business advice to Courts, Settling Parties, and Mass Tort Settlements. He has helped create and administer over $2 Billion in Settlements during the past 20 years.
From 1992 to 2015, Mr. Gentle has served as Special Master and Escrow Agent for the MDL 926 Global Breast Implant Settlement, paying over $1.1 billion dollars in claims. From 2001 until 2003, he was Interim Financial Adviser for the Settlement Facility - Dow Corning Trust (the Dow Corning Breast Implant Settlement) overseeing the investment of over $1 billion and providing tax and accounting support for the Settlement.
Commencing in December 2003, Mr. Gentle was appointed as the Settlement Administrator in the $300 million Anniston, Alabama Tolbert PCB Settlement with Monsanto and Solutia in connection with the administration of a Global Settlement before the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Alabama applicable to approximately 18,000 claimants with respect to PCB contamination of property and PCB personal injury claims. In administering the $300 million settlement, Mr. Gentle has designed the claimant payment program for property damage and personal injury, collected criteria for payments for each of the 18,000 Claimants, ranked the claimants for payment amounts, and remitted payments to each of the claimants. He now helps manage a medical clinic for the claimants in Anniston.
In 2015, Mr. Gentle successfully mediated a Settlement of the Perrine v. DuPont case in Harrison County, West Virginia, involving a closed Zinc Smelter site in Spelter, West Virginia, with a medical monitoring and a property remediation component. In 2013, Mr. Gentle was appointed Medical Monitoring Administrator in a groundwater contamination settlement in Mingo County, West Virginia.
One of Mr. Gentle's specialties, such as the Anniston PCB Settlement described above, a groundwater contamination case in Camden, New Jersey, a warehouse fire settlement in Conyers, Georgia, and Zinc Smelter Settlements in Spelter, West Virginia and Blackwell, Oklahoma.
From 2009 to 2015, Mr. Gentle served as Claims Administrator in the Jefferson County, Alabama, Occupation Tax Refund Case before the Honorable David Rains, in the Circuit Court of Jefferson County. On May 14, 2010, the Supreme Court of Alabama upheld $37 million of the Judgment. The Parties entered into a Settlement, which was approved by the Court, tax refunds were issued to over 300,000 claimants.
In June 2010, Mr. Gentle was appointed Special Master and Settlement Administrator in the Total Body Multi-district Litigation, MDL 1985. Working closely with the Court, Mr. Gentle facilitated the aggregate settlement of 222 of the 245 cases, in August 2010. Mr. Gentle and his staff determined the value of each of the settled cases, which was consented to by all 222 settling Plaintiffs, and Mr. Gentle is administering the Settlement.
In March 2012, Mr. Gentle was appointed Special Master of the $140 Million Blackwell, Oklahoma Zinc Smelter Settlement.
Mr. Gentle is Special Master in the national MDL Blue Cross Antitrust Litigation (MDL 2406)….@, with putative provider and subscriber classes, before the Honorable R. David Proctor, having been appointed in 2012.
In November 2014, Mr. Gentle was appointed one of three Special Masters of the $1 Billion Stryker Hip Settlement.
In August 2014, Mr. Gentle was appointed to Administer the Westpoint, KY Train Derailment Settlement and Appointed Special Master.
Ed Gentle is a member of the Birmingham and American Bar Associations-as well as the Alabama State Bar.
In 2015 Mr. Gentle was appointed Common Benefit Special Master in the CHS MDL before The Federal District Court in Birmingham, AL. In December 2015 and July 2016 Mr. Gentle was appointed Special Master to administer two Smith and Nephew aggregate settlements in the State Circuit Court in Memphis, TN. In March 2017 Mr. Gentle was appointed Special Master by the Federal District Court in Louisville, KY to administer the potential aggregate settlement of personal injury and property claims respecting a defunct Federal Mogul plant site in Bowling Green, KY.
In March 2017, Mr. Gentle was elected President of the Academy of Court Appointed Masters, founded by Francis McGovern and Ken Feinberg.
J. Christoper Smith was born in Russellville, Alabama, on February 4, 1974. Mr. Smith earned his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry, cum laude, from the University of Alabama in 1996, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa. He then received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Alabama School of Law, where he was recognized in Who's Who Among American Law Students, was a member of the Bench and Bar Legal Honor Society, and was a recipient of the American Bankruptcy Institute Medal of Excellence.
Before joing the firm of Gentle Turner Sexton & Harbison, LLC as an associate in 2010, Mr. Smith practiced law in Tuscaloosa for 10 years.
Mr. Smith has experience in personal injury litigation, consumer law, collections, domestic relations, bankruptcy, estate planning, general civil practice, and settlement administration. He is a member of the Alabama State Bar.
He is a proud husband and father to a gorgeous young girl.
Jennifer Blankenship was born in Birmingham, Alabama on July 26. Mrs. Blankenship earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Health Care Administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She then received her Juris Doctorate from Birmingham School of Law. Mrs. Blankenship is a member of the Alabama State Bar and the Birmingham Bar Association.
Mrs. Blankenship joined Gentle, Turner, Sexton & Harbison, LLC. in 2011. Since joining the firm, Mrs. Blankenship has worked on the Perrine DuPont Class Settlement, the Rowe DuPont Class Settlement, the Blackwell Zinc Smelter Settlement, and other mass tort/class action settlements for which Ed Gentle has administered. Mrs. Blankenship also works on our lien resolution services.
She is a proud wife and mother of two boys.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Alabama Society of Certified Public Accountants
Joseph Roberta was born in Birmingham, Alabama. He earned his Bachelors Degree of Science in Accounting from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 1987.
Mr. Roberta has extensive internal control and internal auditing experience from a previous employment with Alabama's largest bank. He also has experience in financial analysis, payroll, accounting, taxation and auditing-having provided such business support services to MDL 926 Qualified Settlement Funds and numerous other Qualified Settlement Funds since beginning his employment with the Firm in 1997. He also has experience with financial and tax aspects of retirement plan accounts, tax preparation for various corporate entities and auditing of diversified accounts such as investment accounts, commercial loan accounts and corporate accounting.
Joseph Roberta is a member of the Alabama Society of Certified Public Accountants.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Birmingham Bar Association
Katherine (Kip) Benson was born in Rosenheim , Germany , on October 24, 1973. Mrs. Benson graduated magna cum laude from the University of Alabama in 1995 with a Bachelor of Science in Management and a double minor in English and Computer Science. Mrs. Benson earned her Juris Doctorate from the University of Alabama School of Law in 1998, and was admitted to the Alabama State Bar in 1998.
Mrs. Benson has experience in mass tort/class action settlement administration, probate law, general corporate practice, real estate, and telecommunications law.
In addition to the Alabama State Bar, Mrs. Benson is a member of the Birmingham Bar Association.
Kathleen Clements was born in Birmingham, Alabama on January 13, 1973. Ms. Clements earned her Bachelors of Science Degree in Accounting from Auburn University in 1994, and her Master's Degree in Accounting from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 1999. Ms. Clements brings more than 17 years of accounting experience from the private sector. She has been employed by Gentle, Turner, & Benson, LLC since 2012. Her professional experience includes financial statement preparation, general accounting management, inventory management and cost accounting. In her current role, she manages lien resolutions for multiple Settlements and assists with Settlement database management and payments.
Stephen Creed was born in Massachusetts in 1973. He is a graduate of Fitchburg State College with a Bachelor's Degree in Accounting. Stephen has been a member of Gentle Turner & Benson, LLC since 2004, handling multiple accounting functions for class action settlements.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Member of the Birmingham Bar Association
Terry Turner was born in Bradenton, Florida and graduated from Florida State University with a BS in Accounting in 1991. Mr. Turner earned his JD from the Cumberland School of Law of Samford University in 1996, where he was awarded a full Presidential Scholarship for academic performance.
Mr. Turner was admitted to the Alabama State Bar in 1996 and the Florida State Bar in 1998. While studying for his law degree, he received America Jurisprudence Awards in International Civil Litigation and Real Estate Transactions, and was the Associate Editor of the Cumberland Law Review from 1995 to 1996.
Mr. Turner has considerable experience in accounting and taxation having provided such advice and business support to all previous MDL 926 Qualified Settlement Funds since 1995, when he began to clerk for the Firm, before joining it as an associate.
Mr. Turner has worked directly with the State of Alabama Legislature in developing and interpreting State legislation. His law practice also includes the areas of corporate transactions, tax and probate law.
In addition to the Alabama and Florida State Bars, Terry Turner is a member of the Birmingham Bar Association and is licensed to practice law in the US District Court, Northern District of Alabama.