Class Action Law Pioneer Dies at 58

Beverly Cooper Moore Jr., a major leader in the movement for class action suits known for his honesty and integrity, died on Nov. 24 of a blood clot to the brain. He was 58.

Moore, who graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School (HLS) in 1970, began his work with the class action movement—encouraging individuals with similar claims to sue together—while working for consumer advocate Ralph Nader’s Corporate Accountability Group.

“The loss of Beverly Moore Jr. will be felt by many Americans who would never come close to...the character and honesty that defined him,” Nader said in a eulogy that he e-mailed to The Crimson.

Mark J. Green, an HLS classmate who also worked for Nader, said that Moore embodied the passion necessary to mobilize the class action movement.

“Though his efforts in the 1970s were considered ‘far out,’ they have ripened into the core of the current corporate accountability movement,” Green said.

Moore’s focus on class action suits continued even after he left Nader’s office, when he became editor and publisher of “Class Action Reports,” a legal periodical, in 1974 and started his own law firm in 1979.

“Beverly was extraordinarily aware of the power class action suits held to carry out justice, and he was dedicated to make them serve that end,” said Arthur Bryant, executive director of the Trial Lawyers for Public Justice Foundation.

Family and friends say they will remember Moore for his integrity.

Robert C. Fellmeth, another of Moore’s friends from his HLS days, said that Moore was both an honest person and an honest lawyer, who stood by the parties he represented—consumers, children, the future, the environment and minorities.

“He was part of the old school,” Fellmeth said. “Beverly was totally incorruptible. He cared not about money, but about justice.”

Moore passed the ultimate test of integrity time and time again, Fellmeth said, refusing large offers of money to settle his lawsuits and instead insisting on winning them.

His passion for his cause, coupled with his brilliance, made him a very effective lawyer, according to colleagues.

Green described Moore as uniquely intelligent, with a penchant for soaking up knowledge and also for creativity.

“I remember times when he would knock off hundreds of pages of texts that were densely progressive and visionary,” he said. “When you’re a guy with a name like Beverly, you’ve got to be good.”

Moore’s published works include The Closed Enterprise System, which he co-authored in 1972 with Green and law school friend Bruce J. Wasserstein. He also wrote articles in law publications such as the “Legal Times” and the “Yale Law Journal.”

In addition to his professional abilities, Moore, a southerner with a deep drawl, “was a real character with a good sense of humor,” Fellmeth said.

Moore grew up in Greensboro, N.C., and graduated from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill in 1967.

Moore is survived by his wife, Deanna Isley Moore, daughter Caroline Hargrove Moore Rodier, daughter Alice Cooper Mitchell Moore, mother Irene Mitchell Moore, and sister Irene Warren Moore Miller.

A memorial service was held Friday at the Monaco Hotel in Washington, D.C.

—Staff writer Nicole B. Urken can be reached at urken@fas.harvard.edu.