Michael Ovca
Partner Chicago
movca@edelson.com (312) 561-4106
I graduated summa cum laude with a degree in political science from the University of Illinois and received my J.D. cum laude from Northwestern University. I handle consumer, privacy-related, and tech-related class actions, as well as government actions.
Currently Listening to
Tame Impala
Favorite Game
Jeopardy
Cups of Coffee
8
How I Get Around
Train
Curriculum Vitae
MICHAEL OVCA is a Partner at Edelson PC where his practice focuses on consumer and privacy-related class actions, as well as governmental actions.
Michael has been appointed lead counsel in more than a dozen class actions and has litigated cases resulting in more than $100 million in relief to his clients. Michael’s recent consumer class action work includes bringing claims vindicating the rights of consumers under state right of publicity statutes, litigating against website providers sharing video-viewing history without consent, and first-of-their-kind cases challenging breaches of genetic information. Michael recently obtained the first-ever adversarially certified class under Illinois’ Genetic Information Privacy Act.
Representing governments, Michael has worked with the Illinois Office of the Attorney General as outside counsel, investigating and litigating against “alternative retail electricity suppliers” that have allegedly engaged in deceptive marketing practices against Illinois residents.
Before law school, Michael worked at the University of Illinois in technology services, overseeing a team providing support to students and faculty using University e-learning and technical resources. At Northwestern, Michael was a member of a nationally qualifying trial advocacy team and an associate editor on the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology.
- Litigated numerous first-of-their-kind cases under state right of publicity statutes, including through adversarial class certification. Secured first settlements under these statutes. To date, secured more than $50 million in relief to consumers in class action settlements, with many class members receiving nearly a thousand dollars in cash relief. E.g., Ramos v. ZoomInfo Technologies, LLC, No. 1:21-cv-02032 (N.D. Ill.) (~$30M settlement reached after litigating case to class certification); Fischer v. Instant Checkmate, No. 19-cv-4892 (N.D. Ill.) ($10M fund reached after adversarial class certification); Butler v. Whitepages, Inc., 19-cv-04871 (N.D. Ill.) (first such case, combined settlement fund of $4M).
- Litigated TCPA action to brink of trial before securing settlement: briefed and won motion to dismiss, led discovery, obtained class certification, and defeated Defendant’s motion for summary judgment in Telephone Consumer Protection Act case. Unique in TCPA matters, settlement provided automatic relief to all settlement class members, without the need for a claim form. Hand v. Beach Entertainment, LLC, et al., No. 4:18-cv-00668-NKL (W.D. Mo.).
- After defeating motion to compel arbitration and conducting discovery, obtained order certifying first-ever class under Illinois’ Genetic Information Privacy Act. Melvin v. Sequencing, LLC, 344 F.R.D. 231, 233 (N.D. Ill. Aug. 3, 2023).
- Represented an Illinois village in litigation to keep its community hospital open after new private equity owners purchased the hospital and moved to shut it down. Secured preliminary injunction to keep hospital open. Village of Melrose Park v. Pipeline-Westlake Hospital LLC, et al., 2019-CH-3041 (Cook County, Ill. Cir. Ct. April 9, 2018). Thereafter obtained $1.5M settlement for village related to the closure and nearly $1M to resolve Illinois Wage Act claims on behalf of workers, In re Westlake Property Holdings, LLC, No. 19-22878, dkts. 538, 539, 544 (N.D. Ill. Bankr. Feb. 2022). Continued to represent workers in WARN Act litigation against hospital’s parent company. After defeating motion to dismiss, secured an additional $920K settlement, which survived defendant’s own bankruptcy proceedings. Pechulis, et al. v. Pipeline Health System, LLC, 19-cv-06089, dkts. 129, 146 (N.D. Ill. May 20, 2024).
- Panel presenter at the Practicing Law Institute’s 25th Annual Institute on Privacy and Cybersecurity, titled “Litigation in Privacy and Data Security.”
- Bartlett Center Trial Team, 2nd Place at 2017 American Bar Association Law Student Trial Advocacy Competition National Finals
- Moot Court Society, 2nd Place at 2015 Appellate Lawyer’s Association Chicago Regional
- Associate Editor, Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology