3M, J&J Mass Tort Funder Sues NY Law Firm for Investment Debacle

A litigation investor who ventured nearly $5.3 million for mass tort cases and tax credit claims is suing a New York law firm for failing to bring results.

Rick Solit, a trained medical doctor who became a financier, claims that Lake Law Firm and partner Ed Lake initiated only a fraction of mass tort cases and federal tax claims it promised—and then defaulted on paying him under a case replacement agreement, the lawsuit filed in the New York State Supreme Court Oct. 22 alleges.

“His practice was more akin to a Ponzi scheme than a legitimate litigation finance program,” the complaint alleged of Ed Lake, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Solit demands $6.2 million in damages, any mass tort profits and federal tax credit cases that “rightfully belong” to him.

The complaint is an example of how litigation finance, the practice of investing in lawsuits for a potential return through case awards, can go sour when funders accuse law firms of reneging on promises.

Solit invested in Lake Law as part of a broader plan to fund mass tort cases related to hernia mesh devices, Bayer AG’s RoundUp, 3M Co., and Johnson & Johnson talcum powder, all for possible returns, according to his lawsuit. The law firm promised that every plaintiff it signed up would provide medical records to confirm the viability of cases, Solit alleges.

However, the firm delivered no talcum powder cases, just 15 of the promised 113 hernia mesh suits, 40 of the pledged 100 3M matters, and eight of the planned 50 RoundUp cases, according to Solit. The firm later reneged on a case replacement agreement and defaulted, the suit claims.

Separately, Lake Law allegedly pledged to gather 8,000 cases under the Employee Retention Credit, a Covid-era federal program designed to help employers keep workers on the job. Solit’s plan involved paying legal fees to guide businesses through the refund application process and then getting a cut of the refund as a return, according to the lawsuit. But Lake delivered only 2,655 of the promised cases, Solit claims.

Solit received his BA in economics from the University of Pennsylvania and an MD degree from Jefferson Medical College, according to an online profile at PENN. He decided not to practice medicine and instead worked in the finance industry, according to his lawsuit.

Solit’s wife Sylvia Benito introduced him to investing in the mass tort area, according to the lawsuit. She filed a similar suit last week alleging Lake Law also never repaid her on the $2.5 million she invested, according to her lawsuit.

Lake “misused” investment funds and Solit’s confidence in an attorney was “exploited,” said Solit’s attorney, William A. Brewer III, in a statement. “Dr. Solit intends to ensure that those responsible are held to account under the law.”

The case is: Solit v. Lake, N.Y. Sup. Ct., 628419/2025, 10/22/25