Automotive

• Coiffard v. Ford Motor Company, Erie County, Ohio, Court Common Pleas. Jury returned a unanimous verdict in favor of Ford, finding no defect in a product liability wrongful death case involving allegations related to the vehicle’s airbag system.
• Romans v. Ford Motor Company, United States District Court, Southern District of Ohio. Jury returned a unanimous verdict in favor of Ford in a product liability wrongful death case involving allegations that a recalled vehicle caused a fire that spread to a home.
• Member of trial team for a three-week trial in which a state jury reached a defense verdict on all counts in favor of an automobile manufacturer against claims of design, manufacturing, and warning defects. Member of the appellate team that successfully upheld the verdict in the Supreme Court of Ohio.
• Obtained summary judgment for an automobile manufacturer in Ohio state court against a claimed design defect based on injuries sustained when a liftgate assembly fell on an individual.
• Successfully moved to dismiss an automobile manufacturer based on Ohio’s statute of repose.
• Defense of automobile manufacturers in state and federal courts in cases alleging design, manufacturing, and warning defects arising out of accidents that resulted in fuel-fed vehicle fires, allegations related to the deployment of airbags, vehicle restraints, seat design, liftgate assemblies, and others.
• Defense of an automobile manufacturer in state court against insurance subrogation actions alleging breach of warranty and design, manufacturing, and warning defects.

Commercial Food Processing and Kitchen Equipment

• Obtained dismissal of plaintiff’s experts and summary judgment for a manufacturer of a commercial mixer-grinder in federal court in California against allegations that the product was defective in design and manufacture and lacked adequate warnings.
• Represented commercial food equipment manufacturer in jury trials in state and federal courts.
• Defense of commercial food processing and kitchen equipment manufacturer in state and federal courts against claims for design, manufacturing and warning defects. Specific products include, among others, meat choppers, mixer-grinders, mixers, slicers, meat saws, ovens, fryers, depositors, and dishwashers.

Aviation

• Obtained summary judgment for avionics/electronic systems manufacturer in federal court case alleging design and warning defects.
• Obtained summary judgment for manufacturer of an aircraft muffler in a triple fatality accident involving a Grumman AA-5 aircraft.
• Obtained partial dismissal in Philadelphia County Common Pleas Court for manufacturer of helicopter fuel pumps.
• Defense of aircraft component manufacturers in state and federal courts in actions alleging design and manufacturing defects.

Construction Products

• Obtained summary judgment for a roofing adhesive manufacturer in federal court in Ohio against claims that the adhesive was defective in design, manufacture, and warnings. The decision was affirmed by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.
• Defense of nail gun manufacturers in state and federal court cases alleging breach of warranty and defective design, manufacture, and warnings.

Personal Injury

• Defense of company providing construction equipment in claims involving workplace injuries, on-the-road accidents, and other tort claims.
• Defense of property owner against negligence claims resulting from a double fatality that occurred when a crane collapsed on a construction site.
• Defense of steel company against negligence claims arising out of an accident that occurred during the loading of material on a trailer, resulting in severe permanent injuries.

Class Actions

• Successfully moved to dismiss a building product manufacturer in a putative class action in federal court alleging product defects, breach of warranty, and consumer claims. Dismissal of eight of the nine claims affirmed by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.
• Defense of a global shipping company in federal court against a nationwide putative class action alleging breach of contract. Defeated class certification.
• Defense of automobile manufacturer in a putative multi-state class action alleging breach of warranty and other consumer claims.
• Defense of building products manufacturer against putative multi-state consumer class action alleging breach of warranty, negligence, and other consumer claims.

Administrative Actions

• Obtained reversal in the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania of an administrative order by the Pennsylvania Board of Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors and Geologists finding that a company providing utility/asset management services had practiced land surveying without a license.
• Represented utility and asset management company in administrative actions in multiple states.