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Professional background
Biography image

William J.Hubbard

Partnermoc.eniHnospmohT@drabbuH.lliB
Cleveland

O 216.566.5644

William J.Hubbard

Partner

Bill worries so his clients don’t have to. A business’s biggest worry is the unexpected. Bill helps his clients avoid the unexpected, whether it is a construction failure or dispute, catastrophic property damage, or injury to a customer or an employee. But when the unforeseen occurs, he brings experience and predictability to an unpredictable situation and helps his clients through those stressful times. Bill is often the first on the scene to assist his clients when things suddenly go wrong, whether they face a construction or industrial accident, discovery of environmental contamination, sudden chemical release, or construction or product failure.

Sometimes structures collapse or otherwise fail and construction projects go awry. In his construction practice, Bill represents owners, contractors, architects, engineers, construction managers, and other construction professionals in various disputes, often involving catastrophic damage or significant design or construction failures.

Focus Areas

Construction Litigation

  • Defense of contractor in a matter alleging over $30 million in diminished property value of a luxury apartment complex as a result of various construction and design defects, including improperly specified and installed fire suppression sprinklers and improperly designed and constructed balconies.
  • Defense of national home builder against claims including breach of warranty, breach of contract, negligence, construction defect, and personal injury.
  • Defense of project management consultant in negligent highway design claim relating to violations of the Clean Water Act and Oil Pollution Act.
  • Defense of construction manager and construction engineer in litigation involving the wrongful death of a stainless steel factory worker as a result of exposure to carbon monoxide.
  • Defense of a civil engineer in professional negligence claim involving the subsurface failure of a green parking lot.
  • Achieved dismissal of civil engineer in class action alleging professional negligence in design of storm water management system resulting in flooding.
  • Defense of engineer in claims involving negligent design of a school HVAC system resulting in sick building syndrome.
  • Lead of rapid response team for global construction and civil engineering company’s construction of 700 MW natural gas power plant.
  • Achieved dismissal of utility contractor in case alleging contraction of Legionnaires’ Disease.
  • Defense of construction manager as agent in delay claims litigation.
  • Defense of civil engineer in claim involving professional negligence in design of Maintenance of Traffic Plan resulting in accident rendering motorcyclist a paraplegic.
  • Achieved dismissal of construction manager in claims stemming from the collapse of HVAC ductwork installed in a school cafeteria that resulting in serious injury to students.
  • Achieved dismissal of historic preservation consultant in litigation involving electrocution of demolition laborer.

Mass and Toxic Tort and Environmental Litigation

  • Achieved summary judgment for property manager of 1,000+ unit property in mass action alleging exposure to mold and mildew.
  • Defense of chemical manufacturer in class action alleging diminution of property value from alleged exposure to hexavalent chromium.
  • Counseled national developer and property management company regarding alleged tenant exposure to radon and compliance with regulatory testing and notice requirements.
  • Defense of a chemical manufacturer in environmental contamination class action seeking medical monitoring and compensation for alleged diminution of property value as a result of proximity to environmental contamination.
  • Defense of chlorine manufacturer in mass tort alleging property diminution of personal injury resulting from exposure to particulates and sulfides.
  • Representation of chemical manufacturer in investigation by the National Safety Transportation Board (NTSB) involving chemical leak from ruptured rail car.
  • Defense of legacy manufacturer in mass action regarding alleged property diminution and wrongful death involving exposure to trichloroethylene (TCE).
  • Defense of chemical manufacturers and trade associations in various state and federal mass and toxic tort suits involving claims of intentional tort, fraud, and civil conspiracy.
  • Representation of manufacturers in consumer class actions relating to slack-fill allegations, mislabeling claims, and other misleading claims.
  • Defense of wall component manufacturer in various suits alleging product liability and breach of warranty claims stemming from the growth of mold in hotels and nursing homes.
  • Defense of appliance manufacturer in negligence suits stemming from the growth of mold in plaintiffs’ workplace.

Defense of Product Liability and Negligence Claims

  • Defeated class certification in a putative class action alleging consumer warranty, strict product liability, and consumer protection violations concerning the manufacture and marketing of a wood plastic composite decking product.
  • Defense of utility company in litigation alleging utility placement resulted in wrongful death.
  • Representation of manufacturer of waste heat recovery boilers and pollution control equipment in dispute alleging defective design and manufacture.
  • Defense of exercise equipment manufacturer in class action alleging breach of warranty and consumer protection violations.
  • Defense of food manufacturer in class action alleging sale of adulterated food and consumer protection violations.
  • Defense of manufacturers of valves and supply lines, in subrogation claims alleging product defect resulting in flood damage.
  • Defense of installer and supplier of industrial warehouse racking system in breach of contract and product defect dispute.
  • Defense of automobile and other consumer product manufacturers in product liability and breach of warranty suits, including consumer class actions.
  • Defense of property owners in premises liability litigation, including oral argument before the 8th Appellate District of Ohio in which summary judgment was affirmed.

Product Warranty and Labeling Counseling

  • Advising consumer product manufacturer on potential liability and public statements regarding PFAS product content.
  • Advising manufacturer on marketing material compliance with the FTC Green Guides and avoidance of greenwashing claims.
  • Advising consumer product manufacturer on warning label compliance with ANSI standards.
  • Drafting warranty language and terms and conditions for lighting manufacturer.
  • Advising coatings manufacturer on Material Safety Data Sheet language.
  • “Cleveland Construction Hot Topics: Tomorrow’s Construction Industry Headlines,” Thompson Hine Webinar, September 2024
  • “PFAS Roadmap: Risk Mitigation Strategies for 2024 and Beyond,” Thompson Hine Webinar, February 2024
  • “What is PFAS and Why Should I Care?” Thompson Hine Webinar
  • PFAS Regulation, Litigation, Evaluation & Mitigation,” Ohio Chemistry Technology Council
  • “Pandora’s Box: Protecting Your Offices and Manufacturing Facilities by Ensuring a Safe Environment in a COVID-19 World,” DRI
  • “Regulatory Update: TSCA/Prop 65/ Product Compliance,” Adhesive and Sealant Council
  • “Pandora’s Box: Protecting Your Business by Ensuring a Safe Environment for Employees and Customers”
  • “Accident Investigations: Bring the Predictable to the Unpredictable,” Ohio Chemistry Technology Council
  • “Accident Investigations: Bring the Predictable to the Unpredictable,” Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates.
  • “Navigating Protective Construction Contracts,” Construction Management Association of America Ohio Chapter
  • “In the Crosshairs: the Targeting of Building Products by California’s Green Chemistry Initiative and Other Regulations Focusing on Environmental Exposure to Toxins,” The Adhesive and Sealant Council, Ohio Chemistry Technology Council
  • “Discoverability of Social Media and its Use as Trial Evidence,” The Network of Trial Law Firms
  • “It’s All About Protecting the Children: Endocrine Disruptors and Continuing Developments in Causation, Dose, and Epidemiology,” ACI’s Chemical Products Liability & Environmental Litigation
  • “Defending the Unintended Claim: Beyond Workers’ Compensation,” ACI’s Chemical Products Liability & Environmental Litigation
  • “Regulatory Update: TSCA, REACH, IRIS, and the States,” ACI’s Chemical Products Liability & Environmental Litigation
  • “Going Green Safely: Reaping the benefits and avoiding the legal risks of greening your products and services”
  • “Regulatory Update: Protecting the Company and Mitigating Risk in the Battle Between EPA, Congress, and the States to Regulate Chemicals”
  • “The ‘Master’s Institute’ on Ohio Construction Law … Tools for Success; Negligence and the Economic Loss Doctrine”
  • “Risks and Rewards in Green Products and Green Buildings”
  • Panelist, “Certified Sustainable Products Forum”
  • “Building Information Modeling (BIM): Implications in Defending a Building Product,” Defense Research Institute
  • “BIM: Legal Pitfalls for Building Product Manufacturers,” Construction Specifications Institute’s Building Product Manufacturers Alliance
  • “Is the Grass Really Greener? Managing the Risks of Greening Your Products”
  • “Construction Industry Hot Topics Update: Green Building Risks”
  • Selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2024, 2025 for Product Liability Litigation – Defendants
  • Listed as a Litigation Star by Benchmark Litigation, 2023 to 2025
  • Selected to the Ohio Rising Stars list, 2010 to 2015

Professional Associations

  • Firm liaison to the Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates (SOCMA)
  • Ohio Chemistry Technology Council, member
  • International Association of Defense Counsel
  • Defense Research Institute: Chair, Toxic Tort and Environmental Law Committee; Building Products Specialized Litigation Group; Construction Law and Product Liability Law Committees
  • Manos Inn of Court
  • American Bar Association: Litigation Section, Construction Forum
  • Ohio State Bar Association
  • Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association

Community Activities

  • Cleveland Restoration Society, Board Secretary and Trustee
  • Cleveland Bridge Builders, Class of 2007

Education

  • Boston College Law School, J.D., 2003,
    cum laude
  • University of Michigan, M.S., 2000
  • College of Wooster, B.A., 1997,
    with honors
    ,

    Phi Beta Kappa

Bar Admissions

  • Ohio

Court Admissions

  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio
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