Overview
LP attorneys have extensive experience in product liability, mass tort, and toxic tort matters in both federal and state courts, individual and class action lawsuits, and as lead and local counsel. Whatever the matter or capacity, our philosophy is to provide sophisticated, focused, responsive representation in a cost-effective manner, a philosophy that drives our approach to all phases of products and related tort cases. From the outset, we work closely with our clients to develop a clear understanding of business imperatives, budgets, and case management expectations, and by partnering with our clients, we ensure seamless service in tune with our clients’ business and legal needs.
With that foundation laid, we focus our efforts on early case evaluation and meticulous pretrial planning in order to ensure that our approach to the case will minimize costs and maximize the likelihood of a positive outcome, whether through settlement, alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, or trial. We are fluent in litigation management technologies, including electronically-stored information and graphic presentation tools. We also work closely with in-house and retained experts to focus our scientific and technical defenses and with client and third-party personnel to develop a compelling factual defense of our clients’ products and/or conduct.
In short, by focusing our efforts on those pretrial tasks that are most likely to bring about a favorable settlement, and that will prove most useful at any trial, we can provide our clients with a sophisticated, efficient defense that will advance their ultimate business interests.
Experience
Our attorneys have defended clients against every claim typical of a product liability, mass tort, or toxic tort action, including strict liability, negligence, and breach of warranty claims in the areas of design, testing, manufacturing, operations, warnings, advertising, marketing, and distribution. We also have experience in UCC breach of warranty claims, including Magnuson Moss and related state consumer protection statutes. We have assisted clients with the creation and modification of warning, warranty, and package insert language, and we have counseled clients proactively on product liability exposure issues with respect to new products. LP attorneys have even assisted clients on recall-related matters involving the Consumer Products Safety Commission and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Finally, we have counseled clients with respect to insurance coverage issues and have, when necessary, served as policyholders counsel.
In our products and toxic tort representations, we have significant experience in developing expert scientific and technical evidence in areas such as accident reconstruction; biomechanics; chemistry; dosimetry; electrical, mechanical, and nuclear engineering; epidemiology; failure and injury mechanisms; hydrogeology; meteorology; metallurgy; and toxicology, among others. We develop such expert evidence not only to support our clients’ litigation positions, but also to attack the “junk science” that plaintiffs’ experts often proffer in these types of cases. In this regard, our track record of success in Daubert motions and hearings may save the client the trouble and expense of ever having to take a product liability, mass tort, or toxic tort case to trial.
In addition, LP attorneys have significant experience in attacking plaintiffs’ often exorbitant damages claims, including lost wages, medical expenses, “hedonic” damages, “fear” and medical monitoring claims, and punitive damages. Thus, even in cases where liability is conceded or established, we have an outstanding track record in mitigating the financial effects of product liability, mass tort, and toxic tort judgments on our clients.
Representative Products and Clients
LP attorneys have defended a wide variety of products and operations for our clients. Among the areas in which we have been involved are:
- Asbestos
- Automobiles and component parts
- Chemicals and solvents
- Construction materials
- Consumer products
- Food products
- Heavy equipment
- Medical devices
- Nuclear/radiation
- Pharmaceuticals
- Silica
- Underground storage tanks and piping
We have represented public and private companies of all sizes, including:
- Abbott Labs
- Allegheny Technologies, Inc.
- Atlantic Richfield
- Bobcat
- Dow Chemical
- Dow Corning
- DuPont
- Fireplace Products International
- General Electric
- General Motors
- Gore
- Honeywell
- Hughes
- Land Rover
- Mallinckrodt
- NARCO
- Remet Corp.
- Underwriters Laboratories
- Williams Controls
- Wyeth
- Zircoa
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