Products Liability

Our experience runs deep in many industries, including pharmaceuticals and medical devices, consumer products, building materials, automotive, heavy machinery, industrial supplies, chemicals and food.

• Pharmaceuticals. We obtained a precedent-setting appellate victory on behalf of a major pharmaceutical company when the Louisiana Supreme Court reversed a jury’s award in excess of $330 million, which had been affirmed by a court of appeal. The Louisiana Attorney General had charged that the company had violated Louisiana's Medical Assistance Program Integrity Law (MAPIL), meant to prevent fraud and abuse by health care providers, on the grounds that it made allegedly false claims related to one of its drugs. In its first interpretation of MAPIL, the Louisiana Supreme Court agreed with the company that the Attorney General had failed to satisfy the elements for any of its claims under the statute.
• Medical devices. We defended a healthcare provider against more than 300 individual claims and a class action that alleged improper off-label use of a bone filler device in cervical spine surgeries.
• Safety equipment. We serve as national trial counsel for a global manufacturer of respirators in defense of hundreds of silica exposure lawsuits, several of which have been tried to verdict.
• Smoking and health lawsuits. We managed and defended hundreds of lawsuits in Florida brought by individual plaintiffs claiming membership in the decertified “Engle-progeny” class in what was among the highest-profile litigation against tobacco companies to date.
• Building materials. We defended a national home goods retailer in MDL, as well as class actions and individual lawsuits with claims involving both Chinese drywall and domestic drywall. We obtained dismissal in the MDL litigation, and we completed a nationwide class action settlement, that resolved all drywall litigation.
• Automotive. We represented an auto manufacturer in consumer suits related to defective fuel valves and pumps, wheel alignment and other issues.

Our skilled appellate team has handled appeals of product liability cases, including some where we have been retained after another law firm tried the case. We have argued cases in the U.S. Courts of Appeals, as well as in state appellate courts across the southeast.

Summary

Our products liability team, which includes fellows of the American College of Trial Lawyers and the International Society of Barristers, has proven experience trying cases across the southern states of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. Our decades-long history handling such complex and high-profile matters enables us to provide effective, efficient and innovative solutions to clients facing bet-the-company and other protracted litigation.

We identify lawyers throughout our firm who are best suited to address our clients’ needs in a particular case, and create a team with the most relevant skills and experience. Our teams of lawyers work across offices and geographies, understanding each client’s business and product portfolio in order to address both legal and business objectives.

State Attorney General Cases

In addition to consumer class actions, our attorneys have defended many companion state attorney general cases, in particular for pharmaceutical and medical device clients, and have addressed issues such as drug and device marketing, false claims and consumer fraud, state Medicaid reimbursement and health insurance plan benefits.

Defining Strengths

• Multidistrict litigation
• Consumer class actions
• Companion state attorney general cases
• Drug and device marketing
• False claims and consumer fraud
• Toxic torts