Brian Anderson
1625 Eye Street, NW
Washington, DC, 20006
Phone: +1-202-383-5309
Fax: +1-202-383-5414
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John Beisner
1625 Eye Street, NW
Washington, DC, 20006
Phone: +1-202-383-5370
Fax: +1-202-383-5414
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Brian Currey
400 South Hope Street
Los Angeles, CA, 90071
Phone: +1-213-430-6685
Fax: +1-213-430-6407
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Richard Goetz
400 South Hope Street
Los Angeles, CA, 90071
Phone: +1-213-430-6400
Fax: +1-213-430-6407
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Stephen Harburg
1625 Eye Street, NW
Washington, DC, 20006
Phone: +1-202-383-5306
Fax: +1-202-383-5414
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Amy Laurendeau
610 Newport Center Drive, 17th Floor
Newport Beach, CA, 92660
Phone: +1-949-823-7926
Fax: +1-949-823-6994
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Charles Lifland
400 South Hope Street
Los Angeles, CA, 90071
Phone: +1-213-430-6665
Fax: +1-213-430-6407
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Jessica Davidson Miller
1625 Eye Street, NW
Washington, DC, 20006
Phone: +1-202-383-5157
Fax: +1-202-383-5414
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Claudia Ray
Times Square Tower
7 Times Square
New York, NY, 10036
Phone: +1-212-326-2170
Fax: +1-212-326-2061
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Thomas Riordan
610 Newport Center Drive, 17th Floor
Newport Beach, CA, 92660
Phone: +1-949-823-6907
Fax: +1-949-823-6994
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Matthew Shors
1625 Eye Street, NW
Washington, DC, 20006
Phone: +1-202-383-5373
Fax: +1-202-383-5414
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Sabrina Strong
400 South Hope Street
Los Angeles, CA, 90071
Phone: +1-213-430-6113
Fax: +1-213-430-6407
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Scott Voelz
400 South Hope Street
Los Angeles, CA, 90071
Phone: +1-213-430-6680
Fax: +1-213-430-6407
LAWYERS
- Related Practices
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American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
Exxon Mobil Corporation
Ford Motor Company
Johnson & Johnson
The Lincoln Electric Company
Merck & Co., Inc.
Southern California Edison Co.
Verizon
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Products Liability and Mass Torts
O'Melveny's products liability group specializes in defending products liability claims in mass tort proceedings, class actions, and government enforcement actions. Over the past 30 years, we have defended hundreds of consumer class actions in 45 states. We also have served as lead or co-lead national counsel in dozens of multidistrict litigations involving allegedly defective products, and we have defended many companies in regulatory investigations and aggregated litigation brought by federal agencies and state attorneys general. Our role in these matters has run the gamut from developing and coordinating overall defense strategy to acting as trial counsel in individual cases.
Key Facts
- O’Melveny lawyers are catalysts for class action reform. We work with the Product Liability Advisory Council (PLAC), a non-profit association that aims to improve and reform laws in the United States and elsewhere with emphasis on the law governing the liability of product manufacturers.
- We regularly appear before the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (MDL Panel) and have experience coordinating class actions from around the country in a single proceeding, thus facilitating the management of massive litigation. We frequently serve as lead or co-lead national coordinating counsel for clients faced with multiple product liability class actions, including Merck and Ford Motor Company.
- We integrate lawyers from our nationally renowned appellate practice who focus on issues related to class actions and other aggregate litigation. For example, while we were defending ExxonMobil against an asbestos-related “mass action” in West Virginia, our appellate lawyers filed a petition for certiorari with the US Supreme Court challenging the mass action procedure on constitutional due process grounds. Although the Court denied the petition, the arguments it raised, coupled with the publicity it brought to the mass action process, helped ExxonMobil favorably settle thousands of asbestos claims.
- The most important attribute we bring to products liability suits is creativity. This includes developing strategies that dramatically reduce our clients’ exposure to punitive damages awards. In Smith v. Ford, we persuaded the Kentucky Supreme Court to reduce a US$20 million punitive damages award to US$15 million, and then persuaded the US Supreme Court to vacate the entire punitive award based on instructional and other errors in the state court system. In the Exxon Valdez litigation, we pioneered the concept of a “mandatory class action” to constrain the scope of punitive damages.
Industry Reach
We represent clients in products liability matters across a wide range of industries, including:
- Automobiles
- Building Products
- Chemicals
- Clothing
- Consumer Products
- Industrial Equipment
- Medical Devices
- Pharmaceuticals
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Ford Motor Company
The Lincoln Electric Company
National Chamber Litigation Center
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