Our California Offices
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Solving legal
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PRODUCTS LIABILITY

Co-Chairs:
Charles S. Painter
916.483.5181
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Lisa P. Gruen
213.489.4411
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The Products Liability practice group represents manufacturers and distributors in claims and lawsuits arising from alleged defects in products, whether resulting in bodily injuries, property damage, or economic losses and business interruption. We are committed to providing the earliest and least costly resolution strategies for our clients.

Representative Matters

  • Obtained dismissal from the primary product manufacturer's cross-complaints in a high-exposure industrial accident case.
  • Successfully defended a products case against a $12 million demand. After a 14-week trial, our client obtained a defense verdict in its favor and obtained a judgment of nearly $800,000 in its cross-complaint.  
  • For more than 20 years, have defended and successfully resolved cases involving wrongful death and catastrophic injuries for an international Fortune 500 transportation-related manufacturer.
  • With millions of dollars riding on the line, we have been awarded complete defense judgments in favor of our manufacturer clients.  
  • Successfully settled a wrongful death/products liability case for a commercial vehicle manufacturer five days prior to the scheduled trial date. We were able to limit our client's share of the risk and keep the payout under the limit of their underlying insurance policy. We kept their share of the global settlement to 10 percent.
  • Obtained dismissal in a moderate-to-high exposure work injury case when it was proven that the clients' component parts were not at fault.

Seminars

We provide seminars on risk management and risk avoidance to our clients, and discuss best practices in documenting and recording incidents related to a client's products.

Expedited Jury Trials: The Why, When and How of the New California Law

Effective January 1, 2011, California has enacted statutes for Expedited Jury Trials (EJT). Sharon Hightower, assistant managing partner of Ericksen Arbuthnot's San Jose office, has prepared a seminar to explain this new statute to attorneys, clients and insurance carriers. She will explain what types of cases are best suited for EJT and how cases are selected for this alternative trial option. Her presentation includes the following topics:
  • Background of the new law
  • Pre-trial procedures
  • Rules
  • Selection process for cases
  • Trial procedures:
    • Admissibility of evidence
    • Voir dire
    • Challenges
    • Required deadlines

For more information about EJT, see "California Offers a New Trial Option."

 

 

 

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