Product Liability

Representative Client Work

• Summary judgment obtained in dispute over highway dynamic message systems
• Summary judgment obtained in case involving severe injuries sustained by child on a treadmill
• Obtained successful outcome before the Michigan Supreme Court, which discarded “Simple Tool” requirement of open and obvious defense and reinstated summary judgment in underlying baby death case 

Publications and Lectures

• “Determining Bankruptcy Status of Plaintiff Provides Advantage for Defense,” Rapid Report, July 22, 2008, Dennis M. Day
• “Plaintiff Must Identify a Specific Manufacturing Defect Involved in an Implied Warranty Claim,” Rapid Report, April 30, 2007, Edward J. Higgins
• Contributing Editor, “Privacy Project” vols. I, II and III, IADC 2004-2007, Jerome A. Galante
• “Legal Issues and Strategies Every Contractor Should Know” Lecturer and Author, Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants, November 17, 2006, Jerome A. Galante
• “Spoliation of Evidence May Spoil an Opportunity for Summary Judgment,” Rapid Report, January 31, 2007, Edward J. Higgins
• “Product Liability: Personal Injury, NHTSA Recall and The Automotive Supplier,” NEVAT Program, Amsterdam, Netherlands, February 2006, Dennis M. Day
• “Court Grants Statutory Rebuttable Presumption of Non-Liability to Qualified Manufacturers,” Rapid Report, January 9, 2006, Edward J. Higgins
• “It Just Keeps Going and Going and Going:  The Post-Sale Duty to Warn,” Product Liability Perspectives, ALFA International, Fall 2005, Edward J. Higgins
• “Caps on Damages: The ‘Lay of the Land,’” RiskVue, March 2005, Edward J. Higgins
• “Medical Monitoring Claims Are Not Cognizable Under Michigan Law in the Absence of a Present Physical Injury,”  Rapid Report, January 29, 2005, Edward J. Higgins, Michael K. Sheehy and David R. Stechow
• “The Truth About Mold – Sick Building” Seminar, Troy, MI  2004, Matthew J. Stanczyk
• “Caps on Damages: The ‘Lay of the Land,’” Product Liability Perspectives, ALFA International, Fall 2004, Edward J. Higgins
• “A Manufacturer’s Exposure to Foreign Law, Regulations and Standards,” 2004 ALFA International Client Seminar, March 2004, Dennis M. Day
• “Accident Reconstruction Experts; Defense Use of Biomechanical and Human Factors Experts,” Michigan Law Update Seminar, 2003, Jerome A. Galante
•  “Mold: The Trespassing Tenant in Your Leased Property,” Plunkett Cooney Client Seminar, April 2003, Dennis M. Day
• “Spoliation of Evidence, Punitive Damages and State Transportation Safety Audit Procedures,” Michigan Compendium Transportation Law for ALFA, February 2003, David R. Stechow
• “Sick Building: Your Prescription for Treating Claims, Lawsuits & Liability,” Crawford Claims Management Services, November 2002, David R. Stechow
• “Problems Enforcing United States Judgments Against Foreign Corporations Abroad,” Product Liability in the 21st Century: A New World Order, October 2002, Dennis M. Day
• “Product Defect and Defenses, Admissibility of Expert Testimony and Remedial Measures, and Indemnity and Contribution Issues,” Michigan Compendium Product Liability Law for ALFA, July 2002, David R. Stechow
• “The Toxic Mold Case: The Law and Legal Issues,” Michigan Defense Trial Counsel Summer Conference, June 2002 , David R. Stechow
• “Sick Building: Your Prescription for Treating Claims, Lawsuits & Liability,” Travelers Insurance, February 2002, David R. Stechow
• “The Professional as a Witness” (Architects, Engineers and Contractors), lecturer, International Association of Defense Counsel, La Quinta, CA (2001), Jerome A. Galante
• “Sick Building Seminar – Mold and Other Issues,” MSU Management Center, October 18, 2001, Loretta M. Ames
•  “Test Trials: An Anecdotal View” (Mock Trial Presentation), Michigan Adjusters Association Seminar, October, 2001, Dennis M. Day and Edward J. Higgins
• “Sick Building: Your Prescription for Treating Claims, Lawsuits & Liability,” October 2001, David R. Stechow
•  “Cyber-Sales Place: Product Liability Gets a New Venue,” International Client Seminar, March 2001, Dennis M. Day
• “Gone But Not Forgotten: Manufacturers’ Post-Sale Duties to Warn or Recall,” Michigan Bar Journal, June 1999, Edward J. Higgins
•  “Mild Traumatic Brain Injury,” Institute of Continuing Legal Education, October 1998, Dennis M. Day
• “Expert Discovery: What Is and Isn’t Protected by the Attorney Client Work Product Privilege,” International Association of Defense Counsel, La Jolla, CA, 1998, Jerome A. Galante
• "Winning the War Against Junk Science: An Analysis of Post-Daubert Decisions in One Group of Chemical Exposure Cases," Risk and Insurance Management Society Annual Meeting, San Diego, California, April 28, 1998, Loretta M. Ames
• “Dual Role Privilege, Duty to Recall and/or Retrofit, Daubert,” ALFA Compendium Product Liability Law, January 1998, Dennis M. Day
• “Preparing the Japanese Corporate Witness For Testifying,” International Legal Strategy, June 1997 (Published in Japanese), Dennis M. Day
•  “Manufacturers’ Post Sale Conduct: Is There a Continuing Duty to Warn and/or a Common Law Duty to Recall,” International Legal Strategy, May 1997 (published in Japanese), Dennis M. Day and Edward J. Higgins
• “Defense Damage Experts - Helpful Hints for Preparing and Using Vocational Rehabilitation Specialists and Economists as Defense Experts in Personal Injury Claims,” lecturer, Michigan Defense Trial Counsel Annual Winter Meeting (1995), Jerome A. Galante
• “Keeping the Lid on the Liability Case in Construction Disputes,” lecturer, Michigan Concrete Association (1994), Jerome A. Galante
• “Issues to Consider Before and After Agreeing to Alternative Dispute Resolution in Construction Cases,” lecturer and author, International Association of Defense Trial Counsel, Denver, Colorado (1994), Jerome A. Galante