Bio

Matthew J. Stanczyk is a member of Plunkett Cooney's Board of Directors, and he serves as Leader of the firm's Product Liability Practice Group and Co-leader of the Torts & Litigation Practice Group.

Mr. Stanczyk is a past member of the Board of Directors of ALFA International, a global law firm consortium. He serves as Chair Emeritus of ALFA’s Product Liability and Complex Torts (PLCT) Practice Group and is past practice group Chair, Vice Chair, 2017 Program Chair and past Marketing Chair. He is also a Steering Committee member.

Mr. Stanczyk concentrates his practice in various areas of complex litigation, including toxic torts, product liability, fire-related litigation, construction litigation and commercial warranty litigation. His clients include product manufacturers, general contractors, construction managers, transportation firms, property restoration and remediation firms, commercial property owners and managers, among others who have matters in Michigan and Ohio state and federal courts.

Representative Client Work

  • Represents several Fortune 500 companies in product liability and commercial matters
  • Represents manufacturers and distributors of medical devices, including powered wheel chairs, mobility devices, personal oxygen equipment and other related products
  • Represents numerous manufacturers in fire related litigation and is Michigan counsel for a global consumer products manufacturer
  • Defended construction management/design build team on $4 million design defect claim involving the largest parking structure in the country, resulting in $70,000 settlement
  • Successfully defended to a no cause judgment a large recreational vehicle manufacturer in a product design case
  • Defended national trucking company to summary judgment on design defect claim regarding trailer ingress/egress system
  • Defended trailer axle manufacturer causing voluntary dismissal of entire action in design defect claim
  • Defended commercial refrigeration company in $25 million commercial loss case, settling for less than two percent of the demand amount while two other defendants paid more than $8 million
  • Defended to summary judgment a sole defendant scaffold manufacturer in a design defect case involving catastrophic injuries and a medical lien totaling more than $540,000
  • Defended national construction equipment manufacturer to summary judgment in commercial warranty claim on sale of several backhoe and skid steer loaders 
  • Defended a Fortune 500 company, an electrical component manufacturer, in a forklift accident case involving severe closed head injuries, which resulted in a $2.3 million case evaluation award. The case settled after two weeks of trial for $600,000, which was particularly noteworthy because a prior identical case, involving the same forklift, but defended by another law firm, had resulted in a plaintiff’s verdict.
  • Successfully defended numerous scaffold manufacturers, erectors and rental yards resulting in voluntary dismissal by plaintiffs or summary judgment
  • Defended municipality in toxic mold case resulting in dismissal and granting of $38,000 in fees for frivolous suit
  • Represented major automobile manufacturers on all of its Michigan consumer warranty claims for over 17 years, including hundreds of Lemon Law cases
  • Represented numerous car dealerships in Lemon Law claims for over 15 years, including direct claims against the dealer beyond its status as a seller
  • Defended clients in cases involving the Michigan Consumer Protection Act and the Uniform Commercial Code, Article II
  • Tried numerous matters in both state and federal court to verdict

Professional Affiliations

  • Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association
  • State Bar of Michigan (Negligence and Consumer Law sections)
  • American Bar Association
  • Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA), Southeast Michigan Chapter
  • ALFA International (Board of Directors, 2019-2022; Product Liability & Complex Torts Practice Group, Chair, Vice Chair, Steering Committee, past Marketing Chair and Program Chair)

Community Involvement

  • Detroit Athletic Club
  • Ruffed Grouse Society
  • Huntsman Hunt Club

Fraternities

  • Phi Gamma Delta

Speaking Engagements

  • "Humanizing The Wizard of Oz - Changing a judge and jury’s perception of the Corporate Defendant by Revealing its Inner-self That’s Behind the Curtain," ALFA International Client Seminar, Cedar Creek, Texas, March 2022

  • “Is Your Job Site Hazard Analysis Putting the Company at Risk,” ALFA International Construction Seminar, Banff, Canada, July 2018
  • “The Hazard Analysis Card: What’s in Your Company Wallet,” ALFA International Product Liability & Complex Torts Seminar, Amelia Island, Florida, May 2016
  • “Key Elements of In-House Expert Success,” ALFA International Product Liability & Complex Torts Seminar, Colorado Springs, Colorado, July 2014
  • “The Truth About Mold – Sick Building” Seminar, Troy, MI, 2004
  • “Scaffold Professional as an Expert Witness and/or Consultant,” North American Society of Scaffold Professionals, Louisville, Kentucky, July 22, 1995
  • “The Continuing Duty to Warn - Telling Them What They Need to Know-or-What You Should Have Already Told Them,” Scaffold Shoring and Forming Institute, Product Liability Committee Meeting, Phoenix, Arizona, February 24, 1995
  • “Manually Propelled Mobile Scaffolds,” Scaffold Industry Association, Vancouver, BC, July 13, 1994
  • “Spoliation of Evidence, Protecting Yourself from a Smelly Claim,” Scaffold Shoring and Forming Institute, Product Liability Committee Meeting, Vancouver, BC, July 11, 1994
  • “Retained Experts, Can't Live Without Them, How to Live With Them,” Scaffold Shoring and Forming Institute Product Liability Committee Meeting, Las Vegas, Nevada, February 18, 1994

Credentials

Education

  • University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, J.D., 1986
  • University of Michigan, B.A., 1983

Admissions

  • Michigan, 1986
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, 1986
  • U.S. District Court, Western District of Michigan, 1994
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit, 1994
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio, 2008

Honors/Awards

Honors & Recognitions

  • Best Lawyers in America® for Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Defendants / Product Liability Litigation – Defendants, 2023 - 2024
  • Martindale-Hubbell’s highest rating-AV Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated
  • Michigan Super Lawyer in Personal Injury Defense: Products, Michigan Super Lawyers, 2015 - Present
  • Top Lawyer in Product Liability, DBusiness magazine, 2018-2022, 2024
  • American Jurisprudence Award, Criminal Law

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