Litigation

July 18, 2022

Fifth Circuit Affirms Summary Judgment Ruling in Favor of FormanWatkins Forest Products Client

FormanWatkins attorneys Joshua Metcalf, Peyton Smith, Chelsea Lewis and Charles Abbott secured a win in the U.S. Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit when the Court affirmed the Eastern District Court of Louisiana’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the firm’s forest products client in a pesticide application matter where the plaintiff sought monetary damages and an injunction. The FormanWatkins team secured the significant summary judgment in April 2021 after excluding all medical causation experts under Rule 702/Daubert and successfully convincing the district court to dismiss the plaintiff’s nuisance and negligence claims. The Appellant contested the District Court’s exclusion of a treating physician and challenged the summary judgment ruling, arguing that sufficient evidentiary and legal support was provided for the claims of negligent infliction of emotional distress. Metcalf presented oral argument to the Fifth Circuit in April of 2022, explaining why the treating physician’s testimony did not satisfy the requirements of Rule 702 and why summary judgment was appropriate. The Fifth Circuit issued its opinion July 1, 2022, affirming the expert exclusion and the dismissal of the case, continuing a series of significant victories for our forest products clients.

May 24, 2022

FormanWatkins team helps asbestos defendant win summary judgment in Washington

On May 5, 2022, the FormanWatkins team won summary judgment in an asbestos case pending in King County, Washington. Nick Giallourakis, Peter Moir, and Ruth Huskey, working closely with attorneys from Bullivant Houser Bailey, convinced the trial court to exclude inadmissible deposition testimony because the testimony had been given in a matter that did not include our client. The Plaintiff had no other evidence to support her claims of household exposure, and after the exclusion of the inadmissible testimony, the Court granted summary judgment in favor of our client. This win represents a significant victory, especially coming in a jurisdiction where summary judgment is not typically granted to defendants in asbestos cases.

December 16, 2021

Gault and Ritchie Complete Successful Department of Labor Whistle Blower Trial

Win Gault and Spencer Ritchie completed a successful administrative law trial before the United States Department of Labor, Office of Administrative Law Judges.  The plaintiff, a former pilot, claimed monetary damages under the FAA whistle blower provisions from his employer in the high six-figures.  After a three-day trial and substantial post-trial briefing, the administrative law judge awarded only $2,700 in damages.

October 12, 2021

Gault and Banks Expose Apparent Insurance Fraud Scheme en route to North Carolina Arbitration Victory

On October 11, 2021, a Charlotte, North Carolina arbitrator returned an award in favor of a national retailer represented by Win Gault and Jake Banks.  Claimant sought damages under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”), the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) and state law.  Citing numerous examples of Claimant’s untrustworthiness raised during the retailer’s presentation of the case—including an apparent insurance fraud scheme uncovered by Gault and Banks — the arbitrator found in the retailer’s favor.

October 4, 2021

Fred Krutz, Brian Hannula, and Andrew Stubbs Obtain Second Consecutive Summary Judgment in West Virginia

Forman Watkins & Krutz attorneys Fred Krutz, Brian Hannula, and Andrew Stubbs obtained their second consecutive summary judgment win in 2021 in West Virginia on behalf of a respirator manufacturer. The lawsuit was pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia. Plaintiff alleged that the respirator defendants’ products were defective, causing him to develop coal workers pneumoconiosis.

July 22, 2021

Forest Products Team Wins Major Ruling from U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

On July 14, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued a significant opinion defining state of the art evidence for product liability cases. The opinion affirmed a summary judgment award won by FormanWatkins in the Eastern District of North Carolina on behalf of a dimensional lumber manufacturer. The case involved a plaintiff’s alleged childhood exposure to softwood dust in his father’s hobby woodshop and his later diagnosed sinonasal cancer.

May 17, 2021

Metcalf and Lewis Win Summary Judgment in Federal Pesticide Case

In a significant victory for a national forest-products client, FormanWatkins attorneys Joshua Metcalf and Chelsea Lewis won summary judgment in federal court in Louisiana.  Plaintiffs had sued over the application of a commonly-used herbicide to the client’s timberland, seeking monetary damages and an injunction preventing the use of any herbicide or pesticide on thousands of acres of the client’s property.

May 5, 2021

Abdalla Obtains Partial Summary Judgment for Global Medical Device Company

Mary Clift Abdalla, as Mississippi counsel, successfully obtained partial summary judgment for a global medical device company dismissing the Plaintiff’s trade secrets misappropriation claims, and preventing Plaintiff from seeking statutory damages or attorney’s fees on copyright infringement claims. The team also obtained a ruling striking Plaintiff’s expert witness reports, while denying Plaintiff’s request to strike Defendant’s expert report.