Legal Protection and Reasonable Treatment for
Corporations Throughout the Entire Product Life Cycle

Upcoming Events

Webinars and Virtual Meetings
March 29 at 1:00 PM: PLAC Corporate Roundtable Forum: Early Vetting in MDLs - Goals, Strategies, Approaches, and Challenges
June 8 at 1:00 PM ET: PLAC Women’s Forum – Mentoring
September 14 at 1:00 PM ET: PLAC Women’s Forum – Hot Topic Discussion
December 14 at 4:00 PM ET: PLAC Women’s Forum – Holiday Social

 

Live Events 

Spring Conference:

April 26-28, 2023 - Fairmont Chicago, Chicago, IL
Fall Conference:
Tentative Dates- October 4-6, 2023

Questions? Email us at [email protected].

Welcome New Members




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Joshua D. Cools
Evans Fears & Schuttert



Andrew F. Gann Jr.
McGuireWoods LLP

Elizabeth J. Slama
Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP



Jerry Alcazar
Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP

Phil Goldberg
Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP



Nadine S. Kohane
Barnes & Thornburg LLP

Anthony W. Finnell
Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP



Christopher D. Stofko
Dickie, McCamey & Chilcote, P.C.

Patrick Oot
Shook, Hardy & Bacon



Amanda E. Heitz
Bowman and Brooke LLP


Click here to see the full list of new members

Members in the News

Jim Yukevich and Yukevich Cavanaugh Donation Helps Generate 1.1 Million Meals

Long-time supporters of the LA Regional Food Bank, Jim Yukevich, his law firm, Yukevich Cavanaugh, members of the LA legal community, and other people in his circle have again demonstrated their incredible generosity with a financial contribution large enough to create the equivalent of 1.1 million meals for people who face food insecurity in Los Angeles County.




Deirdre McGlinchey Honored in 2022 Irish Legal 100

 NEW ORLEANS (December 7, 2022) — McGlinchey Stafford is proud to announce that Deirdre McGlinchey has been named to the 2022 Irish Legal 100. The award reception took place in Washington, DC at the home of the Irish Ambassador to the United States on October 19.


Amicus Curiae Final Report: Coates v R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (Florida Supreme Court)

Florida Supreme Court Confirms Punitive Damages Must Bear Reasonable Relationship to Compensatory Award

Plaintiff brought a wrongful death action against R.J. Reynolds, alleging that her sister died as a result of lung cancer caused by smoking cigarettes. The jury awarded $150,000 in compensatory damages and $16 million in punitive damages. The trial court denied remittitur. The court of appeals reversed and certified the question above to the Florida Supreme Court.

This brief was authored by Thomas H. Dupree, Jr. of Gibson Dunn and Wendy F. Lumish of Bowman and Brooke.

Amicus Curiae Final Report: Vanderventer v Hyundai Motor America, et al (Wisconsin Court of Appeal)

October 26, 2022: Hyundai appealed from a judgment entered on a jury verdict finding them liable for personal injuries sustained by plaintiff. when the Hyundai Elantra he was driving was hit by another vehicle. The jury found Hyundai liable under theories of strict liability (design defect) and negligence and awarded more than $38 million in damages to plaintiff and his spouse. PLAC briefed two issues raised on appeal. First, PLAC argued the court wrongly admitted evidence of certain recalls involving Hyundai vehicles to rebut the presumption of nondefectiveness codified in WIS. STAT. § 895.047(3)(b) (2019-20). Second, PLAC argued the court erred in admitting evidence of a different driver's seat design for the Elantra under § 895.047(4) and Wisconsin's evidentiary rule governing subsequent remedial measures, WIS. STAT. § 904.07.

PLAC’s brief was authored by   Wendy Lumish and Amanda Heitz, of Bowman and Brooke with local counsel support from Frank LoCoco and Lisa Lawless, of Husch Blackwell.

Amicus Curiae Final Report: Smith v. Volkswagen Southtowne, Inc. (Utah Supreme Court)

On March 10, 2020, PLAC filed an amicus brief in support of the defendant Volkswagen dealer. On June 30, 2022 the Utah Supreme Court issued its decision, reversed the decision of the trial court to grant JNOV and a new trial, and ordered the verdict against the defendant reinstated.

This brief was authored by Alan J. Lazarus, Faegre Drinker, with support from Tracy H. Fowler, Snell & Wilmer
Read the brief.

Amicus Curiae Final Report: Glover v. Bausch & Lomb, Inc. (Supreme Court of the State of Connecticut)

On October 15, 2021, PLAC filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court of the State of Connecticut on behalf of Defendant-Appellees Bausch & Lomb, Inc., Bausch Health Companies Inc. (f/k/a Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc.), Bausch Health US, LLC (f/k/a Valeant Pharmaceuticals North America LLC), and Bausch Health Americas, Inc. (f/k/a Valeant Pharmaceuticals International)

This brief was authored by John Cerreta, James Rotondo & Matthew Letten of Day Pitney LLP


Read the brief.

Amicus Curiae Final Report: General Motors, LLC v. Buchanan (Supreme Court of Georgia)

PLAC filed an amicus curiae brief on Nov. 22, 2021 in support of General Motors in this case. The brief was written by Phil Goldberg and Anna Pieschel of Shook Hardy & Bacon, LLP. The Court issued its ruling on June 1, 2022.

Announcement of Decision: Mahan Taleshpour, et al. v. Apple, Inc. (Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals)


On January 12, 2022, PLAC filed an amicus brief on behalf of Apple, Inc briefing the question of whether a plaintiff alleging consumer fraud based on failure to disclose a known defect must allege that the defect creates an unreasonable safety risk.

PLAC’s brief was authored by John M. Thomas of Dykema Gossett PLLC.

Cooper Tire & Rubber, Co. v. Tyrance McCall

Issue or Questions Briefed: Whether the U.S. Supreme Court should grant certioriari to review a decision by the Georgia Supreme Court holding that an out-of-state corporation can be deemed subject to the general personal jurisdiction of a state's courts merely by registering to do business within the state.

 

This brief was authored by: Chilton Davis Varner, Ashley C. Parrish, Brandon R. Keel, Jeremy M. Bylund, and Nicholas Mecsas-Faxon.

Click here to view the submitted brief.

PLAC MDL Task Force Comment Letter to MDL Subcommittee of the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules

As an organization representing many target defendants in mass tort MDLs, including some of the largest MDLs on the federal docket, the Product Liability Advisory Council is uniquely positioned to serve as a voice for the defense bar to improve defense messaging, align on strategy, and enhance opportunities to affect MDL processes in a meaningful way. PLAC’s Healthcare and Lifesciences Technology Group assembled a task force of outside and in-house counsel with deep experience in MDL litigation to evaluate some of the issues and challenges facing defendants and to develop strategies for effective, consistent approaches to these cases.

Read More

We Said It Before; We’ll Say It Again – Drug/Device Companies Should Join PLAC

We return to a theme we’ve repeated twice before, in 2011 and in 2014 – that in addition to industry-specific groups, manufacturers of prescription medical products should definitely consider joining the Product Liability Advisory Council (“PLAC”). We continue to believe that PLAC membership helps pharmaceutical and medical device defendants litigate stronger (through inter-industry cooperation on shared issues of concern), smarter (through cutting edge CLE and webinars), and more efficiently (utilizing PLAC’s online knowledge base and other resources).

Jim Beck, Esq.
Reed Smith LLP

Read the Full Blog Post 

Amicus Program

PLAC's mission is to obtain fairness and balance in the common law of product liability. A primary tool to accomplish this mission is PLAC's Amicus Curiae Program, often called “The heart and soul of PLAC.”

PLAC has filed more than 1,200 amicus briefs, written by some of the nation’s top appellate practitioners. Our briefs have been accepted in virtually every state and federal court in the U.S. They are routinely acknowledged, quoted, and praised by courts in published opinions.

PLAC’s amicus briefs help shape the law for all manufacturers on important issues.

Click here to learn more about PLAC’s Amicus Program or to submit a request for amicus support.

PLAC 2021 Amicus Year in Review

Our Mission

PLAC is a specialty bar association focusing on complex litigation and regulatory issues in the area of product development and product liability. Our not-for-profit association of product manufacturers, suppliers, retailers and select regulatory, litigation and appellate professionals who work to shape the common law of product liability and complex regulation, provide guidance on changing regulations, and strategically help corporations manage risk throughout the entire product lifecycle. PLAC is a unique resource for companies who must defend their products’ integrity and their companies’ reputation.

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