Practice Areas
David is the practice group coordinator for the firm's Mass Tort and Product Liability practice group. He maintains an active trial practice concentrating in the areas of class actions, complex commercial litigation, mass tort, and product liability, with an emphasis on defending manufacturers in claims related to alleged toxic substances. He serves as lead counsel in jurisdictions across the country and has experience defending claims involving asbestos, benzene, coal dust, mold, dioxins and furans, ethylene oxide (EtO or EO), PFAS, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), silica, and talc, among other substances. David has particular experience defending clients in claims related to alleged emissions of ethylene oxide and is regularly an invited speaker and author regarding regulatory, litigation, and scientific developments related to ethylene oxide. He is also a member of our global emerging contaminants task force, which is a cross-practice, collaborative effort whose members counsel clients regarding how best to mitigate and defend against evolving chemical-related risks.
David is a seasoned litigator and works with his clients to develop innovative defense strategies in cases involving complex issues of liability and causation. His experience allows him to persuasively present sophisticated legal arguments and scientific issues in an intelligible manner, both when litigating a case to verdict and when leveraging defenses to obtain a favorable result prior to trial. David has broad experience managing the defense of large dockets of repetitive tort claims filed across the country, with a focus on minimizing exposure, controlling costs, and maintaining predictability. He also has significant experience defending medical monitoring putative class actions as well as putative class actions involving alleged product liabilities.
David has tried cases to verdict in Georgia, New York, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina and has served as trial counsel for cases in Alabama, Connecticut, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri, and West Virginia. In developing and advancing his clients' defenses, David has conducted hundreds of expert depositions across various scientific disciplines, including disease causation, epidemiology, exposure assessment, industrial hygiene, pathological diagnosis, pulmonary function, and toxicology. He has also argued numerous Daubert and Frye motions regarding the admissibility of expert testimony in federal and state courts throughout the United States.
Publications
“Litigation and Compliance Impacts of Proposed Ethylene Oxide Regulations Based on Flawed Science,” DRI's For The Defense, 10 June 2024
“Chemical Considerations," The Litigation Issue 2023, Best Lawyers, 1 September 2023
“ALI's Medical-Monitoring Proposal May Encourage Claims,” Law360, 28 June 2023
EPA Accepting Public Comments on Amended Ethylene Oxide Regulations, Washington Legal Foundation, 9 June 2023
“Scapa Dryer Fabrics, Inc. v. Knight: Addressing the Elephant in the Room,” Westlaw Journal Asbestos, Vol. 38, Issue 23, 2 September 2016
The Constitutional Issue Hidden Within a Circuit Split: Double Jeopardy in the Context of Proving Predicate Offenses, 4 Seton Hall Cir. Rev. 265 (2008).
