The Importance Of Corporate Representative Deposition
By BRENDAN FAULKNER and MICHAEL A. D'AMICO
The deposition of a corporate defendant is often a turning point in a product liability lawsuit. In large part this is because the rules that allow for and govern depositions of knowledgeable corporate representatives impose substantial obligations. Corporate parties must designate one or more representatives and prepare them with all of the information known or reasonably available to the corporation on the designated subjects.
Environmental, Product Liability Litigation Under Alien Tort Statute
By DANIEL J. HERLIN, ERIC GOTTING, MICHELLE GILLETTE and LEILA QUTAMI
Your client, a chemical company, is doing business in a foreign country. It has a pesticide manufacturing facility located in a rural area and also sells its products for use on nearby, government-owned plantations. To its credit, the company's environmental practices have gotten better in recent years, but it has a history of disposing of hazardous wastes from the manufacturing process in a less than environmental-friendly manner, resulting in extensive contamination.
Punitive Damage Limits In Product Liability Action
By KEVIN M. SMITH and JAMES O. CRAVEN
Appropriate limits to punitive damages awards in product liability actions have been the subject of great debate over the past few years. Most of the debate has focused on federal due process limitations in the wake of several important U.S. Supreme Court decisions that struck down large punitive damages awards as unconstitutional.
