Erik is trial counsel and on trial teams for several major manufacturers and Fortune 500 companies, including a St. Louis-based multinational agricultural biotechnology company, an international paper manufacturing company, and one of the leaders in non-emergency medical transportation, in complex litigation involving toxic tort, product liability and intellectual property disputes in state and federal courts.
He is extensively involved in mass tort and class action product liability litigation involving consumer and commercial products that contain pesticides, benzene, solvents, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), perchloroethylene and environmental contaminants, such as hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and perchlorate. Erik’s extensive trial and case management experience includes responding to the legal and scientific claims involved in this litigation.
Erik has also been involved in patent infringement cases involving the unauthorized use of patented biotechnology. He has defended manufacturers of biotechnology, chemical and consumer products against claims of alleged federal and state antitrust violations. Multiple appeals from these cases have resulted in favorable outcomes in the U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit. Erik’s litigation experience on behalf of industry clients includes:
- Obtaining significant defense victories as member of multiple trial teams in complex PCB exposure cases alleging various subtypes of non-Hodgkin lymphoma was caused by PCBs.
- Representing an agricultural products manufacturer as a trial team member in a patent infringement lawsuit in U.S. District Court, Northern District of Mississippi, in which jury found that the defendants’ infringement was willful and rendered a verdict that resulted in a judgment for more than $15 million.
- Assisting in the defense of a major manufacturer client in federal court in more than 250 related lawsuits, including putative class actions. The jury gave a complete defense verdict in selected bellwether cases and all remaining cases were resolved favorably for the client.
- Assisting in the trial of a patent infringement case involving a Fortune 500 multinational agricultural biotechnology company as plaintiff in U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri. Jury awarded $2.9 million and made a finding that the defendants’ infringement was willful.
As part of a team leading multiple-defendant joint defense groups in the nation’s most difficult jurisdictions, Erik has handled cases in Illinois, Missouri, California, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi and Michigan.
The Hon. James L. Foreman, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Illinois, 1999