Mass Torts

Butler Snow has unmatched experience marshaling the defense of Fortune 500 companies in mass tort litigation in some of the largest litigation in history. We have defended cases in all fifty states, filed thousands of motions applying the laws of every state, tried cases in more than a dozen states, handled dozens of appeals, and negotiated complex settlements.

We strategically manage litigation from beginning to end, designing and implementing processes, protocols, and training to maintain consistent quality across teams and virtual law firms. Complementing our management expertise, we have a depth of experience in handling fact discovery and all aspects of case work up including expert recruitment and discovery, defense of company witness depositions, and preparation and oversight of affirmative and defensive written discovery. Our rigorous litigation cost management ensures that we deliver quality work at highly competitive rates.

Butler Snow attorneys have served in roles including National Counsel, National Coordinating Counsel, MDL Lead Counsel, Local Counsel, Trial Counsel, Science Counsel, Case Workup Counsel, Motions Counsel, Settlement Counsel, and Appellate Counsel in a range of mass tort litigation. Our teams draw from a deep well of experience in Drug & Device Litigation; Groundwater & Chemical Exposure Litigation; Products, Catastrophic & Industrial Litigation; and Toxic Torts, Asbestos & Silica Litigation.

Butler Snow has been recognized in Chambers USA for nationwide Product Liability & Mass Torts: The Elite (2024) and by The Legal 500 US for nationwide Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Action, who noted:

• “Butler Snow has a strong, cohesive team approach and is responsive to the issues at hand. They work to understand clients’ business strengths and weaknesses and bring an approach to resolve the issues.” Chambers USA commentary (2024)
• “The firm is fantastic at handling complex litigations in multiple jurisdictions.” Chambers USA commentary (2024)
• “With its roots in the Deep South but now increasingly national in scope, Butler Snow LLP continues to gain excellent traction in the market on behalf of medical device and pharma companies. The team works well with other law firms and has gained a strong reputation approach in the context of “virtual law firms” in the defense of mass tort litigation.”  The Legal 500 US commentary (2023)
• “[T]he highly competent and skilled’ group at Butler Snow LLP has outstanding trial expertise and is entrusted by high-profile clients…” The Legal 500 US commentary (2019)

• Representation of chemical manufacturer in thousands of environmental and products liability PFAS claims in state and federal courts nationwide brought by individuals, municipalities, and states alleging groundwater contamination and personal injury as individual claims, consolidated proceedings, and class actions.
• Representation of chemical manufacturer in numerous personal injury products liability suits pending nationwide in multiple state and federal courts.
• Representation in mass tort litigation in which residents in a neighborhood near a former chrome plating facility owned by a publicly traded manufacturer sued for property damage claims and personal injury claims related to environmental contamination from the plant’s historic use of trichloroethylene (a/k/a TCE). The TCE settled in a plume of contaminated groundwater. Nearly 75 property damage plaintiffs, and more than 20 personal injury plaintiffs filed suit. The parties took depositions of 100 fact witnesses, corporate representatives, and experts. On the eve of the first trial, the federal district court sua sponte stayed trial. Subsequently, the Court granted the defendants’ Daubert motions against the plaintiffs’ experts in large part. Thereafter, the individual claims settled advantageously for Butler Snow’s clients through a combination of Court facilitated settlement conferences and private mediations.
• Representation in mass tort litigation in another groundwater contamination case in which a former carburetor manufacturing plant used TCE to wash parts. Dozens of property owners, the County and the State of Mississippi filed suit against the corporate successor of the plant operator. Butler Snow’s litigation team successfully removed the private party and County cases to federal court based upon improper joinder, pursued fact and expert discovery, developed an attractive proposal to property owners in the form of a Value Assurance Program, and thereafter successfully settled each case, including the State’s, at mediation for our client.
• Successfully represented a wide range of companies in silica litigation and asbestos matters during a period when the number of asbestos and silica filings was astronomical, reaching in the tens of thousands for both asbestos and silica.
• Lead counsel on a putative class action pending in federal court where the plaintiffs are alleging groundwater contamination from various sources, including farming and manufacturing.
• Lead counsel in a mass action defending hundreds of claims alleging personal injury from alleged exposures to mercury.
• Defended various consolidated toxic exposure cases associated with explosions, fires, and accidental discharges of various substances in conjunction with facility operations. We have also defended multiple individual cases for property damage and/or personal injury resulting from off-target drift or volatilization of pesticides/herbicides after application.
• Benzene exposure litigation: National Coordinating Counsel for target benzene defendant (bulk supplier of a raw material)
• Pelvic mesh product liability litigation: National Coordinating Counsel, MDL Lead Counsel and Lead Trial Counsel
• Hernia mesh product liability litigation: MDL Lead Counsel and Lead Trial Counsel
• Intrauterine device product liability litigation: National Counsel and MDL Lead Counsel
• Cryolipolysis device product liability litigation: National Counsel
• Propecia® product liability litigation: National Counsel, National Science Counsel, and National Trial Counsel
• Tylenol® product liability litigation: National Counsel and MDL Liaison Counsel
• Fosamax® product liability litigation: Lead New Jersey Counsel and Trial Counsel
• Blood thinner drug product liability litigation: National Counsel and MDL Lead Counsel