Carol practices in the area of complex litigation, including defense of putative class action, Class Action Fairness Act and other removals, insurance law and defense of toxic tort and environmental litigation. Carol joined the firm in 1981.
Carol has presented in-house and outside Continuing Legal Education seminars on a variety of topics including legal writing, legal ethics, expert depositions, insurance litigation, environmental and toxic tort litigation, product liability law, and computerized technology for litigation support.
Professional Associations & Memberships
· The Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis
· The Missouri Bar
Civic Involvement
· Provident Counseling, Former Secretary and Executive Board Member
Experience
Insurance Law Litigation
· Defense of property and casualty insurance companies in putative class actions pending throughout the United States alleging improper insurance practices, including: e.g., alleged antitrust violations relating to auto premiums and use of non-OEM crash parts to repair autos; alleged consumer fraud due to use of non-OEM crash parts to repair autos; failure to pay alleged "inherent diminished value" after a wrecked auto is properly repaired; alleged issues with homeowners' insurance premium charges; alleged auto medpay issues; alleged issues with workers' compensation insurance premium charges; alleged "Silent PPO" medical bill reductions; alleged failure to pay interest on premium finance contracts. (2000-present)
· Defense of a putative statewide class action in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri alleging insurance "redlining" against multiple homeowners insurers in the State of Missouri. Class certification was denied and the actions of the named plaintiffs dismissed without prejudice. The Eighth Circuit affirmed on appeal and the United States Supreme Court denied certiorari. (1996-2002)
· Prosecution of claims for millions of dollars in past due insurance premiums under retrospectively rated workers' compensation policies; defense of related "bad faith" claims or counterclaims brought by the insureds; defense of other insurance bad faith claims (Pre 1996-present)
· Defense of insurance companies before state regulatory authorities and in private party litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern and Western Districts of Missouri in matters involving allegedly improper denials of health insurance benefits
· Prosecution of claims by insurance company against former independent agent accused of defrauding policyholders and defense of claims by policyholders against the insurance company relating to same (U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri)
Toxic Tort & Environmental Litigation
· Defense of corporate defendants in personal injury cases pending in St. Louis County alleging development of cancer due to alleged chemical exposure (May 2009-present)
· Represent corporate defendants in multiple related cases (one class action and in excess of 1,000 personal injury claims) currently pending in state court in St. Clair County, Ill. (February 2009-present)
· Defense of clients in action involving more than 100 plaintiffs alleging property stigma damage due to alleged past and present industrial pollution of Escambia Bay in Pensacola, Florida (case pre-dates the BP oil disaster) (June 2008-present)
· Defense of corporate clients in three related cases successfully removed to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York seeking certification of a property stigma damage and medical monitoring class and including more than 1,200 individual personal injury claims. All cases were ultimately dismissed without prejudice. (2005-March 2009)
· Represent corporate defendants in certified class action pending in Montana state court alleging nuisance caused by paint chips thrown into a trout stream several decades after the sale of the product at issue (2004-2010)
· Defense of a corporate client in federal court in San Jose, Calif. in more than 250 related lawsuits, including several putative class actions, concerning alleged groundwater contamination arising from perchlorate use at a signal flare manufacturing facility. Many of the lawsuits were initially filed in state court and successfully removed, notwithstanding fraudulent joinder and fraudulent misjoinder of resident defendant issues. Several of the lawsuits sought certification of a medical monitoring class and actual and punitive damages for alleged residential property devaluation. The class certification allegations were dismissed. The jury trial resulted in a defense verdict on four bellwether cases in 2005. All remaining cases resolved favorably for the client. (February 2003-2007)
· Represent corporate defendant in a case successfully removed from Madison County, Ill. to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, alleging that the plaintiff developed multiple sclerosis due to exposure to percloroethylene dry-cleaning fluid. The federal court granted defense Daubert motions, concluding the litigation. (2003-2004)
· Counsel 14 chemical company defendants included among 35 alleged co-conspirators in a toxic tort death case originally filed in Madison County, Ill. Removed the case to federal court (notwithstanding the large number of co-defendants and fraudulent joinder issues), obtained transfer to the Central District of Illinois and obtained dismissal of the conspiracy count from a 66 page, 150 paragraph complaint, due to plaintiffs' repeated failures to plead conspiracy to defraud with the particularity required by F.R.C.P. 9(b). (January 2002-2005)
· Represent corporate defendant in New York state court in a series of related cases involving the claims of approximately 200 individual plaintiffs against multiple defendant manufacturers of chemicals that allegedly caused birth defects in children and cancer in adults (1997-2006)
· Defense of a corporate client in Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Ohio and other State Courts in a series of related cases seeking actual and punitive damages from all past and present members of an industry trade group based on conspiracy allegations (1994-present)
· Represent corporate defendant in a putative class action in state court in Houston, Texas seeking in excess of $225 million for diminution of property damage. Summary judgment obtained based on the statute of limitations and plaintiffs' appeal of the favorable ruling dismissed. The substance at issue was low level radioactive phosphogypsum. (1997)
· Counsel corporate defendant in a putative 14 state class action alleging personal injury and property damage due to alleged exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls pending in the Circuit Court for the City of St. Louis. The Court denied class certification. Summary judgment obtained based on the statute of limitations in September 2001 against 15 individual plaintiffs who later filed a "copy cat" suit in the same court on a non-class basis. (Client settled favorably just prior to oral argument on the summary judgment motion prepared by the firm, which was later granted in favor of the remaining co-defendant.) (1996-2001)
· Defense of a Delaware corporation in a non-removable complex action brought by another Delaware corporation in state court in a rural area of a southern state seeking millions of dollars for environmental clean up costs. The case settled favorably for the client prior to jury trial. (1994-1995)
· Successfully defended a corporate client in a complex toxic tort brain cancer death case involving numerous fact and expert witnesses and tried for four weeks before a City of St. Louis jury. The jury verdict for the defendant was affirmed on appeal. After this defeat, plaintiffs' counsel obtained leave to withdraw from hundreds of related personal injury and death claims pending in the City of St. Louis, resulting in dismissals for failure to prosecute. (1994)
· Represented a corporate defendant in a six week jury trial in a complex multi-plaintiff toxic tort case involving numerous expert witnesses in the Circuit Court for the City of St. Louis. The case settled just prior to closing arguments. (1991)
· First chair trial lawyer in defense of several vehicular injury cases in St. Louis City state court to gain trial experience (1981-1986)