Professional Experience
Kerrie Campbell is a partner in the firm's Washington, D.C., office and chair of the Consumer Product Safety practice group. She specializes in consumer product safety matters and related counseling. With extensive defamation litigation experience, Ms. Campbell also specializes in defamation and First Amendment-related matters and counsels clients on reputation protection issues. When companies and brands become the focus of damaging media reports and publications implicating agency or Congressional action or investigation, Ms. Campbell works closely with clients to efficiently identify and implement a strategic problem-solving approach that includes Congressional member outreach and advocacy.
CPSC and CPSIA
Ms. Campbell represents manufacturers, importers, retailers and distributors, large and small, in investigation, enforcement and penalty proceedings before the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and in matters referred by the Commission to the U.S. Department of Justice. She provides advice and counsel on reporting requirements and compliance with product safety laws administered by the CPSC, including the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA). The author of the comprehensive BNA overview article on the CPSIA, Ms. Campbell helps companies understand and comply with sweeping new CPSIA requirements. She advises clients on product recalls, corrective actions, responses to agency inquiries and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. Ms. Campbell is a member of the Advisory Board for BNA's Product Safety and Liability Reporter and a featured speaker and writer on CPSC-related issues.
Defamation, Media and First Amendment Law
Ms. Campbell routinely handles defamation matters arising from the publication of false and misleading statements that unfairly harm the reputations of individuals, businesses and products. She has extensive experience in matters involving the print, broadcast and online media and regularly advises clients on prepublication and post publication strategies to address inaccurate or misleading publications and media crisis situations. Focusing on defamation, First Amendment and advertising issues, Ms. Campbell has successfully litigated defamation and Lanham Act cases on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants. She has represented public figures, including G. Gordon Liddy and Deepak Chopra, in high-profile cases and obtained the largest defamation jury verdict affirmed by the Virginia Supreme Court against a local news station based on a false and defamatory "I Team" investigative report. Ms. Campbell also represented Lt. Colonel Martha McSally (the first woman to command a U.S. Air Force fighter squadron) in her successful challenge of the Department of Defense regulation that required American servicewomen stationed in Saudi Arabia to wear the Islamic abaya.
Government Affairs
Ms. Campbell works closely with companies and brands to ensure that Congressional representatives are accurately informed about constituents' business and concerns, and to establish relationships with members before a problem arises. In today's highly competitive 24-hour news cycle with ever-more sensational reporting, calls for agency and Congressional "investigations" have become de rigueur. When companies and brands become the focus of damaging media reports and publications implicating regulatory or Congressional action or investigation, Ms. Campbell works with clients to efficiently identify and implement a strategic problem-solving approach that includes Congressional member outreach and advocacy.
Representative Matters
· Counsel for Mark Felt, Sr. ("Deep Throat") and John O'Connor in federal district court litigation concerning rights to Felt, Sr.'s story. The court granted judgment in favor of Felt, Sr., and O'Connor.
· Counsel for companies and individuals subject to national and local print and broadcast news reports and other publications.
· Counsel for Nextel Communications, Inc., in Lanham Act litigation to stop a competitor's deceptive advertising campaign. The defendant pulled the ads.
· Counsel for Pharmacia Corporation in Lanham Act litigation to stop a competitor's deceptive advertising. The defendant pulled the ads.
· Counsel for Trex Company in defense of an alleged consumer class action concerning composite wood decking.
· Counsel for Lt. Col. Martha McSally in her successful challenge of the Department of Defense regulation requiring American servicewomen stationed in Saudi Arabia to wear the abaya and ride in the backseat of vehicles.
· Counsel for Dr. Stephen Levin in a defamation action arising from promotional advertisements and news broadcasts. The plaintiff's $2 million defamation verdict was affirmed by the Virginia Supreme Court.
· Counsel for G. Gordon Liddy in a libel action brought by Ida Maxwell ("Maxie") Wells alleging defamatory statements concerning Wells' role in the Watergate controversy. The jury found in favor of the defendant.
· Counsel for G. Gordon Liddy in a libel action brought by John and Maureen Dean alleging defamatory statements in connection with the Watergate break-in and cover-up. The plaintiffs dismissed the lawsuit against Liddy.
· Counsel for Deepak Chopra in a defamation action arising from an article published in the Weekly Standard. The case settled and the Weekly Standard published a retraction before trial.
· Counsel for Mobil Oil Corporation in a patent infringement and trade secret action involving satellite altimetry technology. Summary judgment for Mobil was affirmed.
· Counsel for plaintiff in an antitrust and contract action against PGA. The plaintiff's verdict was for $2.6 million, trebled, plus $4.8 million in punitive damages.
· Counsel for a manufacturer in a CPSC penalty action referred to the U.S. Department of Justice. The Department of Justice declined to prosecute.
Memberships & Activities
Admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and California.
Honors & Awards
Selected by her peers as one of "The Best Lawyers in America" for First Amendment litigation.
Granted a U.S. patent as inventor of an electrical safety adaptor.
Publications
Author, "CPSC Grants One Year Stay of Enforcement of Certain CPSIA Testing & Certification Requirements: Relief Is Limited and Qualified," Consumer Product Safety Newsletter, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, February 2, 2009.
Author, "Manatt and BNA Launch Audio Conference Series on Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act - Part of BNA's 'Legal and Business Edge' Coverage of Current Topics," Consumer Product Safety Newsletter, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, February 2, 2009.
Author, "CPSC Office of General Counsel Suggests That Companies Aggrieved by Retroactive Application of New Lead Limits to Inventory Petition the Commission for Relief; Phthalates Ban Does Not Apply Retroactively to Inventory," Consumer Product Safety Newsletter, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, December 2, 2008.
Author, "CPSC Issues Final Rule Clarifying Certification Issues," Consumer Product Safety Newsletter, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, November 17, 2008.
Author, "Analysis & Perspective: How Companies Can Navigate the Sweeping New Compliance and Enforcement Rules in the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008," BNA Product Safety & Liability, Vol. 36, No. 37, September 22, 2008.
Author, "Direct Marketers Should Comment on New Direct Sales Advertising Labeling Requirements for Children's Products by October 15, 2008," Consumer Product Safety Newsletter, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, September 16, 2008.
Author, "President Bush Signs Sweeping New Consumer Product Safety Law," Consumer Product Safety Newsletter, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, August 14, 2008.
Author, "Congress Passes Bill Overhauling Consumer Product Safety Law: President Bush Expected to Promptly Sign Into Law," Consumer Product Safety Newsletter, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, August 5, 2008.
Author, "Consumer Product Safety Commission Reauthorization on the Move," Consumer Product Safety Newsletter, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, May 29, 2008.
Author, "Take Heed of Important Revisions to Voluntary Toy Safety Standard: New Warning Label for Toys Containing Magnets and New Test Method for Yo-Yo Elastic Tether Balls," Consumer Product Safety Newsletter, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, January 9, 2008.
Author, "'Perfect Storm' Sparks Flurry of Legislative Initiatives," Consumer Product Safety Newsletter, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, November 27, 2007.
Author, "U.S./China Safety Summit Addresses Measures to Ensure Safety of Imported Products," Consumer Product Safety Newsletter, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, September 21, 2007.
Author, "Consumer Product Safety Commission Regains Full Authority; Companies Recall Millions of Toys Made in China; Agency Steps Up Enforcement," Consumer Product Safety Newsletter, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, August 17, 2007.
Speaking Engagements
Speaker, "Overview of American regulatory policies and how they parallel with the CCPSA," Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (CCPSA) Seminar, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, April 28, 2011.
Speaker, "CPSIA Public Database: Materially Inaccurate Information," U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Public Workshop, Bethesda, MD, January 12, 2010.
Speaker, "Fairness and Accuracy in Consumer Reporting: How do we get there?" International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization, 2009 Annual Meeting and Training Symposium, Orlando, FL, February 25, 2009.
Speaker, "Consumer Product Safety," PMA Promotion Marketing Law Conference, Chicago, IL, November 21, 2008.
Speaker, "New Enforcement Tools/Prohibited Acts," The New Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008: The New World of Regulation and Enforcement - 2008 BNA Legal Edge Conference, Washington, DC, October 30, 2008.
Speaker, "Access to Information," The New Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008: The New World of Regulation and Enforcement - 2008 BNA Legal Edge Conference, Washington, DC, October 30, 2008.
Speaker, "The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 and You," Electronic Retailing Association Webinar, October 2, 2008.