As a member of the Casualty Department, Mary concentrates her practice in the defense of general and product liability cases. In particular, Mary handles manufacturing defect, design defect and failure to warn cases against medical device manufacturers in state and federal courts. Mary also handles premises liability matters in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Prior to joining Marshall Dennehey, Mary gained litigation experience as an associate in the class action group of a Philadelphia defense firm. While attending Villanova University School of Law, Mary was a member of the Moot Court Executive Board and won two national awards for her legal writing skills, including Best Brief in the National Juvenile Law Competition and Second Place Brief in the National Product Liability Competition. Mary also served as a judicial extern to the Honorable Carolyn Engel Temin, Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, during her second year at Villanova.
Mary is the chairperson on the editorial board of Young Lawyer, a publication of the Legal Intelligencer, the oldest daily legal newspaper in the United States. In addition, Mary is an active volunteer for the American Cancer Society and a member of the Philadelphia chapter's Center City Corps. She also volunteers for the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
Significant Representative Matters
· Obtained summary judgment on behalf of a medical device manufacturer where the Plaintiffs alleged personal injuries in connection with the surgical implantation of an FDA approved Class III medical device. Successfully argued that the Plaintiffs' product liability claims were preempted by federal law. Court held that "Riegel is loud and clear: If a manufacturer complies with the premarket approval, it gets a free pass. . . There is simply no room to find otherwise."
· Obtained a summary judgment on behalf of a medical device manufacturer where Plaintiff alleged personal injuries in connection with the Class II medical device. The Plaintiff challenged the design, manufacturer and warnings of the device. Successfully challenged the Plaintiff's expert resulting in a complete dismissal of all claims against the defendant, manufacturer.
· Represented home inspection company in matter where Plaintiff homebuyer purchased property with existing termite damage and sought to recover the significant costs incurred in repairing the property, as well as various other related costs and expenses. Plaintiff's claims against the inspection company included breach of contract, fraud and intentional misrepresentation, negligent misrepresentation, and violation of the home inspection law. Obtained summary judgment on all claims against home inspection company, including claims of co-defendants.
· Obtained dismissal of case pending in federal court where plaintiff allegedly sustained brain injury following incident at sports facility. Plaintiff failed to state a claim for which relief could be granted.
Published Works
· "Ninth Annual National Juvenile Moot Court Competition Winning Brief: In re Guardianship of Gary G., Sam Endicott et al. v. Jimmy Gaines," Mary C. Doherty & Martha F. Reilly, 4 Whittier Journal of Child and Family Advocacy 1 (2004)
Past Employment Positions
· Rawle & Henderson
· Swartz Campbell
Associations & Memberships
· American Bar Association
· Association of Trial Lawyers of America
· Pennsylvania Bar Association
· Pennsylvania Defense Institute
· Philadelphia Bar Association
Honors & Awards
· Pennsylvania Super Lawyer Rising Star, 2010-2011
· Winner Best Brief -National Juvenile Law Moot Court Competition
· Second Place Brief - National Products Liability Moot Court Competition
Year Joined Organization: 2007