Member Bio
Tim chairs our Mass & Toxic Tort group and leads our Chemical Industry group, a multidisciplinary practice group focused on finding creative solutions to our clients' concerns and issues in the chemicals, coatings and plastics industries. Given Tim's deep industry knowledge and involvement, he serves as the firm's key representative for the Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates, the Ohio Chemistry Technology Council and the Chemical Industry Council of Illinois. Tim has also represented the American Chemistry Council. His litigation practice focuses on mass and class action toxic torts, product liability and commercial litigation on a national level.
Tim has represented our clients in over twenty-three states and Canada. Tim is the lead counsel for a number of chemical companies and the industry trade association on national litigation involving chemical exposures. Tim was the 2014-2016 Committee Chair of the Defense Research Institute's Toxic Tort Environmental Law Committee and served as the Committee Vice Chair from 2013 to 2014. He is a former member of DRI's Corporate Counsel Roundtable Steering Committee and is a current member of IADC. He frequently presents on the issues facing the chemicals industry and the science of causation in chemical exposure cases.
Tim is admitted to practice in Ohio, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, and the Central District of Illinois, and has been admitted to the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the First and Sixth Circuits.
Reported Cases:
Valentine v. Conrad, 110 Ohio St. 3d 42 (2006);
Michaels v. Ford Motor Company, 650 N.E.2d 1352 (Ohio S. Ct. 1995);
Taylor v. Am. Chemistry Council, 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 17321 (1st Cir. Mass. Aug. 3, 2009);
BP Chemicals, Inc. v. First State Insurance Co., U.S. Ct. App. 6th Cir., 2000 U.S. App. LEXIS 22136;
Maddox v. Ford Motor Company, U.S. Ct. App. 6th Cir., 1996 U.S. App. LEXIS 16831;
Feistner v. Ford Motor Company, U.S. Ct. App. 6th Cir., 1996 U.S. App. LEXIS 1407;
Stouffer Corp. v. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Assn., 20 F.3d 1174 (7th Cir., 1994);
Roney v. Gencorp, et al., No. 3:05-0788, Judgment Order entering jury verdict in favor of defendant (S.D.W. Va. Oct. 9, 2009);
Roney v. Gencorp, et al., No. 3:05-0788, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 80849 (S.D.W. Va. Sept. 4, 2009);
Taylor v. Airco, Inc., 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 64441;
Hogan v. Goodrich Corp., 2006 WL 149011 (W.D. Ky. Jan. 17, 2006);
Bogner v. Airco, Inc., 353 F. Supp. 2d 977 (C.D. Ill. 2005);
Dettinger v. Chrysler Plastic Products, 1987 U.S. Dist. Ct. LEXIS 14364;
Cooper v. BASF Inc., et al., No. 26324, Ohio App., 9th Dist.; 2013 Ohio App. LEXIS 2836;
Gay v. O.F. Mossberg & Sons, Inc., 2009-Ohio-2954;
Chokan v. Ford , No. 87082, 2006 Ohio App. Lexis 5551 (8th Dist. Oct. 26, 2006);
Mayor v. Ford Motor Co., 2004 WL 1402692 (Ohio 8th Dist. Ct. App. June 24, 2004);
Loeschner v. Clark Material Handling, 1998 Ohio App. LEXIS 4318;
Furness v. Pois, 107 Ohio App. 3d 719 (Ohio App. 1995);
Pifher v. Ford Motor Company, 1994 Ohio App. LEXIS 3589;
Furbee v. Ford Motor Company, 1994 Ohio App. LEXIS 1478;
National City Bank v. Jim Pritz Ford, Inc., 1990 Ohio App. LEXIS 4200;
Neff v. Celanese Piping Sys., 1987 Ohio App. LEXIS 8826;
Cooper v. BASF Inc., et al., Summit County Court of Common Pleas, Ohio; Case No.: CV-2010-06-4340;
Buynie v. Airco, Inc., 2007 WL 2275013 (N.J. Super. A.D., 2007);
McEldowney v. Air Products & Chemicals, Inc., 2007 Mich. App. LEXIS 1452;
Anderson v. Airco, 2004 WL 2827887 (Del Super. Nov. 30, 2004); 2004 WL 1551484 (Del. Super. June 30, 2004);
Hurst v. American Racing Equipment, Inc., 1998 Tex. App. LEXIS 6246.
Publications:
"Potential Changes to OSHA's PSM Standard & EPA's RMP Regulation," Thompson Hine Chemical Industry Update, October 2014;
"OSHA Seeks Comments on Proposed Changes to Process Safety Management Regulations," Thompson Hine Chemical Industry Update, January 2014;
"W.Va. Chemical Spill Prompts Dubious Regulatory Fixes," Law360, January 21, 2014;
Co-author, “No Going Back: Strategies for Opposing Remand Under CAFA’s Exceptions,” Washington Legal Foundation - Critical Legal Issues Working Paper Series (Dec. 2013);
"And The Defense Wins," The Voice, Defense Research Institute, August 7, 2013;
Co-Author, “Digging Deeper: Mass Toxic Tort Class Certification after Dukes, Comcast, and Amgen,” Toxic and Hazardous Substances Litigation, July 2013;
"And The Defense Wins," The Voice, Defense Research Institute, February 15, 2012;
"Green Products Update: California Proposes New Green Chemistry Regulations," Thompson Hine Product Liability Alert, November 17, 2011;
"Bottles, Cans, and Bans: The Latest Dispatch from the BPA Battlefield," For The Defense, Defense Research Institute, March 2011;
"Preventing Forum Shopping Sprees: How to be the Squeaky Wheel on a Forum Shopping Cart," For the Defense, October 2005;
"The Benefits of an Extranet," For The Defense, Defense Research Institute, January 2001.