Member Bio
Scott Haworth is the Managing Partner of Haworth Barber & Gerstman, LLC. Mr. Haworth was previously an equity partner of a national litigation firm and prior to that, was an equity partner at a prestigious New York litigation firm. He has spent his career defending and trying matters involving product liability, construction and intentional torts, as well as complex catastrophic injury matters involving fire, transportation and other accident modes. Mr. Haworth has also resolved numerous matters involving environmental and toxic tort claims such as those involving asbestos, mold, lead and various environmental hazards. His practice includes class actions, multi-district litigations, commercial and insurance-related matters.
Mr. Haworth's clients include self-insured manufacturers of cosmetics, medical devices, industrial machinery, heavy equipment, recreational and children's products, as well as those in the construction, packaging and telecom industries. He also represents nationally prominent retailers and foreign corporations in the construction industry. Mr. Haworth is frequently retained by third-party administrators and insurance carriers on both the primary and excess levels.
Membership & Honors
Mr. Haworth is a member of the International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC) and participates in the IADC's Product Liability and Trial Tactics Committees. He is the immediate past Chairman of the Defense Research Institute's (DRI) Specialized Litigation Group on Recreational Products and is the past Chairman of the DRI's Specialized Litigation Group on Food Law. He is also a Past Vice Chairman of the New York State Bar Association's Torts, Insurance & Compensation Law Section's Product Liability Committee and is the Past Chairman of the New York State Bar Association's Continuing Legal Education Committee on Product Liability. Mr. Haworth will act as the DRI Product Liability Committee's liaison regarding DRI's 2013 Annual Meeting.
Mr. Haworth has received Attorney of the Year honors from a long-standing client, a large medical device manufacturer, for successful litigation defense work on their behalf on multiple occasions, in recognition of his litigation successes.
Presentations
Mr. Haworth frequently lectures and writes on litigation topics. His presentations include:
"Wrongful Death Matters and Related Topics," presented January, 2012.
"Vocational Rehabilitation Experts in the Litigation Context," presented January, 2011.
"Labor Law Litigation: Who Pays?" presented March, 2011.
"No Injury, No Problem, the So-Called No Injury Class Action," presented at the Defense Research Institute’s Annual Meeting, San Diego, California, 2010.
"Defending Medical Device Fire Cases," presented at the Defense Research Institute's Fire and Casualty Seminar, Chicago, IL.
"Product Liability: Great Cases Revisited," New York State Bar Association statewide presentation (also served as event's statewide chairman), New York, Buffalo, Albany and Uniondale, NY.
"The Law of Spoliation," presented at the Defense Research Institute's Product Liability Seminar, Las Vegas, NV.
Publications
"Pre-Suit Claims Against Component Suppliers," For the Defense, November, 2011.
"Stopped Before They Start – Dismissing the No-Injury Class Action," For the Defense, December, 2010.
"The Product Liability Preemption Problem: No Clear Directive from the Supreme Court," The Voice, June, 2010.
"Appellate Division Rejects Restaurant Worker's Failure to Warn and Design Defect Claims Against the Manufacturer of a Drain Opener," Product Liability Advisory.
"Active Use of the Spoliation Defense," For the Defense, published by the Defense Research Institute.
"Tort Law Update," Syracuse Law Review (2002, 2003, 2004).
Admissions
New Jersey
New York
U.S. District Court, (N.D.N.Y.)
U.S. District Court, (E.D.N.Y.)
U.S. District Court, (S.D.N.Y.)
U.S. District Court, (W.D.N.Y.)
U.S. District Court, (D.N.J.)
Third Circuit Court of Appeals
Education
J.D. (1993) New York University School of Law
B.A. (1990) State University of New York at Binghamton, with honors