Elizabeth B. Wright

Elizabeth is a partner in the firm's Product Liability Litigation and Business Litigation practice groups. Elizabeth has extensive experience in automotive and aviation product liability litigation. Elizabeth is responsible for the national representation of a major automotive manufacturer in specialty litigation and the statewide representation of various automotive manufacturers. The statewide representation includes a high volume of product liability, premises, intentional tort, company car, and insurance cases, and the management of a team of partners and associates in the Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus and Dayton offices. Elizabeth also represents manufacturers of aircraft components, airframes, medical devices, pharmaceuticals and other commercial and consumer products, including lawn equipment, chain saws, tire changing machines and specialty plastics and other chemical compounds.

The following are some of the decisions in which Elizabeth has been involved:

• Judith Watson v. Ford Motor Company, 2007 Ohio App. LEXIS 5576 (Sixth Dist., November 30, 2007)
• United States Aviation Underwriters, Inc. v. BF Goodrich Company, Case No. 20873 (Summit Cty., Ohio Ct. App., October 9, 2002).
• Jones v. Allercare, Inc. , 203 F.R.D. 290 (N.D. Ohio 2001).
• Beverly M. Fisher v. Ford Motor Co. , 13 F.Supp. 2d 631 (N.D. Ohio 1998).
• Beverly M. Fisher v. Ford Motor Co. , 178 F.R.D. 195 (N.D. Ohio 1998).
• Beverly M. Fisher v. Ford Motor Co., Case No. 99-3012 (6th Cir., August 23, 2000).
• Dent v. Ford Motor Co., 83 Ohio App. 3d 283, 614 N.E.2d 1074 (9th App. Dist., 1992).
• Mathew Hall v. Hennessy Industries, Inc., 1998 U.S. App. LEXIS 28056 (6th Cir., 1998).
• Virginia Manigault v. Ford Motor Co., 134 Ohio App. 3rd 402 (8th App. Dist., 1999).
• Virginia Manigault v. Ford Motor Co., 2000 Ohio App. LEXIS 4950 (8th App. Dist., October 26, 2000).
• Raymond Richard Nelson v. Ford Motor Co., 2001 Ohio App. LEXIS 3288 (11th App. Dist., July 20, 2001).
• James Hoover v. Ford Motor Co., 1991 Ohio App. LEXIS 3177 (9th App. Dist., 1991).
• In re Election of November 6, 1990 for the Office of Attorney General of Ohio, 58 Ohio St. 3d 103, 569 N.E.2d 447 (1991).

Court Admissions

• United States Supreme Court
• Supreme Court of Ohio
• United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
• United States District Court, Northern District of Ohio
• United States District Court, Southern District of Ohio
• United States District Court, Southern District of Indiana
• United States District Court, District of Colorado

• Duke University School of Law, J.D., 1984
• College of William and Mary, B.A., 1981

• An airline operator and its insurer paid $95 million in settlement of claims brought by the families of passengers involved in an airplane crash where all 29 persons on board were killed.  The insurance company then brought suit for contribution and indemnity against the manufacturer of the airplane’s deicing boots.  The insurer alleged that the boots were defective in design and that the deicing boot manufacturer had failed to warn and/or instruct as to when the boots were to be operated.  The case was tried to a jury in Summit County, Ohio and resulted in a defense verdict.
• A 28-year-old man was injured in a 1991 automobile accident and was rendered a quadriplegic.  He alleged a variety of defects including restraint design, structural design and failure to equip the automobile with an airbag.  The case was tried to a jury in Lake County, Ohio and resulted in a defense verdict.
• A 72-year-old, 5-foot, 120-pound woman was involved in an accident during which her airbag deployed.  She suffered a basilar skull fracture, brain damage, a fractured ulna and a subdural hematoma.  She alleged that the airbag was defective in design and that the manufacturer failed to warn of the dangers of the airbag.  The case was tried to a jury in federal court in Toledo, Ohio and resulted in a defense verdict.
• An elderly couple was injured when their vehicle struck a house.  The husband suffered brain damage and had been in a coma for four years prior to trial. His wife suffered a broken hip and other related injuries.  They alleged that their vehicle had a defective cruise control which caused it to suddenly accelerate. The case was tried to a jury in Cuyahoga County, Ohio and resulted in a defense verdict.  
• A 30-year-old man fractured his pelvis and was rendered impotent and incontinent when he jumped out of a medium duty truck when the truck's brakes failed.  He alleged that the truck was defective in design due to its failure to incorporate a split circuit hydraulic brake system.  The case was tried to a jury in federal court in Columbus, Ohio and resulted in a defense verdict.
• A college student was injured when his vehicle collided with a bus.  He alleged that the body mounts in his vehicle were defective, causing him to lose control.  The body mounts had been the subject of a voluntary recall.  The case was tried to a jury in federal court in Toledo, Ohio and resulted in a defense verdict.
• An elderly man lost control of his vehicle and slammed into a mother and daughter who were pedestrians. The mother suffered a fractured back, a fractured scapula and a fractured clavicle.  The daughter suffered a closed head injury and brain injury.  The driver of the vehicle designated the automobile manufacturer as a responsible non-party in the suit filed against him by the mother and daughter.  The plaintiffs retained Elizabeth to represent them on the driver's affirmative claim that the cruise control of the vehicle was defective and caused a sudden, unwanted acceleration.  The case was tried to a jury in Denver, Colorado.  The jury rejected the driver's claim of product defect and entered a verdict in favor of the plaintiffs in the amount of $848,000 plus interest.
• A former controller, assistant treasurer, and senior financial officer, brought an action for alleged breach of an employment security agreement by the defendant which had acquired plaintiff's former employer.  He claimed that his job duties had been substantially reduced and that his travel violated the agreement.  He resigned his employment.  The case was tried to a jury in January 2000 for 7 days in Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas and resulted in a defense verdict.

• Ethics & Professionalism, Ohio State Bar Association / American College of Trial Lawyers, November 30, 2006
• Off-Label Issues in Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Product Liability Litigation, ACI Drug and Medical Device Conference, December 12-14, 2006
• Ethics & Professionalism, Ohio State Bar Association / American College of Trial Lawyers, November 29, 2007
• Developments in Federal Practice: Discovery and Motions, Ohio State Bar Association Convention, May 15, 2008