Timothy J. Coughlin

Practices

• Product Liability Litigation
• Business Litigation
• Emerging Technologies

Professional Experience

Tim is a partner in the firm's Product Liability and Business Litigation practice groups. He is Chair of the Firm's Mass and Toxic Tort Group and leads the Firm's Chemical Industry Initiative, a multidisciplinary group focused on our clients' concerns and issues in the chemical industry. He focuses his litigation practice on mass toxic tort, product liability, and commercial litigation on a national basis. 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 is admitted to practice in Ohio, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, and the Central District of Illinois, and has been admitted to the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the First, Fifth and Sixth Circuits.

Education

• Case Western Reserve University School of Law, J.D., 1984, Order of the Coif
• University of Notre Dame, B.B.A., 1981

• 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.
• 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).
• Stouffer Corp. v. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Assn., 20 F.3d 1174 (7th Cir., 1994).
• Dettinger v. Chrysler Plastic Products, 1987 U.S. Dist. Ct. LEXIS 14364.
• Buynie v. Airco, Inc., 2007 WL 2275013 (N.J. Super. A.D., 2007).
• Gay v. O.F. Mossberg & Sons, Inc., 2009-Ohio-2954.
• McEldowney v. Air Products & Chemicals, Inc., 2007 Mich. App. LEXIS 1452.
• 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).
• 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.
• 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.
  

• Litigation
• National representation of multiple chemical companies and the industry trade association in wrongful death product liability and industry wide liability claims.
• National representation of an after-market automotive supplier in product liability and contractual disputes.
• National representation of the largest polymer service company in product liability matters.
• Multi-state representation of a target defendant in a $282 million damage phase of consumer class action based litigation.
• Defense of a putative consumer class action against a leading beverage maker.
• Defense of a putative class action against a leading coatings manufacturer arising out of claimed environmental contamination in Jersey City, New Jersey.
• Defense of a putative class action against a leading coatings manufacturer arising out of claimed environmental contamination in Louisville, Kentucky.
• Defense of a number of chemical manufacturers in a putative class action arising out of occupational exposure at a chemical facility in New Jersey.
• Defense of a putative consumer class action against a leading power tool manufacturer.
• Representation of a leading coatings manufacturer in benzene litigation.
• Representation of a multinational chemical company in pesticide application litigation.
• Representation of a leading coatings manufacturer in TCE exposure litigation.
• Representation of a pharmaceutical manufacturing company in a wrongful death action.
• Representation of multi-national chemical corporation in product liability matters resulting in wrongful death suits.
• Representation of multi-national electronic supplier in product liability matters.
• Representation of multi-national electronics entity in commercial disputes over breaches of warranty.
• Representation of numerous machine tool manufacturers in product liability matters.
• Representation of numerous pesticide manufacturers in product liability matters arising out of chemical exposure.
• Representation of various medical device manufacturers in product liability cases ranging from implants to sterilizers.
• Statewide representation of a Fortune 10 manufacturer in all premises liability matters.
• Representation of handgun manufacturers in various municipal litigation.
• Representation of a Fortune 10 manufacturer in multiple jurisdictions for multi-million dollar fire and business interruption losses.
  
  
• Technology
• Represents court automation software firm in contract negotiation and licensing issues.
• Represented software firm in $20 million sale to publicly traded government consulting firm.
• Represents business-to-business firm in acquisition of media, print and database firm.
• Represents Fortune 10 automaker in consumer facing web site compliance issues.
• Represents software consulting firms on licensing issues.
• Represents start-up biotech firm for light manufacturing.
• Represents start-up supply chain management firm in medical supply field.

• "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 Incorporated, 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 Incorporated, January 2001

• "Employing Effective Defense Strategies to Explain Complex Science and Medical Terminology to Judges and Juries", Chemical Products Liability & Environmental Litigation Conference, April 27-28, 2011
• "Bottles, Cans and Bans: The Latest Dispatch from the BPA Battlefield", Defense Research Institute Annual Meeting; San Diego, California, October 21, 2010
• "Winning Your First Civil Trial", National Business Institute, Cleveland, Ohio, September 23, 2010
• Strengthening Defense Positions Despite Regulatory Changes Made by the Obama Administration: Overcoming Preemption Hurdles, Accepting Proposed TSCA Changes, and Coming to Terms with Chemical Bans, American Conference Institute's Chemical Products Liability and Environmental Litigation; Chicago, Illinois, April 28-29, 2010
• "Chemical Regulation and Its Impact on Product Liability Law", 2010 Goodyear Law Conference, April 26-28, 2010
• "TSCA Update: The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) - What Are the Big Threats to Chemical Manufacturers as Congress Considers Changes?", Ohio Chemistry and Technology Council 32nd Annual Conference, Columbus, Ohio, April 19-20, 2010
• Evidence and Expert Testimony Best Practices: Supporting Your Case, Cleveland, Ohio, December 18, 2009
• "Best Practices in Mass, Complex and Toxic Tort Litigation", Thompson Hine LLP seminar, Cincinnati, Ohio, November 2009
• "Best Practices in Mass, Complex and Toxic Tort Litigation", Thompson Hine LLP seminar, Cleveland, Ohio, May 2009
• "Anti-Chemical Initiatives (chemical bans, chemical deselection mandates, and the future)", Ohio Chemistry Technology Council Annual Conference, Columbus, Ohio, April 2009
• "Trends in Litigation" , Association of Corporate Counsel Seminar, Cleveland, Ohio, July 2002
• "Using High Tech Tools for Litigation: A Survey of Cutting Edge Technology to Assist In-house Counsel", ACCA Conference for Corporate Counsel 2002, Washington, D.C., June 2002
• "Emerging Trends in Liability Litigation", PricewaterhouseCoopers General Counsel Forum, February 2002
• "Techno Torts", Network of Trial Law Firms, Stamford, Connecticut, July 2001

• The Burton Award for Legal Achievement - 2006