Current Employment Position(s)

Partner

Lawyer Overview

Peter Biersteker has significant experience in complex, multidistrict product liability matters. For example:

• He is counsel to Mattel in multidistrict class action litigation; investigations by Congress, state attorneys general, and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC); and other legislative and regulatory matters arising out of the company's 2007 lead-related and magnet-related recalls or market withdrawals of certain toys.

• Peter has represented R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in a series of significant matters, including:

• Co-lead counsel at trial defending the $280 billion civil RICO claim brought by the United States against the tobacco industry: United States v. Philip Morris, Inc., et al.

• Lead counsel for the defendants in a class action under the Illinois Consumer Fraud statute, Turner v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, concerning "light" cigarettes; the case was stayed on the eve of trial pending appellate decisions in a related case.

• Principal architect of the tobacco industry's defense on damages and proximate causation issues in lawsuits brought by third-party payors to recover increased health care expenditures, having tried two of the three cases that have proceeded to trial: Minnesota and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota v. Philip Morris, Inc., et al. and Ohio Iron Workers Local Union No. 17, et al. v. Philip Morris, Inc., et al.

• Peter has significant product recall experience in the U.S. and internationally. He has represented dozens of clients on matters arising under statutes administered by the CPSC. He also actively participated in the development by Congress of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA) and its implementation by the CPSC.

• Peter also has served as lead trial and national coordinating counsel on a number of product liability cases, including class actions, against the manufacturers of pharmaceutical products and alcoholic beverages, supervising and coordinating the defense across the country and among different manufacturers.

• Peter has represented large corporations in connection with investigations by Congress, including Mattel, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, Flowers Foods, and Zeneca Pharmaceuticals.

• Peter has significant general civil litigation experience, including in antitrust, RICO, mergers and acquisitions, construction, and environmental class actions. For instance, he was lead counsel for a subsidiary of Constellation Energy Group in a putative environmental class action.

Peter is a member of the District of Columbia Bar (Litigation Section).

Areas of Practice

• Product Liability & Tort Litigation
• Class Action and Multidistrict Product Liability Litigation
• Consumer Goods Product Liability Litigation
• Coordination of Product Liability Litigation
• Pharmaceutical, Medical Device, and Other Health Care Product Liability Litigati
• Trial Experience in Product Liability Cases
• Trial Practice
• Alternative Dispute Resolution & Mediation
• Product Response Team

Representative Cases

• Allgood v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., 80 F.3d 168 (5th Cir.) cert. denied 519 U.S. 930 (1996)
• Chrysler Corp. v. General Motors Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp., CA No. 84-0115 (D.D.C.)
• Dravo Corp. et al. v. CRS Sirrine, Inc., Case No. D-57502 (Sup. Ct. Fulton Co., GA)
• In re Client K , (2006)
• In re Mattel, Inc., Toy Lead Paint Products Liability Litigation; No. 2:07-ml-01897
• Iron Workers Local 17 et al. v. Philip Morris, Inc. et al., 186 F.R.D. 453 (N.D. Ohio)
• Mantz et al. v. St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Companies, et al., Civ. A. No. 02-C-770 (W. Va. Cir. Ct. Kanawha Cty.)
• Mehlman v. Philip Morris, Inc., and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., C.A. No. L-1141-99 (MT) (N.J. Super. Ct., Middlesex Co., New Jersey)
• Minnesota et al. v. Philip Morris, Inc., C.A. No. C1-94-8565 (Minn. Dist. Ct., Ramsey Co., Minnesota)
• Product Recalls, Investigations, and Counseling
• Queen v. Constellation Power Source Generation, Inc., Case No. 24-C-7009389 (Cir. Ct., Baltimore City, MD).
• Turner, et al. v. R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
• United States v. Philip Morris USA Inc., et al., Civ. No. 99-2496 (GK) (D.D.C.)
• United States v. Philip Morris USA, Inc., 396 F.3d 1190 (D.C. Cir.), cert denied, 126 S. Ct. 478 (2005)
• Abbot Laboratories and Takeda Abbot Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
• Congressional Hearing
• McCaw Cellular Communications, Inc. Shareholder Litigation (Del. Ch. Ct.)
• Product Liability Issues

West Practice Categories

Alcoholic Beverages, Apparel, Asbestos, Bankruptcy Litigation, Chemicals & Cosmetics, Class Actions, Complex Litigation, Federal Appellate Practice, Federal Claims Court, Federal Trial Practice, Firearms, Food & Agricultural Products, International Trade Litigation, Litigation & Appeals, Machinery & Tools, Medical Products & Devices, Military & Veterans Appeals, Motor Vehicle Defects, Multidistrict Litigation, Patent Litigation, Pharmaceutical Products, Products Liability Law, Recreational Products, State Appellate Practice, State Trial Practice, Tax Litigation, Tobacco, US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, US Supreme Court

Bar Admissions

• District of Columbia

Education

• Harvard University

Published Works

• Global Trends in Consumer Product Safety Reform, Practice Perspectives: Product Liability & Tort Litigation, 2009
• Getting the Lead Out: What Every Retailer and Manufacturer Should Know About the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, 2009
• "Pass The Toy And Hold The Lead: Implementing The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008," Trends, American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy and Resources, Vol. No. 40, Issue No. 3, 2008
• "Global Trends In Consumer Product Reform," Practice Perspectives: Product Liability & Tort Litigation, 2008
• "The Art of Direct Examination," Office of the Attorney General of the District of Columbia, 2008
• The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission: What You Need to Know Today—and Tomorrow, Practice Perspectives: Product Liability & Tort Litigation, 2008
• "No Injury" Class Actions for "Economic Loss" Due to Product Defects Under State Consumer-Protection Statutes, Practice Perspectives: Product Liability & Tort Litigation, 2007
• Single-Use Medical Devices: A House Divided? Emerging Drugs & Devices, (Mealey Publications, Inc.) 2000 Potential Claims by the United, 2001

Address

51 Louisiana Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20001-2113

Phones

1.202.879.3755 (Business Phone)

Faxes

1.202.626.1700 (Business Fax)

Emails

Contact Us (Business Email)

Websites

http://www.jonesday.com