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• Consumer Rights
• ERISA/Pension Fund Litigation
• Environmental Litigation
• Tobacco Litigation
• Appellate
• Class Actions
• False Claims Act
• Pharmaceutical/Health Care
• Product Liability
• Securities Litigation
• Telecommunications

Product Liability Attorneys

• Stephen Tillery
• Stephen Swedlow
• George Zelcs
• John Hoffman
• Howard Becker
• Alexis Tillery
• Klint Bruno
• Christopher Hoffman

Korein Tillery's product liability practice serves clients injured by defective or unreasonably dangerous products that can kill or injure people.  A consumer product can be defective and potentially dangerous through its design, the way it is manufactured, or by failing to have adequate warning labels. Defective products can include toys, automobiles, household products, industrial machinery and equipment, farm machinery, products causing explosions or burns, aviation products, medical devices and prescription drugs. Individuals who have been injured by a product may be entitled to compensation.  Korein Tillery expertly develops unique theories of recovery, including for solely economic loss, whether or not in fact the consumer was injured by the product at issue.

In product liability litigation, it is important to hire attorneys who have the financial resources to handle these highly complex lawsuits, which are often brought against large corporate defendants.  Korein Tillery has the knowledge, expertise, and resources to take on these defendants and win.

Representative Matters

Prather v. Pfizer Inc., 02-L-480 (Ill.Cir.Ct. Dec. 2, 2004).  Lead Counsel: Stephen M. Tillery and Aaron M. Zigler.  Following the withdrawal from the market of the anti-diabetes prescription drug Rezulin (which was advertised as a "breakthrough new drug" that was as "safe as a placebo"), Korein Tillery filed suit against Pfizer, and its subsidiary, Warner-Lambert, alleging that the defendants engaged in unfair business conduct relating to their advertising and pricing.  Over the course of the three years that Rezulin was on the market, many people died and many more were seriously injured as a result of its use.  Because of the harmful effects of Rezulin, thousands of personal injury cases and 50 class action cases were filed.  Of the fifty Rezulin class actions, this was the only action to lead to any recovery.  The success of this theory changed the landscape of pharmaceutical litigation. The settlement that was reached did not face a single objection and established a fund of $60 million to pay plaintiffs a cash award of 85% of their out-of-pocket expenses for Rezulin and to pay an additional $20 million cy pres award to finance diabetes research.  The cy pres was distributed as follows:

• $5,000,000 to the University of Chicago School of Medicine, Diabetes Research Center;
• $5,000,000 to Centers for Disease Control, Illinois Diabetes Prevention and Control program, Illinois Department of Human Services;
• $5,000,000 to Illinois Institute of Technology, Engineering Center for Diabetes Research and Education;
• $2,000,000 to Lubavitch Chabad of Illinois;
• $3,000,000 to United Way of Metropolitan Chicago.

Adapted from trust and estate law, "cy pres" allows for distribution of unclaimed damage awards in class-action lawsuits where it is not possible to determine each plaintiff's actual damages or when plaintiffs fail to collect their portion of the award. See Ameet Sachdev, Charities reaping lawsuit dividends, Chicago Tribune, September 9, 2007.  The settlement was reported as the largest settlement or verdict in Illinois in 2004.  This settlement was used on the floor of the Senate as an example of why state court class actions serve the public good.  See 150 Cong. Rec. 92, S7714-17 (July 7, 2004 statement of Sen. Durbin); 151 Cong. Rec. 12, S1082-85 (February 8, 2005 statement of Sen. Durbin).

Parker v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., No. 04-L-716 (Ill.Cir.Ct. Jan. 16, 2007).  Korein Tillery brought this action against Sears in 2004 to remedy Sears' failure to install anti-tip safety devices, which prevent ranges from tipping over and severely burning or injuring unsuspecting consumers, on ranges that it sold, delivered and set-up in customers' homes.  In the 1960's and 1970's, kitchen range manufacturers started reducing the weight of metal in an effort to competitively lower the price of kitchen ranges.  Over the course of several years, advances in materials allowed manufacturers to produce ranges which were durable and which were extremely light weight.  However, because the oven doors on the front of the ranges serve as a lever and fulcrum, the light weight of the new ranges created an extremely dangerous tipping hazard.  For example, if a person were to place a turkey roaster on an open and horizontal oven door, the added weight would cause these newly designed ranges to tip forward spilling the hot contents onto anyone standing in the vicinity.  Children who opened and used the range door as a step could unwillingly tip boiling liquids onto themselves.  Over the last several years dozens of people have been killed and hundreds have been maimed as a result of this problem.

Recognizing the need for a solution to this dangerous hazard, manufacturers and regulators began requiring installing of an anti-tip bracket that could be attached to the wall or floor at the back end of the range preventing any forward tipping and maintaining complete stability.  The installation is simple and the lightweight bracket costs pennies.  The rule making bodies of most codes (BOCA Code, National Electrical Code; numerous other industry codes) thereafter required the installation of anti-tip brackets in all range installations in the United States.  Even Sears acknowledged that a properly installed anti-tip bracket completely eliminates the hazards of tipping stoves.

Sears, Roebuck & Company has been the largest retail seller of kitchen ranges in the United States - averaging more than 800,000 ranges sold every year.  When selling a gas or electric range Sears generally includes delivery, installation and hookup in customers' homes, thus, Sears became the largest installer of kitchen ranges in the United States.  To increase its profits, Sears adopted a policy of refusing to install anti-tip brackets during normal installation unless the customer agreed to incur a substantial cost.  At the same time, Sears failed to disclose the hazards associated with forgoing anti-tip bracket installation.

In January 2008, the Court granted final approval of a settlement which provided complete relief to the class by requiring Sears to install anti-tip brackets for the affected members of the class as well as requiring the installation of such brackets in the future.  The settlement is valued at more than $544,500,000. 

This settlement was touted by the public interest organization Public Citizen as an example as to how consumer class actions benefit society.  Public Citizen nominated Stephen Tillery as Trial Lawyers for Public Justice's Trial Lawyer of the Year based upon his role in this case.

Watson v. Philip Morris, 127 S. Ct. 2301 (2007); Kelly v. Martin & Bayley, Inc., 503 F.3d 584 (7th Cir. 2007).  After the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit erroneously held that Philip Morris was acting as a federal officer in designing, manufacturing and selling "light" cigarettes, Korein Tillery successfully obtained reversal by the U.S. Supreme Court.  To avoid the result of this erroneous decision, which would allow tobacco companies to remove to federal court all cases involving "light" cigarettes, KT employed a two-pronged attack.  While simultaneously pursuing the same issue to the Seventh Circuit on behalf of the family of Everett Kelly, a deceased "light" cigarette smoker, KT assisted counsel for Watson in successfully petitioning the Supreme Court for certiorari.  Once certiorari was granted, KT attorneys assisted counsel in Watson with brief writing and preparation for oral argument. KT also successfully solicited the overwhelming amicus support for the plaintiffs in Watson. Included among the amici were the Campaign for Tobacco-free Kids, American Lung and Heart Associations, American Cancer Society, American Legacy Foundation, and attorneys general for 45 of the 50 U.S. states.  The result: a 9-0 reversal of the Eighth Circuit in Watson, as well as a subsequent legal victory for the plaintiffs in Kelly.

Price v. Philip Morris Inc., 2003 WL 22597608 (Ill.Cir. Mar 21, 2003), rev'd, 848 N.E.2d 1 (Ill. Dec 15, 2005), reh'g denied, 846 N.E.2d 597 (Ill. May 5, 2006), cert. denied, 127 S.Ct. 685 (Nov. 27, 2006).  The seven-week trial of Price in 2003 brought together preeminent leaders of the world public health community in support of an Illinois consumer fraud case challenging the use of the word "light" as a deceptive low-tar cigarette descriptor.  In this first ever judgment rendered in a light cigarette fraud case, Korein Tillery obtained a $10.1 billion verdict ($7.1 billion compensatory and $3 billion punitive) in this class action lawsuit alleging fraud in the marketing of Marlboro Lights and Cambridge Lights cigarettes. Plaintiffs accused Philip Morris of misleading the Illinois class of consumers by packaging cigarettes as "Lights" and claiming that these cigarettes contain "lower tar and nicotine than regular cigarettes."  The court agreed, holding not only that these "Lights" cigarettes deliver the same amount of tar and nicotine and are therefore just as harmful as a regular cigarettes, but also that the "Lights" cigarettes actually deliver more of the most toxic substances to smokers than regular cigarettes.  On appeal, Stephen A. Swedlow argued the case before the Illinois Supreme Court.

Hoormann v. SmithKline Beecham, 04-L-715 (Ill.Cir.Ct. May 17, 2007).  Lead Counsel: Stephen M. Tillery, Stephen A. Swedlow and Aaron M. Zigler.  In July 2004, Korein Tillery filed suit on behalf of a nationwide class of purchasers alleging that SmithKline Beecham promoted Paxil® and Paxil CR^TM for prescription to children and adolescents despite having actual knowledge that these drugs exposed children and adolescents to dangerous side effects while failing to treat their symptoms.  Following three years of litigation, Korein Tillery obtained a settlement that established a $63.8 million fund to reimburse class members 100% of their out-of-pocket expenses. In contrast, the New York Attorney General's office settled their lawsuit concerning the same conduct for a $2.5 million fine.

If you would like to contact an attorney regarding this area of law, please email your request to: contact@koreintillery.com