Mr. Scott R. Torpey | Partner

Professional Experience

Scott is a member of the firm's Litigation Practice group, specializing in preparation and trial of complex product liability, aviation accident and a variety of commercial contract cases. In addition to being licensed to practice law in the State of Michigan, he is also admitted in California, Illinois, New York, Washington, D. C. and Ohio and acts as lead trial counsel in Federal and State Courts throughout Michigan and other States throughout the Country.

Scott represents numerous corporations based in Asia and Europe and has considerable experience with procedural rules under various international conventions and case law relating to jurisdiction, venue, service of process and the availability and scope of discovery over foreign national corporations.

A frequent author and lecturer, Scott has published numerous local and national articles and papers and presented seminars on product liability, aviation and commercial law topics. Recent seminars presented include a training seminar addressing "the effects of Plaintiff's networking on product liability litigation and available countermeasures", "developing an effective litigation management plan for your company", "product liability litigation training - basic concepts and guidelines", and the "continued viability of the government contractor defense in light of the single process initiative". All were presented for major manufacturing corporations in the United States and Asia.

Areas of Emphasis

Products Liability

Scott's product liability litigation experience spans nearly twenty years and includes representing major national and international corporations on a wide variety of products. He established significant case law regarding the scope of a manufacturer's duty in a design defect/product liability case (Fisher v Kawasaki Heavy Industries, et al) as well as the test to determine "fraudulent joinder" to defeat diversity jurisdiction in the Federal District Court (Ludwig v Learjet, et al). Previously, he was among the first attorneys in the United States to successfully argue the "government contractor defense" to defeat product liability claims against a major U. S. product maker (Crossan v ITT, et al).

Aviation

Aviation is one of the most complex and specialized areas of the law and aviation cases can have enormous verdict potential. Scott has been successfully preparing and trying aviation cases on a regular basis for nearly 20 years. His experience includes representing airlines, airframe and component makers, maintenance and repair facilities and individual pilots and mechanics relative to a variety of aircraft accidents/incidents causing personal injury and/or property damage. Among the cases Scott has defended are aviation accident cases involving mid air collisions, in flight component failure, aerodynamic flutterer, auto pilot malfunction, aerodynamic stall and others.

Commercial Contract Cases

Scott has represented major manufacturing corporations in contract disputes including litigation relating to breach of express and/or implied warranties, indemnification clauses and the applicability/operation and effect of standard terms and conditions contained within purchase orders and other contractual agreements. Aside from litigation, Mr. Torpey frequently consults with manufacturing and distribution clients on reviewing and revising purchase/sales agreements, purchase orders and operating policies relative to a variety of commercial transactions.