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Justs N. Karlsons

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Justs N. Karlsons

Partner

San Francisco

415.989.5900

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Expertise

Automobile Product Defense

• For 35 years, Mr. Karlsons has defended automobile and automotive parts manufacturers:
  • He has successfully defended Volkswagen, Audi, BMW, and Volvo Cars in cases involving automotive design and manufacture. He personally has tried to jury verdict as well as supported local counsel in various states in excess of 40 products cases involving issues such as air bag design, gas tank location and design, vehicle handling and rollover, crashworthiness, and occupant restraint system design and performance, including passive belts, side impact protection, door latch design, window glass and retention design, seat back design, and other issues relating to vehicle design and manufacture.
  • On behalf of auto manufacturers, he has coordinated the defense of class action and unfair trade practices.
• He has supervised defense appellate activities relating to products liability and discovery issues, including issues specific to foreign corporations such as jurisdiction, service of process, and foreign discovery.

Material-Handling Defense

• Mr. Karlsons has defended forklift, manlift, and other material-handling equipment manufacturers and distributors, including The Raymond Corporation, Genie Industries, Inc., and The Prime-Mover, Inc.
• The issues included design, manufacture of stand-up and sit-down forklifts, use of operator restraints, structural and other material failures, design, and crashworthiness.
• Mr. Karlsons has authored and coordinated preparation by others of briefs on issues relating to trade secrets, document retention policies, scope of protective orders, and other similar discovery issues.

Consumer/Recreational Product Defense

• Mr. Karlsons has defended consumer product and recreational equipment manufacturers, including Coleman, O'Brien, Mastercraft, Volvo Penta, Krups, and other manufacturers. He has handled issues and tried to verdict cases involving claims of design defect, adequacy of warnings, and other product issues of recreational equipment, hand tools, and other machinery.

Other Product Litigation

• Mr. Karlsons has defended actions involving trademark protection, patent infringement, medical malpractice defense, and defense of manufacturers of medical equipment in products liability cases. He has represented a variety of manufacturers in mass tort litigation cases, involving asbestos and asbestos-containing components, such as automotive friction products including brake linings and brake pads and serves as national coordinating counsel on phenolic resin compounds.

International Business

• Mr. Karlsons has acted as counsel to the Government of Latvia and participated in cross-border litigation in negotiation of oil licenses on its behalf. He is also active in the Latvian business community and admitted to the practice of law in Latvia.

Recent Presentations

• "Champions of the Courtroom: The Art of Trying Cases," Panel Member, Annual Trial Symposium for Litigation Section of California State Bar, Napa, California (April 16, 2006)
• "Application of U.S. Discovery Rules to Non-U.S. Operations and People," Product Liability Advisory Council, Fall Conference on Globalization of Product Litigation, San Francisco, California (October 27, 2005)
• "The Role of Civil Law Remedies in Ensuring Consumer Product Safety," lecture to the University of Latvia Faculty of Law, Riga, Latvia (1991)
• "Hot Issues on the Product Liability Front," ABA Product Liability Subcommittee Meeting (1990)
• "Product Liability Considerations When Doing Business in the United States," presentation to the Dutch Manufacturer Association, The Hague (1989)
• "Special Considerations Bearing on the Depositions of a Plaintiff in Product Liability and Malpractice Litigation," Practicing Law Institute Program on Medical Malpractice Defense (1984)
• Amicus curiae brief re California Jurisdiction in cases involving foreign plaintiffs in Holmes v. Syntex Laboratories, Inc., sponsored by the Motor Vehicle Manufacturer Association (1984)
• "Substantive and Technical Defenses in Automobile Product Liability Litigation," Practicing Law Institute (1983)
• "Necessary Discovery in Preparation Before Depositions in Product Liability Actions," Practicing Law Institute Seminar on Product Liability Litigation (1983)
• "Strategy When Deposing the Non-Party Expert Witness," Practicing Law Institute Seminar on Product Liability Litigation (1983)