Shook Attorneys Contribute to Getting the Deal Through—Product Liability 2016

Shook, Hardy & Bacon Partners Gregory Fowler, Simon Castley, Marc Shelley, Associate Ruth Anne French-Hodson and Shook Senior Analyst Jon Hudson published articles in Getting the Deal Through—Product Liability 2016. Fowler, who also serves as Shook’s London Office Managing Partner, provided a “Global Overview” for the volume, touching upon numerous product liability issues in various countries and noting that “global product litigation will continue to present challenges for product manufacturers.”

Castley and Hudson co-authored the England and Wales chapter; Shelley and French-Hodson co-authored the United States chapter. Each chapter discusses the country’s court system, theories of recovery available for product liability claims and potential defenses, discovery procedures and important means for assessing potential risks. The England and Wales chapter highlights the Consumer Rights Act of 2015 strengthening the laws relating to the supply of goods and services to consumers, as well as the introduction of “qualified one-way costs shifting” (QOCS) playing a role in reducing the financial risks of litigation to the claimant. The U.S. chapter notes the country’s various claimant-friendly features, the increased use of third-party litigation funding, and expanded product safety information made available to consumers as a result of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008.