Brian represents pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers as trial counsel and in leadership roles of coordinated mass tort proceedings.
Overview
Brian represents pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers as trial counsel and in leadership roles of coordinated mass tort proceedings.
About
Brian has more than 30 years’ experience defending complex litigation, including the strategic oversight, management, negotiated resolutions, and trials of multi-jurisdictional mass torts.
From 2017 to 2024, he served as co-lead counsel and trial counsel for Johnson & Johnson and Ethicon, Inc. in In re: Ethicon Physiomesh Flexible Composite Hernia Mesh Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2782, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. He was also co-lead counsel in two consolidated proceedings for other hernia mesh products pending in New Jersey state court. In these roles, Brian directed and coordinated the efforts of a nationwide team of lawyers from several different firms to resolve thousands of cases.
He has previously served as co-lead science counsel for McNeil and Johnson & Johnson in In re: Tylenol (Acetaminophen) Marketing, Sales Practices and Product Liability Litigation (E.D. Pa.), and as lead national science counsel for a defendant in In re Phenylpropanolamine Products Liability Litigation (W.D. Wash.). He has played national roles in other mass torts and has particular expertise in Daubert practice and the retention, development, and presentation of expert witnesses.
Brian has tried many cases as lead and co-counsel, including trials involving product liability, medical malpractice, health care regulatory issues (Certificate of Need), catastrophic personal injury, and contract claims. In 2015, he was part of the trial team that obtained a unanimous jury verdict after a four-week trial in the first bellwether case in the New Jersey Tylenol liver injury litigation. In 2014 and 2016, he was trial counsel in the successful defense of two high-profile jury trials in Los Angeles federal court in which the plaintiff alleged that a child died after ingesting a contaminated over-the-counter medicine.
For many years, Brian has represented major Tennessee hospitals as trial counsel in Certificate of Need litigation. Most recently, he was trial counsel for Vanderbilt University Medical Center in obtaining approval for a new hospital in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. In 2018, he successfully represented Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis in a contested case involving two other major health systems. In 2016, he successfully represented Vanderbilt University Medical Center in a dispute over a proposed new facility near Nashville. From 2007 to 2009, he successfully represented Maury Regional Hospital in a dispute over a proposed new $110 million hospital sought by the world’s largest for-profit health care company.
Brian has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America® (2008-present) and Super Lawyers® (2010-present), has an AV® – Preeminent™ rating from Martindale-Hubbell®, and is a member of IADC. He has recently been an invited lecturer or panelist at national conferences, including the IADC Mid-Year meeting, the ACI Drug and Medical Device Conference, and several invitation-only national bench-bar conferences on Multidistrict Litigation. He has been an invited lecturer at Vanderbilt Law School, Harvard Law School and Belmont University Law School. Among his publications is a law review note on student-university law that has been cited by nearly a hundred scholars and courts, including a 2007 U.S. Supreme Court decision.
Experience
- Recent Trials:
- Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital, et al. v. Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Tennessee Administrative Procedures Division (2022). Trial counsel for Vanderbilt University Medical Center in connection with its application to build a new hospital in Murfreesboro, TN over the objection of three other hospital systems.
- Robertson v. McNeil/Johnson & Johnson, United States District Court for the Central District of California (2014 and 2016). Trial counsel for defendants in connection with a claim alleging that a child died as a result of contaminated medicine
- MDHA v. Nashville Downtown Platinum LLC, Davidson County (TN) Circuit Court (2016). Lead trial counsel on behalf of city agency in eminent domain case about the value of downtown property acquired for convention center project. Jury unanimously rejected landowner’s claim for $4 million and awarded far less than the city had offered.
- HCA Health Services of Tennessee, Inc. v. Vanderbilt University Medical Center (2016). Trial counsel for Vanderbilt University Medical Center in its successful opposition to a proposed new facility in Williamson County, Tennessee.
- Strategic Behavioral Health v. Mountain States Health Alliance, Tennessee Administrative Procedures Division(2015). Lead trial counsel for the largest hospital system in the Tri-Cities region (TN-VA) in opposition to proposed new psychiatric hospital.
- Jackson v. McNeil/Johnson & Johnson, Atlantic County (NJ) Superior Court (2015). Trial counsel in first bellwether case in the New Jersey Tylenol liver injury litigation. Unanimous defense verdict following four-week trial.
- Covenant Health v. East Tennessee Radiation Therapy Services (2013). Lead trial counsel for the largest Knoxville-area hospital system in opposing a Certificate of Need for radiation therapy services.
- Science counsel in MDL and Other Coordinated Proceedings. Brian has served as national science counsel in coordinated proceedings, including several Multi-District Litigations. He has extensive experience in Daubert challenges, and in the retention, development, and presentation of defense expert witnesses. He has deposed or cross-examined dozens of experts from virtually every major medical specialty, as well as non-medical experts. He has had substantial roles in the scientific/medical defense of the following proceedings:
- In re: Tylenol (Acetaminophen) Marketing, Sales Practices and Product Liability Litigation (E.D. Pa.).
- In re: Pradaxa (Dabigatran Etexilate) Products Liability Litigation (S.D. Ill.).
- In re: Ephedra Products Liability Litigation (S.D.N.Y.).
- In re: Phenylpropanolamine Products Liability Litigation (W.D. Wash.).
Distinctions
- BL Rankings, The Best Lawyers in America®
- Administrative / Regulatory Law, 2008-2025
- Product Liability Litigation – Defendants, 2019-2025
- Thomson Reuters Super Lawyers®
- Mid-South Super Lawyers, Personal Injury – Products: Defense, 2010-2024
- Martindale-Hubbell®
- AV® – Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated
- Nashville’s 101 Top Lawyers, Nashville Post
- Best in Bar, Nashville Business Journal
- Benchmark Litigation
- Future Star, 2021, 2025
Bar Admissions
- Tennessee, 1992
- U.S. District Courts
- Tennessee: Western, Middle, Eastern
- Admitted pro hac vice: Central District of California, Eastern District of Louisiana, Western District of Louisiana, Northern District of Alabama, Southern District of Florida, Southern District of New York, Western District of Missouri, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, District of Idaho, and the Northern District of Georgia.
- U.S. Court of Appeals
- 5th Circuit
- 6th Circuit
- U.S. Supreme Court
- State Court Pro Hac Vice Admissions:
- Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Superior Court of Los Angeles, California
- Superior Court, Atlantic County, New Jersey
- Brazoria County, Texas
Education
- Vanderbilt University Law School, J.D., 1992
- Associate Editor, Vanderbilt Law Review
- Vanderbilt Law Review Associate Editor’s Award
- Sewanee: The University of the South, B.A., cum laude, 1989
Associations
- American Bar Association
- Litigation Section
- Scribes: The American Society of Legal Writers
- Defense Research Institute (DRI)
- Drug and Medical Device Committee
- Harry Phillips American Inn of Court
- Former Barrister Member
- Nashville Bar Association
- Tennessee Bar Association
- Rabieji Litigation Law Center
- Advisory Council, 2024-2025
Papers, Presentations & Publications
- Panelist, Protracted MDLs Bench-Bar Leadership Conference, Cleveland State University School of Law, Cleveland, OH, June 2024.
- Panelist, MDL Bench-Bar Leadership Conference, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, September 2023.
- Panelist, “Bellwether Trials,” Baylor University Law School MDL Judicial Summit, Aspen CO, June 2023.
- Invited Lecturer, “The Trial,” Harvard Law School, Cambridge, MA, October 2018.
- Panelist, “Containing Litigation Tourism and the Practical Impact of the BMS Decision Thus Far,” ACI Drug and Medical Device Conference, New York, NY, 2017.
- Panelist, “Trying Cases and Settlement,” Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) Conference, Washington D.C., October 2017.
- Invited Lecturer, “The Trial,” Vanderbilt University Law School, Nashville, TN, September 2016.
- Panelist, “Start to Finish: Jury Research From Pre-Discovery to Post-Trial,” IADC Mid-year Meeting, Pebble Beach, CA, 2016.
- Co-Author, Expert Evidence in the Sixth Circuit, Scientific Evidence Review: Admissibility and Use of Expert Evidence in the Courtroom (Monograph No. 9), ABA Section of Science and Technology Law, 2013.
- Presenter, “Hot Topics in Product Liability Law,” M. Lee Smith Tennessee Tort Law Conference, 2010.
- Presenter, “Daubert and Beyond,” Rossdale Group National Teleconference on Trial Skills and Expert Witnesses, 2010.
- Presenter, “Ethical Issues in Litigation,” Lorman Education Services, 2009.
- Presenter, “The Latest Word on Admissibility of Expert Testimony: State and Federal Standards,” M. Lee Smith Audio Conference, 2008.
- Co-Author, Expert Evidence in the Sixth Circuit, Scientific Evidence Review: Admissibility and Use of Expert Evidence in the Courtroom, American Bar Association, 2008.
- Presenter, “Daubert Motions: Challenging Expert Opinions,” Lorman National Teleconference (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010); National Constitution Center National Teleconference, 2007.
- Presenter, “Preparing and Examining Expert Witnesses,” Tennessee Bar Association, 2007.
- Co-Author, Tennessee Chapter, Product Liability Cases and the Duty to Warn: A 50 State Compendium, DRI Defense Library Series, 2007.
- Author, “Ipse Dixit by Another Name? The Tennessee Supreme Court Takes Another Look at Daubert,” Tennessee Bar Journal, March 2006.
- Presenter, “Admissibility of Expert Testimony: Tennessee's Take on Daubert,” Nashville Bar Association, 2006.
- Presenter, “Writing Better Briefs,” Tennessee Bar Association, 2006.
- Presenter, “Knocking Out Opposing Experts,” Nashville Bar Association, 2004.
- Presenter, “Superior Deposition Strategies in Tennessee Civil Trial Practice,” NBI, 2004.
- Presenter, “Trying the Wrongful Death Case in Tennessee,” NBI, 2003.
- Author, “Ford v. Ford,” Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture, University of Tennessee Press, 1998.
- Author, “The Lingering Legacy of In Loco Parentis: An Historical Survey and Proposal for Reform,” 44 Vanderbilt Law Review 1135 (1991) (cited in Morse v. Frederick, 551 U.S. 393, 412 n.2 (2007) (Thomas, J., concurring); McCauley v. Univ. of the Virgin Islands, 618 F.3d 232 (3rd Cir. 2010); Sharick v. Southeastern Univ. of the Health Sciences, 780 So.2d 136 (Fla. Ct. App. 2000)).
Civic Involvement
- Sewanee: University of the South, Member, Board of Trustees
- Christ Church Cathedral, Nashville, TN, Member and Lay Reader
- Nashville Opera Association, Member, Advisory Board; Former Member, Board of Directors
- Nashville CARES, Former Member, Board of Directors
- Comprehensive Cares Foundation, Former Chair, Board of Directors
- Tennessee Stonewall Bar Association, Former Member, Board of Directors
- Historic Travellers Rest Plantation and Museum, Former Member, Board of Directors