Transportation

Expertise in Transportation Law

Transportation Law is dynamic. Keeping current of changing market forces and government regulations in the transportation industry is critical. Burnham Brown's Transportation Law Practice Group is experienced in all areas of transportation law and policy. Our interdisciplinary expertise is derived from the firm's other practice groups, including Commercial Law, Environmental Law, Employment Law, and Insurance Law. We regularly represent motor carriers, inter-modal shippers, motor coach and bus companies, municipalities, railroads, school districts, freight system manufacturers and operators. Over the years, we have effectively resolved hundreds of transportation matters involving catastrophic and large loss property damage, insurance, indemnity and subrogation issues, including regulatory compliance requirements and uninsured motorist coverage issues.

Areas of Expertise

Transportation Advocacy

• Skilled and knowledgeable advocates in civil litigation regularly appearing before Superior Courts, U.S. District Courts, and Courts of Appeal throughout California

Commercial Litigation

• Arbitration and administrative hearings
• Breach of contract claims and warranty disputes
• Service contracts and delay claims
• Pre-transactional strategic planning and negotiations

Legal Investigation

• Pre-litigation investigation for catastrophic injuries and property damage
• Experience with sophisticated computerized equipment, including Global Positioning Systems (GPS), on-board recording devices, log scanners and location systems for successful defense of claims, and in pursuing discovery from other entities where preservation and/or spoliation of evidence is alleged

Environmental and Toxic Torts

• Environmental regulatory compliance
• Transportation, release, and exposure to hazardous materials or wastes
• Mass toxic tort and environmental clean-up litigation

Trucking and Motor Carrier Accident Litigation

• Freeway and grade-crossing collisions; road construction and guard rail litigation
• Personal injury and wrongful death claims
• Product and trucking distribution centers and terminals; loading and unloading accidents
• Property damage claims
• Product liability claims
• Railroad claims and litigation

Representative Engagements in Transportation Law

Burnham Brown has established a network of highly regarded expert witnesses and consultants, giving our clients an important advantage in complex cases. In addition, many Burnham Brown attorneys are active in professional associations, including the Defense Research Institute's Trucking Law Committee, the American Bar Association's Commercial Transportation Litigation Committee (TIPS), and the American Trucking Association. Attorneys in our Transportation Law Practice Group regularly counsel clients through training and continuing education seminars presented in formal or informal settings.

Litigation

• Defended a national trucking company in an admitted liability wrongful death trial and persuaded the jury to reject the $4,000,000 sought by the survivors and instead award only $80,000 in compensatory damages
• Auto versus tanker truck with plaintiff alleging brain damage, nerve damage, foot drop; 5-week jury trial; plaintiff's verdict on personal injury claim, $209,000; defense verdict on loss of consortium claim. Sabadin v. Shell Oil Company
• Auto versus truck collision with plaintiff alleging paralysis of lower left extremity from hip, knee, and ankle fractures; 10-day jury trial; defense verdict. McVey v. Serres Corp.
• Auto versus truck collision with plaintiff alleging brain damage, disfiguring injury to face; 4-day jury trial; defense verdict. Gomez v. Golden Gate Fence
• Motorcycle versus truck collision with liability admitted, damages only trial; fractured major hand suffered by plaintiff chiropractor; 4-day jury trial; plaintiffs verdict $72,125. Touze v. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co.
• Motorcycle versus tanker truck collision with plaintiff alleging lumbar, leg, and ankle fractures; 3-day jury trial; defense verdict. Dempsey v. Shell Oil Company
• Obtained settlement in excess of oil company's out-of-pocket remedial costs to clean up 1,500-gallon spill following collision of Shell tanker and several adverse drivers. Shell Oil Company v. Bobba
• Counseled on RCRA and Department of Transportation regulations, documents, placards, and other requirements related to transportation of hazardous materials
• Retained by Shell Oil Company to defend and pursue subrogation claims from trucking activities in Northern California. Coordinated with Environmental Law Practice Group regarding issues such as releases of petroleum from tanker trucks; emerging liabilities associated with particulate matter in diesel exhaust
• Coordinated multi-party litigation for excess insurer arising out of small aircraft collision at shopping mall

Advice and Counsel

With interdisciplinary expertise and broad resources, we are highly qualified to counsel clients on non-litigation matters, including:

• Contract/lease analysis and interpretation
• Insurance coverage, reinsurance, indemnity
• Labor and employment matters
• Loss control and risk management services
• Government regulation and compliance
• Risk management audits and training seminars
• Analysis of federal and state laws governing transportation industry

To speak with a Burnham Brown attorney specializing in Transportation Law, please call 510-444-6800 and ask to speak to a member of the Transportation Law Practice Group.