30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10112
United States of America

+1 (212) 408-5408
triley@chadbourne.com
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Thomas E. Riley

Partner

Practice Description

Thomas Riley is head of the Firm’s litigation department. He has more than 20 years of experience in the products liability area. Mr. Riley has extensive experience coordinating the defense of hundreds of products liability cases around the country, including complex matters such as class actions and cases involving claims for medical monitoring. He has successfully defended manufacturers in trials throughout the United States.

Representative Matters

  • Represents B.A.T Industries plc in a purported class action involving the marketing of "light” cigarettes in federal court in Brooklyn, N.Y.
  • Successfully defended British American Tobacco (Investments) Ltd. and Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation in a trial in state court in Philadelphia involving claims that advertisements for low-tar cigarettes were misleading, in which plaintiffs asserted causes of action for fraud, misrepresentation, strict liability, negligence, breach of warranty, conspiracy, unfair trade practices and violation of consumer protection laws. 
  • Obtained a jury verdict in favor of a tobacco manufacturer in a trial in state court in Beaumont, Texas in a case involving strict liability and negligence claims. 
  • Obtained a directed verdict in favor of a tobacco manufacturer in a trial in state court in Connecticut in which the plaintiff alleged that the company’s cigarettes were defectively designed. 
  • Working on a pro bono basis, has been honored by Legal Services for New York City for the representation of Brooklyn homeowners in litigation involving predatory lending. 
  • Represented the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and submitted an amicus brief opposing a constitutional challenge to a New York law that bans cameras in the courts. The New York Court of Appeals unanimously rejected the challenge to the statute by Court TV in a case that drew widespread attention.

Honors

Mr. Riley is cited in New York Super Lawyers (2007) for personal injury defense law and is cited in The Legal 500 (2007-2008) for product liability and mass tort defense.

Activities and Affiliations

Mr. Riley is a member of the International Association of Defense Counsel (Amicus Curiae Committee); New York State Bar Association (Commercial and Federal Litigation Section – Trial Evidence Committee); the American Bar Association (Litigation Section, Product Liability Committee); and the University Settlement Society of New York (Board of Directors, 1992 to 2004).

Publications


[ more publications ]
 

Practice Areas

Litigation

Products Liability Counseling and Defense

Industries

Consumer Products

Regions

United States

North America

Canada

Europe

Africa and the Middle East

Education

  • Binghamton University, B.A., 1976
  • New York University School of Law, J.D., Research Editor and Staff Member, New York University Journal of International Law and Politics, 1979

Professional Background

  • Law Clerk for the Honorable John T. Elfvin, U.S. District Court – Western District of New York, 1980-1982

Admissions

1980

New York

1992

U.S.D.C. - D. Ariz.

1983

U.S.D.C. - E.D.N.Y.

2002

U.S.D.C. - N.D.N.Y.

1983

U.S.D.C. - S.D.N.Y.

2004

U.S. Ct. App. - 2nd Cir.

2004

U.S. Ct. App. - 3rd Cir.

1995

U.S. Ct. App. - 4th Cir.

1998

U.S. Ct. App. - 6th Cir.

Languages

English