The Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani New York Product Liability team, including Senior Counsel Max Trembitsky, secured a significant appellate victory in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on behalf of a leading electric scooter manufacturer and retailer. The appellate court affirmed the circuit court’s dismissal with prejudice of all claims in a high-stakes product liability lawsuit involving serious injury allegations and a multi-million dollar demand.
The case, initially covered in an article by GRSM, arose from an incident in which the plaintiff claimed to have suffered traumatic brain injuries, allegedly due to a brake failure while operating an electric scooter. He filed claims for strict product liability and negligence, initially seeking $20 million in damages, a figure he later escalated to a significantly higher demand, asserting the scooter was defectively designed and manufactured.
Throughout the litigation, the plaintiff repeatedly failed to comply with his discovery obligations, despite multiple court orders compelling production. He insisted his responses were sufficient and attributed any delays to an alleged brain injury, arguing no prejudice had resulted. The GRSM team methodically demonstrated the substantial prejudice caused by his noncompliance, including the inability to conduct necessary discovery. GRSM ultimately moved for dismissal under Rule 41(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The trial court granted the motion, dismissing all claims with prejudice.
On appeal, the plaintiff argued that the circuit court erred, inter alia, by dismissing his case without considering his alleged cognitive impairment and by disregarding his purported efforts to comply with discovery. In response, GRSM effectively demonstrated that the trial court committed no reversible error, having dismissed the case only after the plaintiff repeatedly failed to meet his discovery obligations and ignored multiple court orders, despite being warned several times that continued noncompliance could lead to dismissal. The Eleventh Circuit agreed, finding no reversible error and affirming the dismissal in full.
This successful outcome was obtained with the assistance of team leader, Partner Gregg Minkin, as well as Paralegals Julia Lord, Stephen Bomberger, and Josue Perez, highlighting the proficiency of GRSM’s Product Liability practice.
Learn more about this case in the court’s decision.