Steve Wood is a partner in the firm's Chicago office. He focuses his practice on complex civil litigation, including commercial disputes, mass tort and products liability matters, with an emphasis on trial practice.
Mr. Wood has first-chaired jury trials in both state and federal courts. He also has participated in bench trials in state and federal courts, as well as many other evidentiary hearings in state and federal courts, and before administrative bodies. Mr. Wood has argued several appeals and has been involved on the brief in numerous other appellate proceedings. Mr. Wood appears as counsel of record in several reported decisions.
In complex commercial litigation, Mr. Wood has represented parties in a variety of disputes involving breach of contract, the Uniform Commercial Code, Lanham Act, employment torts and contracts, professional liability, construction law, unfair competition, and antitrust issues, among others. Mr. Wood’s practice also has emphasized the defense of manufacturers in toxic substances, products liability and mass tort cases. He has experience as both regional counsel and national counsel for Fortune 500 companies in recurrent products liability litigation. Mr. Wood has served as defense liaison counsel in statewide coordinated products liability litigation. He also has extensive experience in multidistrict litigation proceedings. He is a frequent speaker on litigation matters and trial techniques.
Mr. Wood is a former captain in the U.S. Marine Corps, having served on active duty from 1980-1989.
Representative Experience
Wesolek v. Platinum Energy Solutions, Inc. (S.D. Tex. 2012)
Lead counsel for defendant in putative securities fraud class action filed in state court. Removed to federal court under Class Action Fairness Act and sought dismissal for lack of standing, failure to meet pleading requirements, among other grounds. Negotiated voluntary dismissal of client after moving for Rule 12 dismissal and serving class counsel with Rule 11 motion.
GE Railcar v. National Steel Car (Circuit Court of Cook County, Ill. 2011)
Lead trial counsel for defendant, a leading North American manufacturer of freight rail cars, in connection with an action for breach of contract and warranties arising out of a $110 million transaction to build and sell rail cars to plaintiff. Case settled on confidential terms ten days prior to trial. Key to the case was defense evidence of the course of performance and the usage of trade showing that defendant’s limited express warranty governed the transaction. In addition, the defense undermined plaintiff ’s theory of causation with compelling fact and expert evidence.
Harris v. France Telecom S.A., et al. (N.D. Ill. 2011)
Represented defendant in action alleging violations of RICO, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, and theft of trade secrets. Obtained dismissal of the action on forum non conveniens grounds.
Perkins v. A.W. Chesterton, et al. (Cir. Ct. Madison County, Ill. 2011)
Lead counsel for defendant in wrongful death case alleging death from asbestos-caused mesothelioma. After plaintiffs twice continued the trial date, obtained dismissal as part of a nominal settlement negotiated after moving to vacate ex parte order obtained by plaintiff continuing trial setting for the third time.
Insignia Systems, Inc. v. News America Marketing In-Store, Inc. (D. Minn. 2011)
Trial counsel for plaintiff, a small in-store advertising company, in action against competitor for violations of federal and state anti-trust and unfair competition laws. Three days into jury trial in the District of Minnesota case settled for payment to plaintiff of $125 million.
Hedum, et al. v. Abbott Laboratories, et al. (Cir. Ct. Cook County, Ill. 2009)
Lead counsel for defendant in drug products liability case. Obtained pleading stage dismissal with prejudice of several actions based on an absence of a duty to warn plaintiffs or health care providers against the risks posed by exposure to gadolinium-based contrast agents used in magnetic resonance imaging procedures.
United States Securities and Exchange Commission v. BCI Aircraft (N.D. Ill. 2007)
Represented defendants in SEC civil enforcement proceeding. SEC sued client seeking TRO, asset freeze, and order appointing a receiver for alleged violations of securities laws. After conducting an evidentiary hearing and extensive briefing, court denied substantially all of the SEC’s motions.
Ploense v. Electrolux Home Products and the Chrome Coalition (Cir. Ct. McLean County, Ill. 2007)
Lead trial and appellate counsel for defendant in toxic tort case. Obtained reversal on appeal of trial court’s denial of client’s motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction. In doing so, persuaded the 4th District Appellate Court that its earlier decision in Cameron v. Owens Corning Fiberglas Corp., which affirmed a broad application of the conspiracy theory of jurisdiction, was wrongly decided.
Nano-Proprietary Inc. v. Keesmann, et al. (N.D. Ill. 2006)
Represented plaintiff in licensing dispute. Obtained preliminary injunction preventing termination of patent license. Defendant had granted to plaintiff a perpetual and exclusive license for patents relating to carbon nanotube cathode technology. Defendant sought to terminate the license in violation of the agreement.
Liesse v. Honeywell International, Inc. (Cir. Ct. Cook County, Ill. 2006)
Represented defendant in toxic tort case. Lead counsel for defendant in summary judgment proceedings. This case consolidated actions of 37 plaintiffs against 22 defendants where plaintiffs alleged they had developed systemic injuries from chronic exposure to ethylene oxide, a chemical used to sterilize heat sensitive medical instruments in hospitals, which allegedly caused various neurological and other injuries. Plaintiffs also alleged that defendants engaged in a conspiracy to conceal or distort information about the hazards of ethylene oxide. Obtained summary judgment for client on all counts.
Pedley v. Precoat Metals, a division of Sequa Corporation (Cir. Ct. Cook County, Ill. 2005)
Lead trial counsel for defendant in premises liability case brought by truck driver who suffered traumatic leg amputation when a load of steel being repositioned by defendant's forklift operator fell on plaintiff. Defense case was complicated by missing evidence (documents and physical evidence) and former employee forklift operator who was openly cooperating with plaintiff. Case settled during jury deliberations when questions from jury indicated jurors were focused on plaintiff ’s contributory negligence.
Vail Systems, Inc. v. Webley Systems, Inc., et al. (Cir. Ct. Lake County, Ill. 2004)
Lead counsel for third party defendant in breach of contract action. Client sued for unlawfully promoting litigation between its employee and the employee’s former employer. Obtained dismissal of complaint with prejudice for failure to state a claim (first dismissal motion granted with no leave to amend).
Lyons v. Janssen Pharmaceutica (Cir. Ct. Peoria County, Ill. 2001)
Trial counsel for defendant prescription drug manufacturer in wrongful death failure to warn case. Verdict for plaintiff on liability, but damages awarded were well below plaintiff ’s pretrial bottom line settlement demand.
Sorce v. Warner-Lambert (N.D. Ill. 2000)
Lead counsel for defendant in drug products liability case. Plaintiff allegedly developed metabolic bone disease from chronic use of aluminum-containing antacids. Due to plaintiff ’s novel injury and causation claims, argued for and won ruling limiting discovery to medical causation in preparation for Daubert hearing prior to commencement of full merits discovery. Case settled for nominal amount on the eve of Daubert hearing.
Moeller v. Owens Corning (Cir. Ct. Cook County, Ill. 1997)
Trial counsel for defendant in wrongful death case alleging death from asbestos-caused mesothelioma. Sole defenses in the case were state of the art and exercise of due care. Defense verdict.
McClain v. Owens Corning (N.D. Ill. 1996)
Lead trial counsel for defendant at retrial of damages phase of wrongful death action brought against manufacturer of asbestos-containing insulation products. Damages awarded to plaintiff were less than the amount offered to settle the case prior to trial.
Memberships & Associations
American Bar Association; Section of Litigation; Tort and Insurance Practice Section, Committee on Corporate Counsel
Illinois State Bar Association
International Association of Defense Counsel; Products Liability Committee, Drug Device and Biotech Committee
Defense Research Institute
