Mr. Jernigan has for many years served and continues to serve as West Virginia counsel for the former Brown & Williamson Tobacco Company and its successor, the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in the defense of tobacco related claims.  In this regard, Mr. Jernigan was involved in the successful defense of one of the nation's first class actions seeking medical monitoring for the development of future disease states relating to smoking.  Mr. Jernigan remains active in the defense of the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in the defense of over a thousand personal injury claims pending against it for tobacco related diseases.

Over the course of his career, Mr. Jernigan is experienced in the defense of major cases involving primarily corporate defendants.  Those cases have ranged from contract disputes to product liability claims involving the statewide representation of, among others, American Motors and Chrysler Corporation in the defense of Jeep rollover litigation; Sturm Ruger & Co., Inc. in the defense of product liability claims involving certain of its firearms; Johns Manville Corp. in defense of asbestos related claims; Black & Decker Corporation in the defense of various product liability claims involving guiding issues; and Procter & Gamble in defense of toxic shock claims.

Debbie Lydon has represented manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, managed care organizations, hospitals, individual healthcare providers, employee leasing companies, staffing companies, importers, distributors, recruiters, insurance companies, publishers, accountants, fiduciaries, and others.

Representative matters:

The Procter & Gamble Company - Defense of Mass Tort Litigation, Regulatory, Transactional and Compliance Advice
Humana - Litigation Counsel
HealthSouth - Resolution of disputes with Ohio entities
Showa Denko KK - Defense of Mass Tort Litigation
Staffmark - Litigation Counsel
Yamaha Motor Corporation U.S.A. - Litigation Counsel
LasikPlus - Litigation Counsel and Risk Management
Shelter Insurance Companies - Litigation Counsel
Franciscan Health System - Litigation Counsel and Risk Management
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center - Litigation Counsel
Inova Health System - Litigation Counsel
Professional Risk Management Services - Litigation involving Psychiatrists
SST Bearing Corporation - Litigation Counsel
Riverhills Healthcare, Inc. - Outside and Litigation Counsel
Interlake Material Handling, Inc. - Litigation Counsel
Anonymous Hospitals - Defense of RICO, Health Care Fraud, Qui Tam and Malpractice allegations
Health Care Providers - Litigation counsel; advisor on various issues including regulatory matters, fraud & abuse, licensure, credentialing, risk management, criminal allegations, etc.
Fiduciaries - Litigation Counsel

Dinsmore's Product Liability Team recently received a ruling in favor of The Procter & Gamble Defendants ("P&G") which is the first in the country to assess and reject the scientific basis for lawsuits filed by a number of Fixodent® users.

Frank C. Woodside, III, and his team serve as counsel for P&G defendants concerning Denture Adhesive Litigation. In that litigation, Judge Cecilia Altonaga oversees discovery in the Multi-District Litigation involving more than 150 plaintiffs who seek damages for personal injuries that allegedly resulted from their use of excessive amounts of Fixodent, manufactured by P&G, and/or Poligrip, manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline. The current litigation was initiated in 2009 against P&G. The Federal cases were eventually consolidated in Miami with a number of other cases pending in state courts throughout the country. P&G has steadfastly defended the safety of Fixodent.

On June 13, 2011 Judge Altonaga issued a Daubert opinion granting P&G's motion to exclude virtually all of the Plaintiffs’ proposed expert opinion testimony that purportedly supported the link between extremely excessive use of Fixodent denture adhesive and neurological disease.

Plaintiff filed suit against our client, a general contractor, seeking $100,000 for defects in Plaintiff's home related to the use of synthetic stucco (EIFS) material.  Dinsmore & Shohl obtained a dismissal in favor of the general contractor on the basis of the North Carolina Statute of Repose.

Plaintiffs filed a $300,000 suit against our client, the general contractor, for defects in Plaintiff's home related to moisture intrusion and structural defects.  The general contractor in turned filed suit against 12 different subcontractors.  The case was settled favorably for the client after two days of mediation.

Plaintiff filed suit for $1,000,000 against our client, the general contractor, for defects in Plaintiff's home. The claim went through a week-long arbitration, settling favorably for the client before a verdict was rendered.

Plaintiff filed a class action lawsuit against our client, an insurance company, seeking coverage in excess of $75,000 for moisture intrusion damage due to defects in Plaintiff's home.  The case was removed to Federal court, was never certified as a class action and was eventually dismissed.

Plaintiff sued our client, a plastics manufacturer, for personal injury and product liability when a chair manufactured by the client broke.  The case was settled at mediation.

Plaintiffs filed a $200,000 suit against the general contractor, who in turn filed suit against our client, a window manufacturer, for alleged defects in the windows.  The case was settled after mediation.

Dinsmore & Shohl represented Owens Illinois in lawsuits filed in Southern Ohio by numerous workers alleging personal injuries as a result of exposure to asbestos.  These cases resulted in either settlement, dismissal or a jury verdict for the defense.

Dinsmore & Shohl represented a firm accused of conspiring with its competitors to prevent sales representatives from moving between the defendants.  This class action was settled.

Dinsmore & Shohl represented a major cigarette manufacturer (American Tobacco) in a smoking and health case involving allegations of peripheral vascular disease causation and corporate misconduct that was tried in Federal Court in Kansas City, Kansas in 2002.  The case resulted in a small compensatory damages verdict against American Tobacco in the amount of $1984.00 (yes, that is the correct number) and no punitive damages.  After the verdict was rendered the case against American Tobacco was dismissed without payment.

Plaintiff hotel owners filed a $300,000 suit against our client, a painting and moisture proofing subcontractor, and against the coating manufacturer for moisture damage to the hotel.  The claim settled favorably for the client after mediation and before trial.