Partner
Dallas
Tel: 1.214.969.5130
Fax: 1.214.969.5100
Email: tefennell@jonesday.com

Profile | Experience | Publications

Related Services

• Product Liability & Tort Litigation
  • Class Action and Multidistrict Product Liability Litigation
  • Consumer Goods Product Liability Litigation
  • Coordination of Product Liability Litigation
  • Pharmaceutical, Medical Device, and Other Health Care Product Liability Litigation
  • Toxic Tort Exposure Litigation (Chemical, Environmental, and Occupational)
  • Trial Experience in Product Liability Cases
• Energy Delivery & Power
  • Energy Delivery & Power Litigation
• Energy/Utilities
• Airlines & Aviation
• Automotive
• Product Response Team

Tom manages the product liability/toxic tort group in the Dallas Office of Jones Day. He has served as national and regional counsel and as trial counsel in a number of complex product liability and toxic tort matters, including MDL matters. In his 30 years with Jones Day, Tom has developed broad product experience, including defending clients in the chemical, consumer products, automotive, firearm, lead, and tobacco industries. He also has developed experience in cutting-edge legal issues involving the extension and use of public nuisance theories and statistical proofs. He has represented companies in connection with crisis management as well as congressional and state attorney general investigations.

Tom is currently lead counsel for Mattel in several U.S. and foreign class action lawsuits and congressional and state investigations arising from the sale of toys allegedly containing lead in excess of regulatory standards. He also is currently lead counsel for Colt's Manufacturing Company in the litigation brought by cities, states, and other public entities and associations against the firearms industry. He recently served as one of four lead trial counsel representing more than 35 manufacturer defendants in the highly publicized trial of National Association for the Advancement of Colored People v. AA Arms, Inc., et al., Case No. CV 99 3999 (E.D.N.Y., J. Weinstein), tried to a defense verdict, including a unanimous (12-0) advisory jury verdict of no liability as to Jones Day's client, Colt. The defense win in NAACP was selected as one of the top 10 defense verdicts of 2003 by The National Law Journal. In addition, Jones Day's products practice was selected "Products Liability Department of the Year in 2003" in the prestigious American Lawyer competition and was selected as one of two finalists in The American Lawyer "Products Liability Department of the Year" competition for 2005. Tom has tried cases ranging from a few days in duration to an eight-month bench trial and a nine-month jury trial. He also has argued appeals in state intermediate appellate and supreme courts and in various U.S. federal courts of appeal.

Tom also currently is lead counsel for Xcel Energy in several suits related to alleged global warming, including the highly publicized public nuisance lawsuit brought by New York Attorney General Elliott Spitzer and other state attorneys general alleging that various utilities' emissions of CO2 substantially contribute to global warming: State of Connecticut, et al. v. American Electric Power Company, Inc., et al. and Open Space Institute, Inc., et al. v. American Electric Power, et al., U.S. Dist. Ct., Southern District of New York, Case Nos. 1:04-CV-05669-LAP and 04-CV-05670-LP. On September 15, 2005, the trial court granted defendants' joint motion to dismiss the lawsuit. The case is on appeal.

He also was retained as lead trial counsel for Parker Hannifin in connection with a number of commercial aircraft crashes allegedly caused by Parker products pending in the U.S. and overseas: In re: Air Crash/Palembang v. Parker, Western District of Washington at Seattle, remanded to Northern Ohio Dist. Ct., MDL 1276, Master File No. C99-589C and Affaire: Madeleine Sersiron, Catherine Raffier, Marcel Raffier et autres v. Flash Airlines, Al Chark Insurance, Boeing Company, International Lease Finance Corp., Parker Hannifin Corp., et Honeywell International Inc., District Court of Bobigny, France, Docket No. RG 05/12910.

Tom also was asked to serve as trial counsel for Sherwin-Williams in a public nuisance lawsuit by the city of Milwaukee seeking abatement of lead paint in housing units throughout the city (City of Milwaukee v. NL Industries Inc., Circuit Court, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, 2001:CV003066). Shortly before trial and in response to motions filed on behalf of Sherwin-Williams, the city severed and effectively dismissed the Sherwin-Williams entity involved.

Tom has lectured at seminars on trial tactics, evidence, privilege law, product liability law, public nuisance law, expert witnesses, deposition techniques, jury research, and developing trends in industrywide litigation assaults. See, e.g., "Attempts to Expand Public Nuisance Laws to Reach Products," Texas Lawyer, October 13, 2003. He also has lectured and published materials on the novel and complex issues associated with the public entity cost recovery litigation. See, e.g., Thomas E. Fennell, Mark R. Hall, and Paula E. Smith, "The Use of Complex Statistical Proofs in the New Wave of Public Tort Cases," 2d ed., II (2)(f), Product Liability Advisory Counsel Compensatory Damages Deskbook (April 1999). He was appointed a visiting instructor on the faculty of law at Uniwersytet Marii Curie-Sklodowskiej in Lublin, Poland for the 1999 spring term. Tom is a member of the Products Liability Advisory Council, the Ohio State Bar, and the State Bar of Texas.

Tom has received numerous recognitions in leading legal publications for his work. This year's Chambers USA: America's Leading Business Lawyers writes that Tom ". . . manages the products liability practice in Dallas and is described as ‘a hardcore litigator.’" (This year's guide was based on more than 7,000 interviews with U.S. in-house and outside counsel.). The 2007 Legal 500 declares that Tom draws praise from clients, one commenting that he is "extremely organized, thorough and an excellent manager." Others say: "He is not afraid to delegate or empower his subordinate lawyers and serves as a highly regarded role model, well liked by all." The Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators has said Tom is "Colt Manufacturing Co.'s secret weapon." (This publication is billed as "a guide to the best in the courtroom when it comes to shaping corporate America" and is based on evaluation from clients and opposing counsel.)

Texas, Ohio, and Pennsylvania

The Ohio State University (Note and Comment Editor, Law Journal; Order of the Coif; J.D. summa cum laude 1975); The University of Toledo (Phi Beta Kappa; B.A. magna cum laude 1972)