James W. Ozog
Partner
Summary
Jim Ozog has more than 30 years of experience
in product liability, commercial and insurance litigation defense.
In addition to representing clients in both state and federal
courts in Illinois, he serves as National Product Liability Defense
Counsel for several national and international manufacturers in
fire, explosion and catastrophic burn cases. He has been admitted
to practice in 28 states and has successfully
tried product liability cases to verdict in the states of Illinois,
Arkansas, Washington, Massachusetts, Texas, Georgia, Florida, New
Hampshire and Pennsylvania.
| Areas of Emphasis |
- Product liability
- Commercial and insurance litigation
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| Client Representations |
| Jim has served as defense counsel in courts
around the country, handling number of significant product
liability, personal injury and insurance cases. Among these
are:
- Townes v. Sunbeam Oster Co., Inc.,
50 S.W.3d 446 (Tenn. Ct. App., Feb 05, 2001).
- Lewsader v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.,
296 Ill.App.3d 169, 694 N.E.2d 191, 230 Ill. Dec. 560 (Ill.
App. 4 Dist., Apr 03, 1998).
- Roback v. VIP Transport, Inc.,
90 F.3d 1207 (7th Cir. 1996). This case hinged on Daubert
rule exclusion of an engineer’s expert methodology
involving analysis of a vehicle accident.
- Randall v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.,
284 Ill. App.3d 970, 673 N.E.2d 452 (4th Dist. 1996).
- O’Conner v. Pinto Trucking Service,
Inc., 149 Ill.App.3d 911, 501 N.E.2d 263, 103 Ill.
Dec. 242 (Ill.App.1 Dist., Nov 18, 1986).
- Garcia v. Sunbeam Corp., 1995 WL
794567 (N.D.Ill., Jan 31, 1996).
- Allstate Ins. Co. v. Sunbeam Corp.,
53 F.3d 804 (7th Cir. 1995). This case established that
summary dismissal was an appropriate sanction for a plaintiff’s
spoliation of evidence in a product’s case.
- Shelbyville Mutual Insurance Co. v.
Sunbeam Leisure Products Co., 262 Ill. App.3d 636,
634 N.E.2d1317 (5th Dist. 1994).
- Nielson v. United Service Automobile
Association, 244 Ill. App.3d 658, 612 N.E.2d 526 (2nd
Dist. 1994).
- Oswald V. Township High School
Dist. No. 214, 84 Ill.App.3d 723, 406 N.E.2d 157, 40
Ill. Dec. 456 (Ill. App.1 Dist., May 30, 1980).
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| Professional Affiliations |
- American Bar Association
- Illinois State Bar Association
- Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel
- Defense Research Institute
- Propane Gas Defense Association
|
Professional Background
Jim joined Wiedner & McAuliffe in 2003. He practiced from 1990
to 2003 at the firm of Momkus, Ozog & McCluskey LLC. From 1977
to 1990, he was an attorney and partner at the firm of Clausen Miller
from 1977 to 1990 in Chicago.
| Publications and Presentations |
- "Ethical Issues that Arise
Between National and Local Counsel,” DRI-Product
Liability Conference, February 2008
- "The Admissibility of CPSC
Publications in Product Liability Trials,” DRI-The
Voice, Vol. 6, Issue 24, June 2007
- “The Admissibility of Expert/Opinion
Testimony of Investigating Public Authorities in Fire/Explosion
Cases,” DRI Fire and Casualty Seminar, November
2006.
- “Amended Federal Rules of
Evidence Tighten Restrictions on the Admissibility of Lay
and Expert Opinion Evidence,” Illinois Defense
Counsel Quarterly, Vol. 11, No. 1, p. 27 (2001).
- “Court Rejects IPI 400.07
in Design Defect Cases,” IDC Quarterly, Vol.
12, No. 1, p. 25 (2002).
- “Debunking Extrapolation
Post-Donaldson,” IDC Quarterly Vol. 12, No. 4,
p. 22 (2003).
- “Defending Product Liability
Cases in Illinois After the Best Decision,” IDC
Quarterly, Vol. 8, No. 4, p. 1 (1998).
- “First District Limits Application
of Learned Intermediary Defense in Medical Device Cases,”
IDC Quarterly, Vol. 11, No. 4, p. 18 (2001).
- “Gatekeeping in Design Defect
Cases,” IDC Quarterly, Vol. 12, No. 2, p. 22
(2002).
- “Investigating and Defending
Claims of Electrical Shock,” IDC Quarterly, Vol.
13, No. 2, p. 21 (2003).
- “NFPA 921 and the Defense
of Product Liability Cases,” IDC Quarterly, Vol.
11, No. 3, p. 40 (2001).
- “Open and Obvious Dangers
in Strict Liability,” IDC Quarterly, Vol. 12,
No. 3, p. 19 (2002).
- “‘Passive Spoliation’
and the Plaintiff’s Duty to Preserve Evidence: Kaybylis
v. Ford Motor Company,” IDC Quarterly, Vol. 13,
No. 3 p 13 (2003).
- “Public Nuisance and Product
Liability,” IDC Quarterly, Vol. 13, No. 1, p.
17 (2003).
- “Second District Rejects Post-sale
Duty to Warn,” IDC Quarterly, Vol. 11, No. 2,
p. 55 (2001).
As a member of the Defense Research Institute,
Jim has lectured on a variety of litigation defense topics
on behalf of that organization. Among his presentations are:
- “Defending Consumer Class
Actions and the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005,"
February, 2005.
- “Current Issues in the Trial
of a Product Liability Case,” November 2003.
- “Investigation of Electrocution
Accidents,” February 2003.
- “Preparing the In-house Expert
for Deposition and Cross-Examination under Daubert,”
February 1995.
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| Community Involvement |
- Y-Guide, Tribal Chief
- Member St. Petronelle’s Church
Choir
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| Bar Admissions |
- Illinois
- U.S. District Courts, Northern and Central
Districts of Illinois
- U.S. District Court, Western District of
Michigan
- U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals
- U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals
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James W. Ozog
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