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Attorney Profile

Daniel J. Ryan Jr.

Shareholder
Co-Chair, Environmental & Toxic Torts Practice Group; Chair, Asbestos Litigation Practice Group
1845 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 575-2740
(215) 575-0856 - Fax
djryan@mdwcg.com

Dan serves as the chair of the Environmental & Toxic Tort Practice Group in the Philadelphia office of Marshall, Dennehey, Warner, Coleman & Goggin. In this capacity Dan is responsible for the oversight of a group of attorneys who focus on toxic tort litigation. He also supervises the representation of many defendants in asbestos litigation throughout Pennsylvania. Dan also concentrates a portion of his practice to defending insurers in bad faith litigation.

In addition to close to 30 years of trial experience in toxic tort litigation on behalf of asbestos manufacturers, Dan has also developed an extensive involvement in lead paint litigation on behalf of building owners and has also tried auto, premises, exercise equipment, and various other product liability claims, representing manufacturers and insurers. As an alternative to litigating matters, Dan has extensive participation in various types of mediation and alternative dispute resolution.

Adding to his law practice, Dan has given lectures and seminars concerning the defense in mass tort litigation with particular emphasis on alternative, cost effective ways for processing large volumes of cases. He has also lectured on the defense of bad faith cases for the Insurance Society of Philadelphia's Continuing Legal Education program as well as to the staffs of insurers. 

Significant Representative Matters

  • Received a defense verdict in an asbestos product liability suit by a mesothelioma victim for a wire manufacturer in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, in a two-and-a-half-week trial. 

  • Succeeded in precluding plaintiff's toxicologist following a Frye hearing in a chemical sensitivity case which resulted in a non suit victory for a builder. 

  • Tried and won one of the original first party bad faith cases in Pennsylvania, which is one of the most often cited decisions in the field of first party bad faith litigation. Terletsky v. Prudential, 649 A2d 680 [Pa Super 19994] 

  • Received a defense verdict in a first party bad faith case tried in Philadelphia following the preclusion of plaintiff's bad faith expert, which was upheld on appeal. Bergman v. USAA, 742 A2d 1101 [ Pa Super 1999] 

  • Received a defense verdict in a bad faith trial in the federal court from a jury wherein the demand was $1 million against the top plaintiff bad faith litigator in Pennsylvania, which was upheld on appeal to the Third Circuit. Dinner v. USAA, no. 01-1299, February 2002. 

  • Successfully defended numerous asbestos manufacturers and suppliers and received several low verdicts as well as many very reasonable settlements during trial. 

  • Has tried many UM/UIM Arbitration cases. 

  • Successfully engineered many victories for clients in asbestos litigation through summary judgment where many of these decisions have been upheld on appeal. 

  • Handled a class action involving claims of bad faith regarding a coverage position taken by an insurer, which was dismissed after discovery was completed. 

Areas of Practice

Published Works

  • "Pennsylvania Superior Court Finally Clarifies What is Bad Faith Conduct Under Section 8371," Defense Digest, Winter, 1994 

  • "Applying Lessons Learned From the Asbestos Litigation to the Next Mass Tort (Repetitive Stress)," Defense Digest, January, 1995 

  • "'Market-Share' Liability Is Rejected In Lead Paint Case in Pennsylvania," Defense Digest, January, 1996 

Classes/Seminars Taught

  • Annual presentations to various clients groups regarding the status of asbestos litigation in Pennsylvania involving strategies for defending various types of products such as brakes, tile, caulk, joint compound, boilers, wire, pumps and packing. 

  • Presented several in-house presentations to various insurers as to how to avoid bad faith litigation in Pennsylvania while handling first party claims. 

Education

  • Hamline University School of Law, St. Paul, Minnesota, 1977 J.D. 

  • Temple University School of Law, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 

  • Villanova University, 1974 B.S.

    Major:  Business Administration 

Areas of Practice

Education

  • Villanova University (B.S., 1974)
  • Hamline University School of Law (J.D., 1977)

Bar Admissions

  • Pennsylvania, 1978

Associations & Memberships

  • American Board of Trial Advocates, Philadelphia Chapter
  • Defense Research Institute
  • Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel
  • Pennsylvania Bar Association
  • Philadelphia Bar Association
  • The Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Hearing Committee Member, July 2005

Honors & Awards

Year Joined Organization: 1977

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