Edward C. Stewart

Biography

Cases

• Won a unanimous defense jury verdict for Michelin North America in a $66 million product liability trial in South Carolina. The plaintiffs claimed that an allegedly defective Michelin motorcycle tire caused an accident resulting in catastrophic injuries.
• Won a trial verdict as co-counsel for a large financial services provider in a $75 million dispute over the company's allegedly excessive fees.
• Served as regional trial counsel to a leading national shipping company for high-stakes trucking litigation.
• Won a complete defense jury verdict for Michelin following a nine-week product liability trial in Florida in which the plaintiffs requested damages between $80 million and $1.2 billion following a rollover accident involving Michelin tires. WTO also won the appeal.
• Won a unanimous defense verdict for Michelin following a three-week trial in Arizona state court in which the plaintiff demanded $20 million in actual and punitive damages.
• Won Tenth Circuit reversal of a federal district court jury verdict favoring the plaintiff and secured a judgment in favor of Ford Motor Co. in a product liability case involving a rollover crash in which the plaintiff was rendered a quadriplegic.
• Defended the appeal to the Colorado Court of Appeals of a 2010 jury verdict that WTO won for Ford Motor Company in an electronic throttle product liability case.
• Won a verdict in Boulder District Court of Colorado in favor of a food production company in a breach-of-contract action it brought against the sole shareholder and officer of an organic food production company.
• Co-managed with one other law firm the response to requests from 418 dealers for arbitration relating to the bankruptcy of Chrysler Group LLC and following Chrysler's termination of those dealerships. WTO litigated 187 of these Section 747 arbitrations, and, as directed by Congress, resolved all of the litigation within seven months--with a 96% success rate.
• Defended Ford Motor Co. in a four-month certified class action trial involving $2 billion in consumer fraud claims. On the day set for closing arguments, the plaintiffs agreed to a no-cash, coupon-based settlement for the California class and classes in three other states with pending parallel actions.
• Successfully defended Ford in a fraud case when the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York dismissed the plaintiffs' various consumer fraud claims.

Publications & Speaking Engagements

• Presenter, "Ethics, Social Media, and You," The Association for Corporate Counsel, Colorado Chapter, (December 4, 2013).
• Presenter, "U.S. Bankruptcy Court," The Faculty of Federal Advocates' 2013 Trial Advocacy Workshop, (September 20, 2013).
• Presenter, "Take This and Google That - The Ethics of Social Media," Members of the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel, (July 24, 2013).
• Presenter,"Tick Tock: The Case on the Clock," The Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel 2013 Winter Meeting, San Antonio, Texas, (March 2013).
• Presenter, "Frequently Litigated Contract Provisions: Writing Contracts With Litigation In Mind," CLE seminar hosted by WTO, (July 19, 2012).
• "Nightmare Clients: How to Deal with Impossible Clients, Witnesses and Opposing Counsel in Litigation," presented at the National Institute's CLE-accredited seminar, (June 17, 2011).
• "Materials for Courtroom Presentation: Tools and Techniques," presented to the Colorado Bar Association, (June 2011).
• "Technology in the Courtroom," presented for the National Business Institute's Trial Masters Program, (June 2011).
• Presenter, "Litigating Claims Involving Component Part Suppliers: A Manufacturer's Perspective," The American Conference Institute's Annual Forum on Defending and Managing Automotive Product Liability Litigation, (November 2009).
• Presenter, "A Modest Proposal: 'Embrace the Enemy' to Make the Most of Third Parties' Spoliation of Evidence," ABA Seminar: Emerging Issues in Automotive Product Liability Litigation, (March 21, 2002).

Press

• Unanimous Defense Verdict for Michelin in $66M Tire Trial in South Carolina
• Benchmark Litigation 2021 Includes 23 WTO Lawyers
• 27 WTO Lawyers Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America 2019
• WTO Leads Top 100 in Colorado Super Lawyers
• 26 WTO Lawyers ranked in the 24th Edition of The Best Lawyers in America
• Who's Who Legal Names Seven from WTO for Product Liability Defense
• 42 WTO Lawyers Named to the 2017 Colorado Super Lawyers List
• Michelin Wins Complete Defense Verdict in $80 Million Product Liability Jury Trial in Florida
• 20 WTO Lawyers ranked in the 23rd Edition of The Best Lawyers in America®
• Law360, "Ford Wins New Trial In Colo. Over Seat Design Injuries," September 10, 2015.
• 20 WTO Lawyers ranked in the 22nd Edition of The Best Lawyers in America®
• Legal 500 US Ranks Wheeler Trigg O'Donnell in Three Areas Nationwide
• Best Lawyers® 2015 Ranks 20 WTO Attorneys
• Law360, "Ford Largely Defeats Class Action Over Fuel Economy Claims," May 30, 2014.
• Legal 500 US Ranks WTO as One of Two Top Product Liability and Mass Tort Defense Firms in the Automotive Industry

Other Experience

Legal Memberships, Activities, and Honors

Community Memberships, Activities, and Honors

Personal Interests