Profile: J Peter Coll Jr

Product Liability

Biography: Product Liability

J Peter Coll Jr is an experienced trial lawyer who has tried major, complex cases in state and federal courts throughout the United States. In November 2000, he appeared before the United States Supreme Court in US v The Mead Corp and obtained an 8-1 decision in his client Mead's favour. He has also appeared in the highest level appellate courts of New York and New Jersey and in seven Federal Circuit Courts of Appeal. In 1999, Mr Coll was named one of the top 10 litigators in New York by the National Law Journal.

Mr Coll has established important legal precedents in products liability. Beginning in 1985, Mr Coll served as national counsel for American Cyanamid's Lederle Laboratories division in its DTP vaccine litigation and argued Shackil v Lederle Laboratories, in which the Supreme Court of New Jersey rejected all collective liability theories with respect to all vaccines. In 1997 the New York Court of Appeals reaffirmed the 'learned intermediary' rule in Tenuto v Lederle Laboratories, in which Mr Coll successfully argued for retention of that doctrine on behalf of Lederle.

Mr Coll is member of the Advisory Board of BNA Product Safety & Liability Reports and is a contributing author to several trial practice manuals, including Products Liability in New York, Strategy and Practice (NYSBA, 1997).