Profile: Fletcher Alford

Product Liability

Biography: Product Liability

Fletcher Alford is a litigation partner at Gordon & Rees. His practice focuses on the defence of class actions and other complex civil litigation, with an emphasis on claims of medical product liability, consumer fraud, unfair business practices and Proposition 65.

Mr Alford has extensive trial and appellate experience, and has handled large, complex cases before both state and federal courts, including the United States Supreme Court. His significant published cases include: Deep Sea Research, Inc v State of California, 523 US 491 (1998); In re Vaccine Cases (2005) 134 Cal App 4th 438, Hamm v American Home Products (ED Ca, 1995) 888 F Supp 1037; Casey v Ohio Medical Products (ND Ca, 1995) 877 F Supp 1380; and Hoch v AlliedSignal Inc (1995) 24 Cal App 4th 48.

Mr Alford recently obtained a defence verdict, after an eight-week jury trial, in a challenging and widely publicised case brought by children from around the country who claimed that they sustained brain damage as a result of a client's allegedly defective products. The California Daily Journal noted this case as one of the 'Top 10 Defense Verdicts of 2006'. He also recently obtained an important and precedent-setting ruling from the Court of Appeal, holding that California's Proposition 65 warning requirements do not apply to prescription drugs.

Mr Alford graduated magna cum laude from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington and obtained his JD degree magna cum laude from the University of California, Hastings.

Mr Alford was named by his peers as one of Northern California's 'Super Lawyers' in the field of civil litigation for 2005 and 2006.