David B. Sudzus

• Successfully pursued and argued a motion to dismiss all claims directed against a retailer and manufacturer of hooded sweatshirts in a product liability claim pending in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Ill.
• Successful coordination of the national defense of a silicone raw material manufacturer in silicone-gel breast implant litigation.
• Successful representation of a manufacturer of latex gloves in products liability litigation, including serving on the National Coordinating Counsel team.

Dave defends clients from initiation of the case through trial. His recent engagements include:

• Lead Defense Counsel in Illinois for ongoing hip replacement litigation.
• Part of the National Coordinating Counsel team in ongoing infant Tylenol and children’s ibuprofen litigation.
• Local Illinois Counsel and member of the trial team in defense of a Fentanyl pain patch manufacturer.
• Part of trial teams which achieved recent defense verdicts on behalf of a manufacturer of hip replacements in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois and a manufacturer of an over the counter ibuprofen product in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
• Recently second-chaired a trial in the defense of an over the counter acetaminophen pain relief medication in the Superior Court of the State of New Jersey, Atlantic City before Judge Carol E. Higbee.
• Successful defenses of manufacturers of various products including a children’s vaccine, a chemical sterilization product, and pesticides.

Dave has handled a wide range of consumer class-action cases, including those involving consumer electronics, personal hand-held devices, children’s bath products, and over-the-counter homeopathic remedies.

• Obtained summary judgment for the manufacturer of children’s bath products, defeating efforts by plaintiffs to establish putative nationwide class action litigation involving these products.
• Obtained summary judgment for the manufacturer of a hand-held personal electronic device, defeating alleged consumer class action claims and efforts to establish a statewide class of consumers.

Dave has experience in handling a variety of commercial disputes, including the successful representation of rap artists and doom metal musicians. His experience includes:

• Representation of doom metal musicians in a trademark dispute involving their respective band names.
• Representation of a Chicago-based musician in a trademark dispute involving the infringement of his stage name by a professional athlete and his agents.
• Representation of three rap artists whose names and likenesses were misappropriated by the National Tobacco Co., a subsidiary of Phillip Morris, for use on a web site.

Throughout his career, Dave has handled a myriad of pro bono matters including those involving protection of child custody rights, renter’s rights, prisoner’s rights, securing safe immigration status, preparing estate and living will documents, assisting in expungement of prior criminal records and protecting the intellectual property rights of musicians and artists. He also continues to supervise pro bono matters managed by other attorneys in the firm and assists in managing a regular clinic which the firm operates in connection with local nonprofit Chicago Volunteer Legal Services. Dave is co-chair of the Chicago office Pro Bono Committee and is a member of the firm’s Public Interest Committee.