Biography

Edward R. Moor is a partner of Williams Montgomery & John Ltd. and a member of the firm’s class action, product liability, aviation and commercial litigation practice groups. He focuses his practice on complex litigation in the fields of torts, class actions, aviation accidents, product liability and business litigation. He is “AV Preeminent” peer review rated by Martindale-Hubbell, reflecting the highest peer recognition for ethical standards and legal ability. In 2005, Mr. Moor was listed in Illinois Super Lawyers for general litigation.

Mr. Moor has 21 years of experience as a civil trial lawyer and litigator. He has served as national counsel in class action litigation in multiple jurisdictions and as regional and local counsel for several corporations. Mr. Moor currently serves as national class action defense counsel for various subsidiaries of Zurich, one of the largest insurers in the world. He defends these subsidiaries in national and state-wide class actions related to their handling of personal and commercial insurance policies.

Mr. Moor has defended clients in many high-profile personal injury and wrongful death tort cases. He currently is defending several motion picture companies in the highly publicized litigation arising from an accident that occurred during the filming of Transformers 3. He also has defended Lycoming Engines in a multiple-death aviation case, Zenith Electronics in a severe burn case, several trucking companies in catastrophic injury cases, and tire manufacturers such as Goodyear Tire & Rubber and Cooper Tire & Rubber in product liability catastrophic injury and death cases.

Mr. Moor has successfully tried personal injury cases in state and federal court, obtaining verdicts for both plaintiffs and defendants, including a $1.5 million verdict against a leading orthopedic surgeon for medical malpractice.

Mr. Moor and a team of lawyers recently secured an $85 million recovery on behalf of the U.S. government representing a qui tam plaintiff in a complex kickback case against a national medical equipment manufacturer. The decision was reported on the front page of the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, March 16, 2011, Vol. 157, No. 52.

Mr. Moor also has represented many business owners in stock and partnership disputes in both state and federal court.

Education/Bar Admissions

Mr. Moor received a B.A. in history and sociology in 1983 and an M.A. in sociology in 1986 from Indiana University. He received his J.D., cum laude, in 1990 from Indiana University School of Law, where he was elected to the Order of Barristers.

Mr. Moor was admitted to the Illinois and Indiana bars in 1990, and also has been admitted to the following federal trial and appellate courts:

• U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois (including the trial bar)
• U.S. District Court, Central District of Illinois
• U.S. District Court, Southern District of Illinois
• U.S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana
• U.S. District Court, Southern District of Indiana
• U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of Indiana
• U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit

In addition, Mr. Moor has been admitted pro hac vice in many state and federal courts across the country.

Professional Activities/Recognitions

Mr. Moor is active in many professional organizations, including:

• Illinois State Bar Association
• Chicago Bar Association: Bench and Bar Committee, Aviation Law Committee, Class Litigation Committee, Federal Civil Practice Committee, and Tort Litigation Committee
• American Bar Association: Business Law Section, Litigation Section
• Defense Research Institute
• Illinois Trial Lawyers Association

Mr. Moor works with Lutheran Social Services in its Family Connections program, taking children to visit their incarcerated parents once a month as part of the prison ministry programs at the First Presbyterian Church of Evanston, where Mr. Moor is a member.

Representative Cases

Adolfo Romo v. Paramount Pictures Corporation, DW Studios Productions LLC et al., Circuit Court of Cook County, Ill.  Currently defending several motion picture companies in the highly publicized litigation arising from an accident that occurred during the filming of Transformers 3. Case pending.

Sean Mason ex. rel. United States v. Medline, Inc. and the Medline Foundation, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois: Secured $85 million recovery on behalf of the U.S. government representing qui tam plaintiff after the United States declined to intervene. Lawsuit brought against Medline for its national practice of securing contracts by providing kickbacks to medical care facilities using complex methods that made it impossible for providers to accurately report savings to the government in accordance with applicable regulations. Case settled after discovery for $85 million plus attorney’s fees.

In re Med Pay Litigation, Circuit Court of Canadian County, Okla.: Successfully negotiated client’s exclusion from a 14-state class action.

Estates of John and Donna Kathleen Swan, deceased, et al. v. Lycoming Engines, a Division of Avco Corporation, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri: Favorably settled lawsuit against client Lycoming Engines arising from a single-engine plane crash in Wabash, Ind., involving fourth deaths. Plaintiffs alleged that the vibration characteristics of a Lycoming six-cylinder engine caused an in-flight fire. Case settled immediately before trial.

McCloud v. Goodyear Dunlop North America, U.S. District Court, Central District of Illinois: Defended Dunlop in a failed tire lawsuit involving brain damage and quadriplegia. Case settled after verdict.

Yoder v. Roundy’s Inc., Circuit Court of Cook County, Ill.: Defended Roundy’s, Inc. (as co-counsel with Barry Montgomery) in lawsuit seeking $110 million in damages for multiple catastrophic injuries and a death resulting from a 15-car pile-up on Interstate 90 in Chicago. Verdict of $10.3 million against Roundy’s was one-half of the lowest pretrial demand.

Sanders v. The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, et al., Circuit Court of Cook County, Ill.: Favorably settled lawsuit against client Goodyear involving the rollover of a Ford E350 van that caused one death and an amputation to a 14-year-old female. Plaintiff alleged defective tire caused blowout. Case settled shortly before trial for 1 percent of lowest demand.

Lahey v. Northern Illinois Clinical Laboratory, Circuit Court of Cook County, Ill.: Obtained $250,000 settlement for plaintiff in lawsuit against Northern Illinois Clinical Laboratory and two of its pathologists alleging they misdiagnosed a melanoma lesion as a benign mole. The sample was submitted by a plastic surgeon, and the pathology report that was sent back to the plastic surgeon from the defendants described the lesion as benign. As a result, the plastic surgeon did not perform a wider excision, which was the standard treatment for the type of melanoma lesion the plaintiff had. The lesion recurred one year later and eventually spread to the plaintiff’s axilla lymph nodes requiring a lymphendectomey.

Roger Jackson, Special Administrator of the Estate of Janet Jackson v. Dr. Basil Chronis, Circuit Court of Cook County, Ill.: Obtained $950,000 settlement on behalf of plaintiff in medical malpractice lawsuit involving a breast-feeding mother whose Stage IV melanoma was diagnosed as a clogged milk gland by her obstetrician and gynecologist. A biopsy ordered by her husband’s physician showed the lump was cancerous, and she later died from the cancer. Case settled after discovery depositions of defendant’s nationally known experts were concluded.

Castineiras v. Swedish Covenant Hospital, et al., Circuit Court of Cook County, Ill.: Obtained $950,000 settlement on behalf of plaintiff, a 30-year-old who complained to her internist of shortness of breath, chest pressure and fatigue three months after delivering her second child. Internist prescribed Zantac for gastroesophageal reflux. Two days later, plaintiff collapsed at work. Upon arrival at Swedish Covenant Hospital, an acute myocardial infarction was diagnosed by EKG, but the appropriate TPA treatment was not initiated for two hours. Plaintiff died six hours after being admitted. Internist contended that she complied with the standard of care in not ordering an EKG because the risk factors for cardiac disease in the plaintiff were virtually nonexistent.

Robert and Patricia Cummings v. Dr. Giri Gireesan, Circuit Court of Cook County, Ill.: Achieved verdict of $1.473 million for plaintiff, who was badly injured in an auto accident while working as an IDOT Minuteman. At the hospital, plaintiff was found to have suffered a fractured left hip and fractured pelvis. An operation performed to repair his left hip fracture resulted in nerve damage to his right side, a permanent drop foot and ulnar nerve impairment at the elbow. Plaintiff alleged that defendant physician failed to properly protect the right leg during surgery, and failed to timely treat the ulnar nerve injury at the elbow. Verdict reported in West Group’s Verdicts, Settlements & Tactics, Vol. 19, No. 11, pp. 493-494, November 1999.

Holmes v. The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois: Achieved jury verdict for client Goodyear in lawsuit brought by plaintiff seeking $1.5 million in damages for two operated herniated cervical discs and permanent chronic pain syndrome. Decision reported in National Jury Verdict Review & Analysis Reporter, Vol. 13:3, pp. 36-37, March 1998.

Peterson v. The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, Circuit Court of Cook County, Ill.: Achieved verdict of “not guilty” for client Goodyear in lawsuit brought against a Goodyear franchisee alleging improper tire repair. The tire failed catastrophically during highway use, contributing to a rollover and resulting in one passenger being rendered a C5 quadriplegic. Plaintiff claimed Goodyear inadequately trained and supervised its franchisee. Co-defendants settled prior to trial for $2.5 million. Decision reported in The National Law Journal and in BNA’s Product Safety and Liability Reporter, Vol. 23:23, pp. 614-615, June 16, 1995.

Publications

Indiana Trial Evidence Manual, (co-author), Michie, 1989-1991.