R. BRUCE BARZE, JR. is a member of the Litigation section, where he has practiced since 1992.

During his seventeen years of law practice, Bruce has tried commercial disputes, fraud cases, environmental claims, and wrongful death and personal injury cases. He has significant experience defending high exposure personal injury and wrongful death litigation. Bruce served as national coordinating counsel for a pharmaceutical company in the phen-fen litigation, and serves as state or regional counsel for a number of companies, including product manufacturers who make heavy trucks and other vehicles and electrical equipment.

Bruce served as President of the Alabama Defense Lawyers Association (ADLA) for 2007-08 and has been on the ADLA Board of Directors since 1999. He has been selected for inclusion in “Alabama Super Lawyers” by Law & Politics and as a “Future Star” by Benchmark Litigation. He is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and is an active member of the International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC), and the Defense Research Institute (DRI), currently serving as the DRI State Representative for Alabama. He also is active in the Alabama State Bar, having served on the Character and Fitness Committee since 1998. Bruce is admitted to practice in all State and Federal courts in Alabama, as well as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and the United States Supreme Court. He has litigated matters in courts throughout the Southeast and in Colorado, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Bruce is married and the proud father of two children. He is a member of the Church Council of Canterbury United Methodist Church and a member of the Board of Directors of The Bell Center, which provides programs and services for young children who are at risk for developmental delay (www.thebellcenter.org).

Some of Bruce's relevant experience includes:

• Serving as counsel to the entity that is overseeing the environmental remediation and re-development of property formerly comprising the U.S. Army's Ft. McClellan.
• Served as coverage counsel for an insurer and helped it settle a dangerous wrongful death case. Also filed a suit seeking reimbursement of the settlement amount from a company that agreed to indemnify our client’s insured and that company’s insurer. Following aggressive discovery and briefing and argument of several dispositive motions, we settled the case and recovered nearly $1.6 million for our client.
• Currently representing companies in an Alabama class action allegedly involving 30,000 workers and in a West Virginia lawsuit filed by 99 coal miners, all of whom allege exposure to polymeric diphenyl methane diisocyanate (PMDI).
• Served as national coordinating counsel for a pharmaceutical company in the recent fen-phen litigation, managing thousands of cases and lawyers in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and North Carolina, as well as multidistrict litigation proceedings in Pennsylvania.
• Currently serving as Southeastern Regional Counsel for a well-known companies, including vehicle manufacturers and a large electrical products and technology company.
  

Substantial Matters

• • Obtained dismissal of lawsuit challenging Corps of Engineers permit issued to the city of Cullman for construction of dam and 650-acre reservoir.
  • Successfully represented a venture capital company in a dispute with a developer of a multi-million dollar Florida waterfront community and marina. Following two days of trial, the Court declared the developer in default and granted complete relief to our client, including an award of attorneys’ fees.
  • Obtained dismissal of a serious personal injury lawsuit in Georgia against an electrical product manufacturer. The plaintiff, a telephone company lineman, lost an arm following contact with a high voltage power line.
  • Obtained a defense verdict for part-owner of a hotel sued for shareholder oppression and fraud by a minority shareholder.
  • Obtained a multi-million dollar settlement for a commercial nursery in a Clean Water Act lawsuit filed against a neighboring business. Our client’s nursery crops and business were damaged as a result of the defendant’s failure to properly handle agricultural pesticides and other chemicals, such that they contaminated the client’s irrigation pond.
  • Obtained summary judgment for refractory company in asbestos litigation and successfully litigated appeal in which plaintiffs sought to circumvent the Alabama personal injury statute of limitations by arguing CERCLA preemption. Chestang v. W.R. Grace & Co., 709 So. 2d 470 (Ala. 1998).
  • Prevailed on correct legal tests to be applied against electric utility in Clean Air Act case brought by EPA as part of its New Source Review enforcement initiative. Court held that EPA interpretation was not entitled to deference and that EPA attempted to redefine rules through litigation rather than rulemaking. U.S. v. Alabama Power Co., 372 F. Supp. 2d 1283 (N.D. Ala. 2005).
  • Obtained summary judgment for power company in case where two construction workers were killed when their crane made contact with a power line. On appeal, Supreme Court of Alabama agreed that power company did not have requisite notice of construction activity. McGregory v. Lloyd Wood Const. Co., 736 So. 2d 571 (Ala. 1999).
  • After a week of trial, successfully resolved lawsuit filed against major nationwide retailer by adjacent property owner claiming damage as a result of leaking underground gasoline storage tanks.
  • Resolved for a nominal amount a multi-million dollar lawsuit against one of North America's largest producers of oriented strand board. The plaintiff was an adjacent property owner claiming damage to his pond and property from storm water runoff and other alleged contaminants.

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

• • Alabama Defense Lawyers Association, President, 2007-08. Board of Directors, 1999-present
  • Alabama State Bar, Character and Fitness Committee, 1998-present
  • Listed in Alabama Super Lawyers, 2008, 2009 
  • Named a "Future Star" by Benchmark Litigation
  • Fellow, American Bar Foundation
  • Appointed by Supreme Court to Advisory Committee on the Alabama Rules of Evidence
  • Birmingham Bar Association
  • International Association of Defense Counsel (Southeast Regional Membership Chair. Chair, Technology Committee. Chair, Environmental, Energy and Maritime Law Committee, 2004-2007)
  • Defense Research Institute (DRI), Alabama State Representative, 2008-11
  • ADLA Bibb Allen Memorial Trial Academy, Co-Chair, 1995-1998

COMMUNITY RELATIONS

• • Member, Board of Directors, The Bell Center (Chairman of Funding Committee)
  • Member, Church Council, Canterbury United Methodist Church
  • Member, Early Warning Panel, Mountain Brook School System
    

NEWS

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Speaking Engagements