JAMES L. HOLLIS is a Partner in Balch & Bingham's Atlanta office. He is the head of the firm's product liability group. Jim has a diverse practice that includes product liability, construction defect and toxic tort litigation. He also has significant experience representing bidders in state and local government contract disputes. Finally, Jim represented the State of Georgia in an investigation of systematic cheating by administrators and teachers on standardized testing in local elementary and middle schools.
Jim's product liability practice focuses on defending manufacturers of a variety of industrial products against catastrophic personal injury and property damage claims. Jim has defended some of the world's largest woodworking machinery manufacturers, as well as a large manufacturer of industrial automation equipment, including programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and force drives. Jim has also defended pharmaceutical companies, automobile manufacturers and manufacturers of agricultural machinery in product liability cases. Jim defended toxic tort claims alleging personal injury and property damage from mercury, PCBs, asbestos and mold.
Jim, his wife Courtney, and their two daughters live in Atlanta.
Representative Experience
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In 2004, Jim was trial counsel for a petroleum company where the jury awarded his client 100% of its damages plus 100% of its attorneys' fees.
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Jim represented the owners of multi-family residential condominium buildings in several construction defect cases, which resulted in verdicts or settlements exceeding $6 million. In one case, Jim obtained a Daubert order excluding key portions of the defense expert's testimony.
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Jim settled a property damage claim for approximately 20% of the claim's value after taking a single deposition of the designer of an industrial manufacturing line.
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Jim has experience defending both single plaintiff pharmaceutical claims, and coordinating state court claims with Federal MDL proceedings. Jim has worked on cases involving Metoclopramide (Reglan), Phenytoin (Dilantin), Digoxin (Digitek) and Propoxyphene (Darvocet/Darvon). In one case, Jim secured the dismissal of a claim against a pharmaceutical manufacturer after taking a single deposition of plaintiff's treating physician.
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In 2008, Jim defended a manufacturer of an industrial panel saw in a case involving significant crush injuries to plaintiff. Jim obtained summary judgment on all claims except one. The order severely limited the circumstances under which the Plaintiff could recover on the surviving claim and the case settled on favorable terms.
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In 2009, Jim was trial counsel in a breach of contract claim related to the dissolution of a professional firm. On the morning of trial, Jim obtained an order dismissing a significant portion of plaintiffs’ alleged damages.
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In 2010, Jim was trial counsel in a racial discrimination claim against DeKalb County, Georgia, that resulted in a punitive damages verdict against several county administrators, including former County CEO Vernon Jones.
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Beginning in 2010, Jim was part of a team appointed by then Governor Sonny Perdue to investigate systemic cheating on standardized tests by teachers, principals and administrators in the Atlanta Independent School System and the Dougherty County School System. During the course of this investigation, Jim worked with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and other State investigative agencies.
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
State Bar of Georgia
Atlanta Bar Association
Defense Research Institute Graduate
Georgia Super Lawyers "Rising Star," 2010-2011
National Institute of Trial Advocacy, Graduate
Georgia Defense Lawyers Association (Vice Chair Products Liability Committee)
REPRESENTATIVE TRANSACTIONS