Education
University of Virginia School of Law (J.D., 1995) Emory University (B.A., 1990, summa cum laude)Admissions
- District of Columbia
- United States Courts of Appeals for the Fourth, Seventh, Eighth, and Tenth Circuits
- United States District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas, Northern District of Florida, Central District of Illinois, District of Maryland, Eastern District of Michigan, and Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia
Insights & Events
On June 12, 2018, the Fourth Circuit unanimously affirmed a decision excluding expert causation testimony and granting summary judgment in favor of Pfizer on claims that its drug Lipitor can cause diabetes. In re: Lipitor (Atorvastatin…
Third Circuit Agrees with Hollingsworth LLP Amicus Brief in Zoloft Case, Affirming Exclusion of Causation Expert
news | June 2, 2017In June 2017, the 3rd Circuit unanimously affirmed a decision excluding expert causation testimony and granting summary judgment in favor of Pfizer on claims that its anti-depressant drug Zoloft can cause cardiac birth defects if taken…
Mr. Griffis shares insights on his most recent victory, including trial tips.
To Tweet or Not to Tweet: How FDA Social Media Guidelines Violate First Amendment
publication | September 25, 2015For Washington Legal Foundation's Legal Backgrounder
And The Defense Wins: DRI’s The Voice recognizes Kirby Griffis in win for Novartis.
news | August 26, 2015Partner Kirby T. Griffis represents Novartis in this matter.
St. Louis Federal Jury Returns Verdict for Novartis in Second Zometa Defense Verdict in a Week
news | February 1, 2012On two consecutive days, two different federal juries returned defense verdicts in favor of Firm client Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation in trials arising out of the federal MDL litigation pending in the Middle District of Tennessee, In re…
Tepid Guidance on a Hot Topic: New York City Bar Ethic Opinion on Litigation Financing
publication | July 22, 2011Washington Legal Foundation's Legal Backgrounder (July 22, 2011) (Kirby T. Griffis)
Cover story for The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel by Firm partner Kirby T. Griffis
MDL court grants Summary Judgment in four first-wave Zometa cases; Case No. 3:08-1157 (Anderson), Case No. 3:08-1156 (Melau), Case No. 3:06-0377 (Thomas).
news | October 28, 2009Case No. 3:08-1157, Anderson. In the first wave of cases in the In re Aredia and Zometa Products Liability Litigation, Chief Judge Todd Campbell of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee granted summary…
State Court Grants Motion to Dismiss for Forum Non Conveniens to Firm Client C.R. Bard
news | July 22, 2008In July 2008, the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas granted C.R. Bard, Inc.’s (“Bard”) Motion to Dismiss Pursuant to Forum Non Conveniens and 42 Pa. C.S.A. § 5322(e) in the case of Murphy v. C.R. Bard, Inc.…
On August 16, 2007, the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey denied plaintiff’s motion to remand in Ripley v. Sandoz, Inc., finding removal to be proper under 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1441(b) despite…
The National Law Journal selected Hollingsworth LLP three times in seven years for its Top Ten Defense Wins list, including for its success in Crowson v. Davol, a major medical device trial in 2004. This complex…
LJN's Product Liability Law & Strategy, Vol. 23, No. 3 (September 2004) (Kirby T. Griffis)
LJN's Product Liability Law & Strategy (November/December 2004) (Kirby T. Griffis)
LJN'S Product Liability Law & Strategy, Vol. 22, No. 4 (October 2003) (Kirby T. Griffis)
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia issued a 69-page Daubert opinion in favor of our client in Rider/Siharath v. Sandoz Pharmaceuticals Corp., 131 F. Supp. 2d 1347 (N.D. Ga. 2001). Among the…
Cases
Tenth Circuit Unanimously Affirms Plaintiff’s Expert Testimony Not Scientifically Reliable
- Precedent
- Pharmaceutical & Medical Device
- February 14, 2015
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma entered summary judgment for Firm client Sandoz Pharmaceuticals Corp., holding that plaintiff’s proffered expert testimony, that the drug Parlodel caused her stroke, was not scientifically reliable…
The Parlodel Trilogy
- Precedent
- Pharmaceutical & Medical Device
- Products Liability & Toxic Torts
- January 27, 2015
11th Circuit affirmance in Rider v. Sandoz Pharmaceuticals completes circuit court Daubert sweep in Parlodel® litigation.
The Zometa Cases
- Precedent
- Pharmaceutical & Medical Device
- Products Liability & Toxic Torts
- Class Action Defense
- January 27, 2015
The core business model for products-liability plaintiffs’ lawyers depends increasingly on first amassing an inventory of claimants via consolidated state and federal proceedings, and then threatening big verdicts in early trials involving cherry-picked claims in favorable…
Louisiana Court of Appeal Overturns Trial Court Judgment for Plaintiff
- Case
- Products Liability & Toxic Torts
- June 17, 2015
The Louisiana Court of Appeal, Fourth Circuit, found that the trial court erred in granting plaintiff’s motion for partial summary judgment and reversed the judgment on the ground the trial court had misapplied the law of…
Florida Court Dismisses Punitive Damages Claims in Aredia/Zometa Case
- Case
- Pharmaceutical & Medical Device
- Products Liability & Toxic Torts
- June 16, 2014
Novartis Pharmaceuticals secured dismissal of punitive damages demands in the Middle District of Florida, joining the vast majority of other courts in the Aredia/Zometa litigation in holding that New Jersey law governs the question of punitive…
S.D. Georgia Grants Novartis Summary Judgment in Zometa Case
- Case
- Pharmaceutical & Medical Device
- Products Liability & Toxic Torts
- May 15, 2013
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia granted Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation’s motion for summary judgment in Wheeler v. Novartis Pharm. Corp., Case No. 1:11-cv-00211 (S.D. Ga. May 15, 2013). The plaintiff claimed that…
Novartis Scores Unanimous Defense Verdict from Florida Jury
- Case
- Pharmaceutical & Medical Device
- Products Liability & Toxic Torts
- April 9, 2013
After deliberating for fewer than forty-five minutes, a federal jury in Tampa, Florida returned a unanimous verdict in favor of Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation in a 3-week trial involving Aredia and Zometa, bisphosphonate medicines used to treat…
Novartis Rebuts Plaintiff’s Changing Failure-to-Warn Theories, Obtaining Summary Judgment on Eve of Trial
- Case
- Pharmaceutical & Medical Device
- Products Liability & Toxic Torts
- November 16, 2012
Judge Roger Titus of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland granted summary judgment in favor of Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation in a case alleging that plaintiff’s treatment with Novartis’s drugs Aredia and Zometa caused osteonecrosis…
In Major Precedent for Drugmakers, Federal Court Precludes Punitives Under New Jersey Law
- Case
- Pharmaceutical & Medical Device
- Products Liability & Toxic Torts
- September 5, 2012
Zimmerman v. Novartis Pharm. Corp., No. 8:08-cv-02089-RWT (D. Md. Sept, 5, 2012)
Western District of Oklahoma Grants Summary Judgment in for Novartis
- Case
- Pharmaceutical & Medical Device
- Products Liability & Toxic Torts
- July 18, 2012
Ingram v. Novartis Pharm. Corp., 888 F. Supp. 2d 1241 (W.D. Okla. 2012)
Southern District of Florida Upholds Removal of a “Pure Bill of Discovery” in Novartis Elidel Case
- Case
- Pharmaceutical & Medical Device
- Products Liability & Toxic Torts
- November 26, 2006
In 2006, plaintiffs in southern Florida filed a “pure bill of discovery” against Firm client Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation. A pure bill of discovery is a little-used Florida procedure, with parallels in a handful of other states,…
NLJ Top Defense Win for Firm in First Trial of Hernia Repair Mesh Serial Litigation
- Case
- Pharmaceutical & Medical Device
- Products Liability & Toxic Torts
- June 10, 2004
Most reasonably complex products liability cases take two to four weeks to try. A case like Crowson v. Davol Inc. – where plaintiff claimed that defective surgical mesh used to repair an inguinal hernia caused him…