Tom Kurland is a Partner in the firm’s Litigation department, focusing on products liability, brand protection, and commercial tort, with a particular focus on matters involving FDA-regulated products.  For his experience in these areas, Mr. Kurland has been recognized annually since 2016 in the New York-Metro edition of Super Lawyers.

Products Liability

Mr. Kurland has extensive experience with all phases of products liability litigation from initial case assessment through trial and appeal, and has served as both national counsel and local counsel defending claims related to drugs, medical devices, vaccines, biologics, cosmetics, food products, vehicles, and other consumer goods in courts throughout the country.  No stranger to the courtroom, Mr. Kurland is routinely sought out by clients, colleagues, and even adversaries for his deep understanding of both substantive and procedural products liability law.

Since 2016, Mr. Kurland has acted as principal regional counsel to a Fortune 50 consumer products manufacturer defending allegations that its cosmetic talc products were contaminated with asbestos.  In this role, Mr. Kurland has overseen the defense of scores of cases in specialized asbestos proceedings throughout New York State, and has handled jury trials and appeals in some of New York’s most challenging venues.  In 2022, Mr. Kurland played a key role in both the trial and appellate efforts that successfully overturned a $325 million jury verdict on causation grounds, resulting in a complete victory for his client.

Mr. Kurland has also been engaged to prepare experts on causation, epidemiology, signal detection, and regulatory compliance for proceedings throughout the United States and abroad, and maintains extensive relationships with physicians, scientists, and other specialists in these areas.

Anti-Counterfeiting and Investigations

Mr. Kurland regularly represents major manufacturers of pharmaceuticals, medical devices and nutritional supplements in anti-counterfeiting actions nationwide as plaintiffs’ counsel in civil proceedings, coordinating large-scale anti-counterfeiting investigations in cooperation with law enforcement authorities.

In the course of this work, Mr. Kurland has successfully seized counterfeit products from scores of individuals and businesses that have manufactured and distributed counterfeits, and has assisted in the recovery of many millions of dollars in settlements, judgments and penalties for his clients.

Mr. Kurland has also advised clients in a variety of industries on developing investigative strategies to uncover improper marketing and sales tactics, and has extensive experience working with private investigators and law enforcement both domestically and abroad to further his clients’ objectives.

False Advertising

Mr. Kurland has represented clients in the telecommunications, e-commerce, nutritional supplement, and cosmetics industries as both plaintiffs and defendants in false advertising and consumer fraud actions brought under both state and federal law, including Lanham Act claims and consumer class-action lawsuits.

Commercial Disputes

Mr. Kurland has handled a wide variety of commercial disputes arising under both tort and contract law in state and federal court, as well as in domestic and international arbitration.  Among other matters, Mr. Kurland has successfully defended an international publishing company against claims related to alleged corporate espionage; defended a major Latin American industrial concern in a dispute concerning a professional services contract; and defended an engineering firm from allegations of tortious interference with a joint venture agreement.

Pro Bono

Mr. Kurland shares the firm’s commitment to pro bono work, focusing on civil rights litigation. Among other matters, Mr. Kurland has represented pre-trial detainees housed in City-run correctional facilities who sustained injuries as a result of their improper classification as gang members; represented disabled students in New Orleans who were turned away from public schools in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina; represented a non-profit school for disabled children facing eviction from its facility; represented low-income immigrants after the tenement building where they resided was destroyed in a devastating fire; and represented tenants in a rent-controlled building facing eviction motivated by improper ethnic discrimination.

In connection with these efforts, Mr. Kurland is a past recipient of the Legal Aid Society’s Pro Bono Publico Award for Outstanding Pro Bono Service, and has been recognized as Empire State Counsel by the New York State Bar Association.

Bar Admissions

• U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit; Third Circuit
• U.S. District Court, Southern; Eastern; Western; Northern Districts of New York
• New York

Education

• Cornell Law School (J.D., 2010)
  • Articles Editor, Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy
  • General Editor, Cornell Legal Information Institute Bulletin
• University of Pennsylvania (B.A., cum laude, 2005)

Professional Activities and Experience

MEMBERSHIPS:

• New York County Lawyers Association (Member, Board of Directors 2023-2026)
• New York City Bar Association (Product Liability Committee - Member 2016-Present; Chair 2019-2022)
• New York State Bar Association (Section on Federal and Commercial Litigation, Federal Procedure Committee, 2022-present)
• American Bar Association
• DRI (Drug and Medical Device Committee)

SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS: 

• Panelist, "FDA in the Crosshairs: What Recent Court Activity and State Litigation Over Mifepristone Means for the Future of Agency Deference," American Conference Institute's 28th Annual Conference on Drug & Medical Device Litigation (December 6, 2023)
• Panelist, "Nemeth and Beyond: An Expanded Discussion of the Past, Present, and Future of Expert and Causation Evidence in New York," New York City Bar Association (May 17, 2023)
• Speaker, “Drug and Medical Device 101," DRI webinar (March 22, 2023)
• Speaker, "Addressing The Latest and Greatest in Plaintiffs' Bar Attacks on OTC Drugs and Consumer Health Products," American Conference Institute’s 27^th Annual Drug & Medical Device Litigation Conference (December 6, 2022)
• Moderator, “What a Nuisance: Opioids, Public Nuisance, and the Evolution of Mass Torts,” New York City Bar Association Panel (May 10, 2022)
• Panelist, “Getting Along at A Cosmetic Talc Trial - Plaintiffs, Experts, Manufacturers, Distributors, And Retailers,” ABA’s 30th Annual Toxic Torts and Environmental Spring CLE Meeting (April 8, 2022)
• Presenter, “Strategies for Combating Off-Label Marketing Claims with the Learned Intermediary Doctrine,” DRI Drug and Medical Device Conference (May 11, 2017)
• “CASE STUDY: The 5-Hour ENERGY^TM Anti-Counterfeiting Litigation,” IQPC 17^th Annual Anti-Counterfeiting & Brand Protection Summit (September 26, 2016)

• Co-Author, "When The Platform Is A Product, Strict Liability Can Attach," Law360 (May 14, 2024)
• Co-Author, "Is a Platform Also a Product? One New York Court Says Yes, and It's Not Alone," New York Law Journal (March 28, 2024)
• Co-Author, "'Mallory' Decision Could Have Profound Implications for Out-of-State Companies Registered to Do Business in NY," New York Law Journal (July 10, 2023)
• Co-Author, "Pending FDA Cosmetics Review Allows Class Action Defense," Law360 (February 2023)
• Author, "Court Split On Amazon’s Seller Liability Could Be Moot," Bloomberg Law (December 2021)
• Co-Author, "NY’s New Marijuana Law: Implications for False Advertising and Products Liability Lawsuits," New York Law Journal (May 2021)
• Co-Author, "The SCOTUS Ford Decision Is Good News for Mass Tort Defendants," Bloomberg Law (April 2021)
• Author, "NY Ruling On Amazon's Seller Liability Is Good For Plaintiffs," Law360 (January 2021)

• Co-Author, "COVID-19 Business Interruption Coverage – Chief Roadblocks And Potential Paths To Coverage For Commercial Losses In New York" MEALEY's Litigation Report: Catastrophic Loss (August 2020)

• Co-Author, "COVID-19 Business Interruption Coverage – Chief Roadblocks And Potential Paths To Coverage For Commercial Losses In New York" MEALEY's Emerging Insurance Disputes (July 2020)
• Co-Author, INSIGHT: Business Interruption Recovery in New York—Two Cases Might Help, Bloomberg Law (July 2020)
• Contributing Author, DRI Products Liability Case Law Update (2015)
• Co-Author, 50 State Survey: Media Privacy and Related Law (Media Law Resource Center)

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