Cases
Representative Cases: Theresa Wardon represents clients such as Ford, Michelin,
Whirlpool in high-stakes product liability
class action litigation, trials,
appeals nationwide. In 2017, the American Bar Association named Theresa one of the top 40 young lawyers in America in its annual On the Rise list.
Walker v. Ford Motor Co., 2017 CO 102 - Won a significant victory for Ford Motor Co. in the Colorado Supreme Court. The case reestablishes that the risk-benefit test is the appropriate test for juries to assess whether a product has been defectively designed. The Court also held that a manufacturer could not be negligent if it designed a reasonably safe product.
Magill v. Ford Motor Co. (Colo. Sup. Ct. 2016) - Won a Rule 21 petition (an extraordinary remedy ) for Ford to the Colorado Supreme Court in a case involving general jurisdiction
venue claims. The opinion makes it harder for companies with no connection to Colorado to be sued in the state.
Dukes v. Michelin (Nineteenth Jud. Cir. St. Lucie Cnty. FL 2016) - Won a complete defense jury verdict for Michelin following a nine-week trial in Florida in which the plaintiffs requested damages in excess of $80 million. WTO attorneys demonstrated that Michelin's tire was not defective, was well-designed
well-manufactured,
had been previously damaged during its service life. The jury found Michelin not liable for the accident.
Allen v. Michelin (Ariz. Sup. Ct. Mohave Cnty. 2015) - Won a unanimous defense verdict for Michelin North America following a three-week trial in Arizona state court. The plaintiff dem
ed $20 million in actual
punitive damages, claiming our client's tire separated
caused a rollover accident that resulted in severe injuries. Michelin was found not at fault on all claims.
Walker v. Ford (Colo. App. 2015) - Won reversal of a 2013 jury verdict against Ford Motor Co. in a case that alleged strict liability
negligence relating to a rear-end collision in a 1998 Ford Explorer. The Court of Appeals concluded that the application of consumer expectation as a st
alone test in Colorado's pattern jury instructions does not comply with Colorado law as established by the Colorado Supreme Court in Camacho v. Honda Motor Co. (1987).
Served as appellate monitoring counsel to a national food distributor in a tractor-trailer accident trial in South Carolina.
Glazer v. Whirlpool (N.D. Ohio 2014) - Won a complete defense jury verdict for Whirlpool in a $66 million certified class action trial in Ohio involving allegedly moldy washing machines.
Successfully appealed a decision by the Office of the Inspector General, Department of Health
Human Services, to impose on WTO's pro bono client, a Navy nurse
corpsman, a m
atory five-year exclusion from working in any federally funded healthcare program, which jeopardized her Navy service. WTO showed why the decision was not warranted or authorized under current statutes. The Inspector General withdrew the exclusion, dropping the case
allowing our client to return to military service.
Defeated class certification for Nash Finch (now SpartanNash), a Fortune 500 food distribution company, in claims involving common law fraud, civil theft,
violations of the Colorado Consumer Protection Act stemming from complaints about a specific pricing program in various grocery stores. WTO then obtained summary judgment against the 55 named plaintiffs.
Tietsworth v. Sears (N.D. Cal. 2013) - Defeated a motion to certify a nationwide breach of warranty class in a case alleging that certain Kenmore washing machines contained defective electronic control boards that caused the machines to malfunction.
Negotiated access rights as part of an entitlement claim in a pro bono effort on behalf of more than two dozen families
l
owners in matters relating to a large tract of l
originally administered under a l
grant dating back to Spanish colonial rule in southern Colorado.
Represent asylum seekers fleeing extreme domestic violence in their home countries.
Schanel v. Ford (Colo. Ct. App. 2012) - Defended the appeal to the Colorado Court of Appeals of a 2010 jury verdict that WTO won on behalf of Ford Motor Company in an electronic throttle product liability case.
