Paul E. Wojcicki

Shareholder

312.645.7810
312.645.7711 (fax)
pwojcicki@smsm.com
233 S. Wacker Drive, Suite 5500
Chicago, IL 60606
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Paul E. Wojcicki concentrates his trial and appellate practice on complex litigation involving commercial disputes, products liability, and municipal liability.

In the commercial litigation context, he and two of his partners obtained a $90MM verdict on behalf of a start-up motorsports promoter after a 6-week federal trial in an antitrust and business tort case.

In the products liability arena, Mr. Wojcicki has successfully represented companies that manufacture and sell a wide array of products, ranging from asbestos-containing building materials to allografts, sports cars to over-the-road trucks, heart valves to steam valves, and power tools to implantable prosthetic devices. Mr. Wojcicki has developed a national reputation as a thought-leader in the areas of effective warranty administration and minimizing the cost of warranty litigation.

Mr. Wojcicki’s municipal liability experience includes representing, governmental entities, police departments, and police officers in civil rights and tort actions. Mr. Wojcicki was part of the Segal McCambridge team that, in Jaffe v. Redmond, persuaded the U.S. Supreme Court to recognize the psychotherapist-patient privilege to shield statements made by a police officer in the course of counseling received after being involved in a shooting.

Mr. Wojcicki's two decades of litigation experience have provided him with insights on steps companies and organizations can take to avoid becoming embroiled in litigation and clients are increasingly turning to Mr. Wojcicki for advice in this area.

Mr. Wojcicki regularly writes and speaks on diverse topics including director and officer liability, OEM-supplier relationships, litigation risk and costs reduction, effective warranty administration, and trial practice and strategy.

SIGNIFICANT RECENT ENGAGEMENTS

  • Succeeded in overturning a lower court’s sanction against a client for having failed to produce a witness who was neither a director, officer nor employee of the company.
  • Engaged by manufacturer to assist in drafting a notice to its customers disclosing reported failures in a component part and offering recommendations to reduce risk of failure.
  • Member of trial team that obtained a $90 million verdict on behalf of a sports promoter in an antitrust and business tort action involving motor sports.
  • Represented a major lending corporation as litigation counsel in adversary proceedings in the bankruptcy of a national provider of paging services.
  • Represented manufacturer in adverserial preference actions in candy manufacturer's bankruptcy.
  • Counseled a domestic corporation in the successful resolution of a dispute over the purchase of goods from an Asian manufacturer financed with a letter of credit.
  • Obtained not guilty verdict for premier sports car manufacturer and its U.S. subsidiary in a products liability action arising out of a fire.
  • Obtained summary judgment for property insurer on a multi-million dollar water damage and mold claim.
  • Recently won an appeal in which the court found that a prima facie showing of fraud was made against a plaintiffs’ firm, for its conduct during settlement negotiations, voiding the settlement.
  • Obtained a verdict in favor of a major motor home manufacturer, including an award of attorney's fees, in a U.C.C. supplier action against the manufacturer of inferior conveyor line components.
  • Obtained summary judgment in a breach of auto warranty action based on the novel argument that reselling of automobile for fair market value prevents plaintiff from proving damages as a matter of law.
  • Obtained dismissal of a breach of warranty action involving a leased automobile based on the novel argument that the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act does not apply to leased goods.
  • Obtained a verdict in favor of auto manufacturer in breach of warranty action despite evidence showing double-digit repair visits within first 20,000 miles after purchase.
  • Obtained defense verdict in an action involving breach of warranty, fraud and statutory rescission claims in a matter where plaintiffs claimed the coach leaned and was dangerous to operate.
  • Retained by a group of RV manufacturers to prepare and file a friend-of-the-court brief in an appeal involving the proper standard for determining warranty damages.
  • Retained by a major automotive supplier to present a seminar to its technical personnel on the role of expert witnesses in warranty and other products liability litigation.
  • Retained as lead counsel by an RV manufacturer in a products liability action involving fatal carbon monoxide poisoning.

EDUCATION

Columbia University in the City of New York, B.A. (English), 1986
De Paul University College of Law, J.D., 1989

BAR ADMISSIONS

Illinois, 1989
Michigan, 1999
Wisconsin, 2007
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. District Court, Central District of Illinois
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois
U.S. District Court, Southern District of Illinois
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana
U.S. District Court, Southern District of Indiana
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin
U.S. District Court, Western District of Wisconsin
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

PROFESSIONAL AND CIVIC AFFILIATIONS

Appellate Lawyers Association
Chicago Bar Association, Judicial Evaluation and Constitutional Law Committees 
DRI Insurance Law Committee 
Illinois State Bar Association
Institute of Warranty Chain Management (iWCM), Resources & Research Committee 
RVIA, Associate Member
SMSM Pro Bono & Public Service Committee Chair (2007-present)
St. Barnabas Parish, Finance Board, Basketball Coach

SPEECHES AND PUBLICATIONS

Author

  • "A Note On Damages And Disclaimers in Actions for Breach of a 'Repair or Replacement' Warranty" (2005).
  • "Is The Denial of Precedential Effect for Certain Appellate Courts 'Orders' Constitutional Under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 23," CBA Record (January 2004).
  • "Attacking Breach of Implied Warranty Claims In Magnuson-Moss Actions Brought in Privity States," RVDefense.com (2001).
  • "Challenging and Qualifying Expert Witnesses In Motor Vehicle Warranty Litigation" (2001).
  • "Early Resolution Strategies In Warranty Litigation," RVDefense.com.

Co-Author

  • Parties In Products Liability Actions, Chapter, 2003.
  • Declaratory Judgment Actions, Chapter, 2003.

Quoted

Speaker

  • The International Conference on Warranty Chain Management, Orlando, FL, "Preview of IWCM’s W101 – Warranty Fundamentals Course" (March 11, 2009).
  • HB Litigation Conferences' The FDIC and the New Banking Crisis:  Litigation Challenges Past, Present and, Future Conference, Washington, DC, "Professional Liability Litigation:  Insurance Coverage Issues" (January 15, 2009).  To see a video clip of Mr. Wojcicki speaking at this conference, please click here.
  • Course Instructor: Segal McCambridge Singer & Mahoney Experts in Warranty & Other Products Liability Litigation: A Crash Course, Torrance, CA (June 29, 2007).
  • AIAG's 3rd Annual Early Warning Standards - Warranty Conference, Novi, MI, "Reducing 'Extra-Ordinary' Warranty Costs - A view from the trenches" (May 24, 2007).
  • International Visitor Leadership Program - Accountability in Government and Business, A Project for Pakistan, Chicago, IL (April 29-May 2, 2007).
  • The 3rd Annual International Conference on Warranty Chain Management, Tampa, FL, "Who's Responsible? Warranty Litigation Involving Consumer Products Covered Under Multiple Warranties" (March 13-14, 2007).
  • The 3rd Annual International Conference on Warranty Chain Management, Tampa, FL, "Understanding and Avoiding Consumer Product Warranty Litigation" (March 13-14, 2007).
  • Segal McCambridge Singer & Mahoney 2006 "Extended" Warranty Seminar, Chicago, IL, "Experts in Warranty & Other Products Liability Litigation" (September 22, 2006).
  • Course Instructor: Segal McCambridge Singer & Mahoney Experts in Warranty & Other Products Liability Litigation: A Crash Course, Elkhart, IN (September 15, 2006).
  • International Association of Lemon Law Administrators' Annual Conference, San Francisco, CA, "A Balanced View on Lemon Law Claims in the Courts" (August 1-3, 2006).
  • Segal McCambridge Singer & Mahoney 2005 Lemon Law/Warranty Seminar, "Damages In Breach of Limited Warranty Actions" (October 2005).
  • Tort Law Update, Defenses (June 2005).
  • Chicago Bar Association, Constitutional Law Committee, The Constitutionality of Supreme Court Rule 23(e) (February 2004).
  • Demonstrative Evidence (February 2003).
  • John Marshall Law School, Negotiations, Guest Lecturer (2000-2003).

PUBLISHED APPELLATE OPINIONS

White v. Garlock Sealing Technologies, No. 4-09-0036, ___ Ill.App.3d ___ (4th Dist. 2010)
Heiden v. DNA Diagnostics Center, Inc., (2d Dist. 2009)
Voelker v. Porsche Cars North America, Inc., 2003 WL 22030364 (7th Cir.2003)
Valenti v. Mitsubishi Motor Sales of America, Inc., 332 Ill.App.3d 969 (1st Dist. 2002)
Lara v. Hyundai Motor America, 331 Ill.App.3d 53 (2nd Dist.2002)
Johnson v. Grossinger Motorcorp, Inc., 324 Ill.App.3d 354 (1st Dist.2001)
Jaffee v. Redmond, 142 F.3d 409 (7th Cir.1998)
Navarro v. Fuji Heavy Industries, Inc., 117 F.3d 1027 (7th Cir. 1997)
Roback v. V.I.P. Transport, Inc., 90 F.3d 1207 (7th Cir.1996)
Fatigato v. Village of Olympia Fields, 281 Ill.App.3d 347 (1st Dist.1996)
Deimer v. Cincinnati Sub-Zero Products, Inc., 58 F.3d 341 (7th Cir.1995)
Doe v. Calumet City, 161 Ill.2d 374 (1994)
Deimer v. Cincinnati Sub-Zero Products, Inc., 990 F.2d 342 (7th Cir.1993)

OTHER HONORS

Recognized as an Illinois SUPER LAWYER (representing the top 5% of all attorneys in the State of Illinois), nominated and selected by peers in the legal community (2005-2010)
Martindale-Hubbell AV-Rated

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