John A. LaBoon

Shareholder

512.651.0290
512.476.7832 (fax)
jlaboon@smsm.com
100 Congress Avenue, Suite 800
Austin, TX 78701
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Since 1993, Mr. LaBoon has focused his trial practice on tort defense with an emphasis in asbestos and silica litigation involving products liability, contractor liability and premises liability claims.  Over the past 20 years, he has developed substantial experience in the state-of-the-art defense, medical causation and epidemiology.

Mr. LaBoon represents numerous manufacturers, premises owners and construction contractors in asbestos and silica  cases. He currently serves as  National Coordinating Counsel for a respirator manufacturer in silica cases across the country. He has served as state trial counsel for multiple asbestos defendants and was part of the national trial team for two major asbestos manufacturers. As lead and co-counsel, Mr. LaBoon obtained defense verdicts in numerous asbestos personal injury and wrongful death cases, as well as general personal injury and products liability cases across Texas.

In addition to his extensive toxic tort practice, Mr. LaBoon has represented clients in many other types of litigation including personal injury, products liability, medical devices, clinical drug trials, trucking accidents, medical malpractice, construction defect and employment discrimination cases. He has  defended manufacturers of stoves, washing machines, oxygen concentrators and other products in fire-cause-and-origin cases. Mr. LaBoon counseled a Fortune 100 multi-national company in products liability lawsuits for claims involving personal injury, wrongful death and property damage related to household appliances, commercial equipment and medical devices. He has also represented hospitals, physicians and nurses involved in medical malpractice litigation and has defended insureds and self-insured companies in employment cases involving claims of wrongful termination and employment discrimination.

Mr. LaBoon has considerable experience defending general personal injury and wrongful death cases, and he has defended a governmental transit authority in personal injury and death lawsuits filed pursuant to the Texas Tort Claims Act.


REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS

  • In June 2012, won a defense verdict for a product manufacturer in a wrongful death case where claim was that decedent drowned as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning.  The plaintiff sought nearly $13 million in actual and punitive damages.
  • Utilities Optimization Group, L.L.C. v. TIN, Inc., d/b/a Temple-Inland, Case No. 10-40471 (United States Court of Appeals for Fifth Circuit, August 8, 2011) - Achieved a reversal of adverse jury verdict with a rendered judgment in favor of client in a commercial contract dispute arising in Texas. The U.S. Court of Appeals held that there was insufficient evidence of actual or apparent authority to bind Temple-Inland to changes made in scope of work by a contractor. A copy of the Fifth Circuit's opinion can be found here. The U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari in March 2012.

EDUCATION

Texas Christian University, B.B.A., 1989
Southern Methodist University, M.B.A., 1990
University of Houston, J.D., 1993

BAR ADMISSIONS

State Bar of Texas
U.S. District Court for the Eastern, Southern, Northern and Western Districts of Texas
U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. District Court for Colorado
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania - MDL 875

PROFESSIONAL AND CIVIC INVOLVEMENT

American Bar Association
Children's Fund of Houston, (2001-2004)
Defense Research Institute
Lighthouse for the Blind of Houston, Board of Directors, (1998-2004)
Texas Association of Defense Counsel
Texas Bar Association
TIBH Industries, Board of Directors (2012-present)
Travis County Bar Association

SPEECHES AND PUBLICATIONS

Author

  • "Texas Supreme Court Adopts the Lohrmann Standard," Segal McCambridge Singer & Mahoney's Toxic Tort Newsletter, Volume 6, Issue 3 (Fall 2007).
  • "State Law Updates - Texas," Segal McCambridge Singer & Mahoney's Toxic Tort Newsletter, Volume 6, Issue 3 (Fall 2007).
  • "State Law Updates - Texas," Segal McCambridge Singer & Mahoney's Toxic Tort Newsletter, Volume 6, Issue 2 (Spring 2007).
  • "Asbestos - Selected Cancers," Segal McCambridge Singer & Mahoney's Toxic Tort Newsletter, Volume 6, Issue 1 (Winter 2007).
  • "State Law Updates - Texas," Segal McCambridge Singer & Mahoney's Toxic Tort Newsletter, Volume 6, Issue 1 (Winter 2007).
  • "Asbestos - Selected Cancers," HarrisMartin's COLUMNS Asbestos (November 2006).
  • "State Law Updates - Texas," Segal McCambridge Singer & Mahoney's Toxic Tort Newsletter, Volume 5, Issue 2 (Fall 2006). 

Co-Author

  • "State Update:  Texas," Segal McCambridge's Toxic Tort Newsletter (Winter 2010-2011).
  • "Asbestos: Selected Cancers - Recent NIH Study on 'Non-Traditional' Cancers," For The Defense (April 2007).

Contributor

  • "Asbestos Bankruptcy Trusts and Tort Compensation," by Lloyd Dixon and Geoffrey McGovern, RAND Corporation (2011).

Speaker

  • DRI - Asbestos Medicine Seminar, San Diego, CA, "The Epidemiology of the Other Cancers - A Review of the IOM/NIH Study" (November 8-9, 2007).
  • Mealey's - National Asbestos Superconference, Scottsdale, AZ, "Mock Trial: Duty to Warn for External Insulation" (September 26-28, 2007).
  • Harris Martin's - Texas Asbestos & Silica Litigation Conference, Houston, TX, "Ramifications of Bankruptcy Trust Submissions" (March 28, 2007).
  • Mealey's - The New Face of Asbestos Litigation Conference, Washington D.C., "Dynamic Trial & Settlement Techniques" (February 8-9, 2007).
  • DRI - Asbestos Medicine Seminar, Las Vegas, NV, "Hot Topics - Liability for External Insulation" (October 26-27, 2006).
  • Mealey's - Fundamentals of Asbestos Conference, Philadelphia, PA, "Jumping into the Jury Pool - Getting your Feet Wet in Jury Selection" (February 13-14, 2006).
  • Texas State Bar - 18th Annual Advanced Personal Injury Law Course, "Daubert Challenges" Dallas, Texas, (July 11, 2002).
  • Texas State Bar - 11th Annual Advanced Personal Injury Law Course, "Jurisdiction, Venue and Forum Selection" Ft. Worth, Texas, (August 4, 1995).

PUBLISHED APPELLATE OPINIONS

Hickman v. Metropolitan Transit Authority, 897 F.Supp. 955, 958 (S.D. Tex. 1995)
Keller v. Owens Corning Fiberglas, 14-94-00957, (Tex.App. - Houston [14th Dist.] 1996)
Kiefer v. Spring Shadow Glen, 934 S.W.2d 785 (Tex.App. - Houston [1st Dist.] 1996)
Coastal Transport v. Crown Central, 20 S.W.3d 119 (Tex.App. - Houston [14th Dist.] 2000)
Sneed v. Cryolife, Inc., 01-05-00425, (Tex.App. - Houston [1st Dist.] 2006)
Utilities Optimization Group, L.L.C. v. TIN, Inc., d/b/a Temple-Inland, 440 Fed. Appx. 249 (5th Cir. 2011)

OTHER HONORS 

Martindale-Hubbell AV-Rated

Practice Areas

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