Joshua C. Carpenter

Served as lead counsel for a global leader in marine and recreation products in a claim brought by a medical doctor who alleges she and her family (including two minor children) were poisoned by carbon monoxide emanating from a generator equipped on a vessel manufactured by our client. The case went on for several years at the demand in the case was US$32 million. We had substantive briefing on issues related to preemption under the Clean Air Act arguing that the plaintiffs’ claims were preempted. The motions were successful, and the case later resolved for a small fraction of the total demand and exposure.

Served as lead counsel for a world-leading supplier of power solutions for marine and industrial applications in a breach of warranty case involving claims of fraud. The claim involved the sale and distribution of marine engines that were allegedly distributed after knowledge that they were defective. The engines caused damage to a vessel worth several millions of dollars. The fraud claims were based on actions that the company took to wind down the portion of the company making the engines so the risk in this case was that it could potentially become a class action. Summary judgment was granted on nearly every claim in the favor of our client including on the fraud claims, which is extremely difficult to obtain at the summary judgment stage.

Served as lead counsel for a global leader in marine and recreation products in a wrongful death claim brought by the estate of a teenage girl who alleged that the design and warnings on the client’s recreational pontoon boat were unreasonably dangerous and defective, thereby causing the teenage girl to fall from the bow of the vessel and be struck by a propeller. The case proceeded in federal court with the plaintiff seeking several million dollars in damages. We filed substantive motions directed towards contributory negligence, assumption of risk, and inherently dangerous products, as well as Daubert motions directed towards the opponent’s experts, all of which were successful, and the case later resolved for a small fraction of the total demand and exposure.