Robert Kum

Areas of Practice

• Complex Commercial Litigation

• Products Liability

• Asbestos

• Environmental and Toxic Torts

Representative Matters

• Represented Berryman Products, Inc. in obtaining a defense victory in the James Zambos, et al. v. Berryman Products, et al. trial venued in Chicago. Plaintiffs claim decedent contracted a blood cancer due to his alleged exposure to a benzene-containing carburetor cleaner. On behalf of the estate, widow and heirs, Plaintiffs sought millions of dollars in damages from their wrongful death and survival claims including economic loss, pain & suffering and emotional distress damages. The jury returned a verdict in an amount a fraction of the damages sought. Due to settlements of the prior co-defendants, the verdict was completely offset, with judgment being entered for $0.

• Represented Deutsche Bank National Trust Company and other related Deutsche Bank entities in a personal injury burn lawsuit where the buyer of a foreclosed home, owned by Deutsche, suffered third degree burns when a barbeque on the property exploded. Deutsche Bank obtained summary judgement on grounds that the home was sold in “as is” condition.

• Represented Granco Clark, Inc., a worldwide leader in the manufacturing of industrial furnaces and ovens used in metal processing facilities, in the Richard Shaffer v. Granco Clark et al. matter, obtaining a defense verdict in an asbestos case. Plaintiff, a former employee at its Vernon, California, facility, alleged that workplace asbestos exposure caused his colon cancer, which subsequently spread to his lung. After a causation challenge by Granco Clark, the court granted the request to bifurcate the trial into two phases: general and specific causation. During Phase One, the court granted the defense request to exclude the causation opinion from one of the plaintiff’s key expert witnesses, and the jury returned a defense verdict.

• National coordinating and trial counsel for automotive chemical supplier in benzene lawsuits venued throughout the U.S.

• National trial counsel for major paint company involved in toxic tort/products liability claims.

• Represented Berryman Products, Inc. in the Paul Simmons, et al. v. US Steel, et al. trial ending in a defense verdict in a benzene exposure case venued in Philadelphia.

• Represented Berryman Products, Inc. in a multi-plaintiff toxic tort case in Kern County, California involving more than 70 defendants; the plaintiffs claimed they contracted a rare cancer, Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia, due to their exposures at various oil well sites, but the court agreed with Berryman that the plaintiffs were mis-joined and that the case should be severed into separate actions for trial because plaintiffs’ claims did not arise out of the same transaction or occurrence.

• Represents trucking companies including Penske Logistics LLC in commercial and personal injury matters.

• Represents automobile companies in warranty and product liability claims.

• Represents manufacturers of medical implant devices and drug companies in product liability cases nationwide.

• Defends various national paint and chemical companies in cancer and lung disease cases.
• Trial counsel for equipment manufacturer in asbestos lawsuits.
• Obtained summary judgment during trial for industrial furnace manufacturer in mesothelioma asbestos case based on O’Neil replacement parts doctrine.

• Obtained voluntary no-pay dismissals for a pharmaceutical distributor after filing summary judgment motions establishing that our client’s over-the-counter talcum powder was not contaminated with asbestos and that the plaintiffs’ personal injury claims were preempted by the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act.

• Successfully represented and obtained no cost dismissals for talc producers and suppliers.

• Defense verdict in product liability action venued in the United States District Court of California (Eastern Division).

• Obtained $450,000 jury verdict in breach of fiduciary duty/constructive fraud action venued in Los Angeles Superior Court.

• Represented construction company in catastrophic personal injury case. Was hired after original counsel exposed client to extra-contractual liability and was able to resolve case on terms the client found favorable.

• Bench trial verdict obtained on behalf of insurance company in breach of contract action.
• Served as coordinating counsel for food flavoring company involved in domestic and international product liability and commercial disputes.
• Obtained defense verdict in first diacetyl case to be tried in California.

• Successfully defeated arbitration claims against major flavoring producer.

• Provides consulting on Prop 65, HazComm and label and material safety data sheet compliance.
• Defended public utilities in hexavalent chromium groundwater environmental litigation.
• Defended national equipment manufacturer in silica and welding rod litigation.
• Defended cosmetic and hair care companies in commercial and product liability lawsuits.
• Provides guidance to companies concerning the latest technological advances and cost-saving measures applied to various forms of litigation.
• Provide expert and lay witness preparation for deposition and/or trial.
• Provide jury and mock trial research.

Admissions

• California
• District of Columbia
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Education

• Pepperdine University School of Law, J.D., 1996
• University of California, Berkeley, B.A., 1991

Experience

• Duane Morris LLP
  - Partner, 2018-present

• Sedgwick LLP
  - Associate/Partner, 2001-2017

Honors and Awards

• Listed in The Best Lawyers in America, 2023

• Listed in California Super Lawyers

• Listed in California Super Lawyers Rising Stars

• 2016 Sedgwick Inclusion and Diversity Award

Professional Activities

• Defense Research Institute

  • Toxic Tort Subcommittee

Selected Publications

• Author, "Judicial Hellhole? Sign Me Up," Today’s General Counsel, June 2023 Issue
• Mentioned, "California Jury Finds No Link Between Asbestos, Colon Cancer," LexisNexis Mealey's Litigation Report: Asbestos, June 8, 2022 
• Quoted, "Bayer Gets Boost As It Preps For Roundup Showdown In Calif." Law360, February 3, 2020
• Quoted, "New Talc Jury Gives J&J Chance To Stem Tide Of Legal Blows," Law360, December 6, 2019

• Quoted, "J&J's Litigation Bravado In Sharp Relief After Epic Opioid Trial," Law360, September 20, 2019

• Quoted, "J&J's 3-Deal Day Signals A Shift In Legal War Over Talc," Law360, March 29, 2019

• Quoted, "Weil Gotshal Lawyers' Tough Tactics Sealed J&J Talc Win," Law360

• “Consumer Products Act May Be Regulatory Overkill,” Law360

• “An Overview of the Underlying Policy and Application of the Raw Material and Bulk Supplier Defenses,” DRI Toxic Tort Quarterly

• “Reclassification of Two Industrial Chemicals in New Report on Carcinogens May Increase Toxic Tort Litigation,” Los Angeles Daily Journal