M. Elizabeth O'Neill
Elizabeth O'Neill is a seasoned and accomplished trial lawyer with 17 years experience in handling a vast variety of plaintiff and defense litigation. She is a first-chair trial attorney with the experience of taking 20 cases to verdict in matters involving toxic tort and asbestos litigation, products liability, professional liability, constitutional torts, employment law, and commercial litigation. Elizabeth represents clients in all phases of litigation through trial and appeal, including matters before the United States Courts of Appeal for the Seventh and Eleventh Circuits, and the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Elizabeth previously represented law enforcement and municipalities across the State of Wisconsin, including Kensoha, Burnett, Waukesha, Shawano, Winnebago, Brown, and Eagle Counties in a variety of constitutional tort matters. Her work currently includes representation of clients on professional liability, commercial litigation, products liability, and toxic tort claims in more than a dozen different states, including trials to verdict in, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Louisiana, and New Jersey.
Professional Experience
Toxic Tort and Asbestos Litigation
Elizabeth has been defending toxic tort litigation clients for eight years, developing a specialty in asbestos-related claims involving lung cancer and mesothelioma. She has tried toxic tort and asbestos litigation matters in multiple jurisdictions, including California, Delaware, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Washington.
She is actively involved in representing Scapa Group as National Counsel and participates in planning and coordinating national defense issues for R.T. Vanderbilt Company, Inc. In addition, she acts as regional settlement and national trial counsel for Cleaver Brooks.
Elizabeth has a keen expertise developing defense experts on emerging issues from biologic reactivity of particles to industrial hygiene. She has worked to develop aggressive defense strategies to counter plaintiffs' experts and to actively pursue a total defense strategy to position her clients for trial or to maximize settlement leverage. Her knowledge of asbestos medicine issues has enabled her to gain respect of both plaintiff and defense experts and positioned her to be a key presenter at the Defense Research Institution National Asbestos Seminar and similar conferences.
Civil Rights/Constitutional Torts
Elizabeth has represented parties in virtually all aspects of civil rights litigation, including employment discrimination, equal protection, and constitutional tort litigation involving claims under 42 U.S.C. ยง1983. Representative matters include:
- Wudtke v. Davel, 128 F.3d 1057 (7th Cir. 1997) involving the litigation and appellate defense of claims of deprivation of constitutional and civil rights, RICO, and state law claims based upon claims of alleged conspiracies to deprive them of business and personal rights, and sexual assault and harassment by a government official.
- Butler v. Oak Creek-Franklin School Dist., 172 F.Supp.2d 1102 (2001) involving claims for violation of constitutional due process and state constitutional rights arising from suspension of high school student.
- Drake v. Huber, 218 Wis.2d 672 (Wis. App. 1998) defending claims asserted by licensed child welfare agency worker whose employment was terminated after investigation by a municipal employee substantiated allegations of improper touching.
- Strozinsky v. School Dist. of Brown Deer, 237 Wis. 19 (2000) defending claims of wrongful and constructive discharge involving questions of public policy exception to employment-at-will rule.
In addition to these published opinions, Elizabeth has represented numerous governmental entities and public officials in a variety of constitutional tort claims, including issues related to wrongful imprisonment, improper search and seizure, cruel and unusual punishment, and substantive and procedural due process violations related to sexual assault, employment termination, deprivation of property and other matters.
Commercial Litigation/Professional Liability
- Perritt Ltd. Ptnrship v. Kenosha Unified School District, 153 F.3d 489 (7th Cir. 1998) defending breach of contract suit involving the prospective sale of real property to a school district.
- ETS Litigation Creditors Trust v. Charles Edwards, et al , defense of legal malpractice and fiduciary duty claims asserted against corporate counsel of company whose principal was accused and convicted of engaging a Ponzi scheme in violation of RICO and various state securities laws. Claims involved questions of scope of fiduciary duty, basis for imposition of liability against attorneys of persons found to have engaged in white collar crimes.
- Hartford v. Schneider, defense of claims asserted by issuer of probate bond for minor's estate, where guardian of estate misappropriate virtually all of estate's funds within the first year after appointment. Claims involved issues of contract law, scope of fiduciary duty, estoppel and contributory negligence.
Elizabeth has also tried cases to verdict on commercial and professional liability matters, as well as representing individuals and entities in pretrial matters resulting in dismissal or resolution of claims.
Products Liability
- McGee v. Evenflo (unpublished) defense, including defense of dismissal on appeal, of design defect claims asserted against manufacturer of infant seat.
- Morris v. Safway (South Carolina) defense of design defect and failure to warn claims asserted against designer and supplier of shoring system used in construction of tritranium extraction facility at Savannah River Nuclear Power Plant.
In addition, Elizabeth has represented product manufacturers in numerous trials involving product defect claims.
Professional affiliations
- Defense Research Institute
- Georgia Defense Lawyers Association
- American Bar Association
- Atlanta Bar Association
- Stat Bar Association of California
- State Bar Association of Georgia
- State Bar Association of Mississippi
- State Bar Association of Texas
- State Bar Association of Wisconsin
Trials
- Kathy King Lariscy v. The Coleman Corporation
- Dowis v. Wachter
- Lebus v. Warren Pumps
- Skelly v. Scapa, et al.
- Dennis H. Woodard & Myra J. Woodard v. Alfa Laval, Inc., et al.
- Peter Hirsch v. R.T. Vanderbilt
- Baker v. Bondex
- Breed v. Cleaver Brooks
- In re: Bridgeport Asbestos Litigation, Cable, et al v. R.T. Vanderbilt, et al.
- In re: Baylor, et al v. Scapa, Inc.
- Westley v. Scapa Dryer Fabrics, Inc.
- Charles Winkler v. Scapa, Inc.
- Estate of John T. Newman, Paula McPhail, Exec. v. Scapa, Inc.
- Joseph R. Westley, et al v. Scapa, et al.
- Ernest Coulter v. Scapa, Inc.
- Carl Saville, et al v. Scapa Dryer Fabrics, Inc., et al.
- Linda Kimbrell v. William P. Johnson, et al.
- Barnes v. Town of Mt. Pleasant
- Jones v. Morgan Saw
- Robert E. Bickham, et al v. Scapa, Inc., et al.
- Wudtke v. Davel
- Brask v. Burnett County
Practice areas
Education
J.D., Marquette University Law School, 1991
B.A., Medieval Literature, Marquette University, 1988
Bar admissions
- California
- Georgia
- Mississippi
- Texas
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
Courts
- United States Court of Appeals (Fifth, Seventh and Eleventh Circuits)
- United States District Courts (Eastern & Western Districts of Wisconsin)
- United States District Courts (Northern and Middle Districts of Georgia)