Dustin M. Dow

Experience

• Led investigation and prosecution of origin, cause and liability theories in representation of more than 200 families and seven industrial timber companies in litigation against Oregon’s leading utility, PacifiCorp, for the property, lost profits and personal injury losses suffered by the Douglas County, Oregon community from the Archie Creek Complex Fires of 2020.
• Provides insurance counsel to timber and veneer mill company in litigation associated with one of Northern California’s 2022 building fires that resulted in wrongful death, property and personal injury claims.
• Provided insurance coverage representation and litigated liability and damage estimation against Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) on behalf of 75,000 victims of the 2017 and 2018 California wildfires in connection with Baker’s representation of the Official Committee of Tort Claimants in PG&E’s historic bankruptcy which resulted in a $13.5 billion settlement on behalf of wildfire victims.
• Represented and provided coverage analysis to a mutual insurance company with respect to various claims made by policyholders sued for alleged violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
• Represented clients both enforcing and defending the application of non-competition and non-solicitation agreements. Represented a leading manufacturer of parts for the aerospace industry and an executive employee against a suit for permanent injunctive relief under the theory of inevitable disclosure of trade secrets, resulting in a favorable judgment on the merits and denial of injunctive relief.
• Regularly handles wage and hour collective actions arising under the Fair Labor Standards Act. In a recent case against leading janitorial company, successfully opposed conditional certification, leading to favorable early resolution of the lawsuit before a class was certified.
• Represented company facing class-action ERISA denial of benefits claims, achieving Rule 12 dismissal based on aggressive defensive approach.
• Represented and defended a company responsible for the placement and operation of red light traffic cameras in various class action litigations and appeals challenging the use of the cameras. Class action lawsuits were filed in Cleveland, Chicago, New York and Florida.
• Handles representation of railroad industry employers in Railway Labor Act and Federal Railroad Safety Act lawsuits and appeals.

Reported Decisions

• Campbell-Ewald Company v. Gomez, 136 S. Ct. 663 (Jan. 20, 2016), (Amicus Brief concerning use of offer of judgment in Telephone Consumer Protection Act case).
• Tyson Foods, Inc. v. Bouaphakeo, 136 S. Ct. 1036, 2016 WL 1092414 (March 22, 2016), (Amicus Brief dealing with use of statistics for determining liability and damages and inclusion of uninjured class members in a class action under Rule 23 or a collective action under the Fair Labor Standards Act).
• Standard Fire v. Knowles, 133 S. Ct. 1345, (2013) (Amicus Brief in Class Action Fairness Act case).

Community

• Center for Arts-Inspired Learning: Chairperson, Board of Directors
• The City Club of Cleveland