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Admissions

California

Admitted to practice before: 

  • U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
  • 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

Credentials

  • J.D., University of San Diego School of Law, 2004
    • American Jurisprudence Award in Criminal Procedure
    • Institute on International and Comparative Law (London)
  • B.S., Loyola Marymount University, 2000

Claire Weglarz is a first-chair trial attorney representing public and private entities nationwide in high-risk litigation. She represents clients in a broad range of industries, including energy, chemicals, manufacturing, automotive, and consumer goods. She has extensive experience in cases involving product liability, premises liability, environmental claims, and toxic exposures to asbestos, talc, benzene, and other chemicals. Clients also look to Claire for help handling disputes and litigation related to unfair business practices, product labeling, and employment issues.

Claire excels at effectively communicating complex issues to judges and juries. With a background in biology, she has extensive experience developing cutting-edge litigation strategies involving the advancement of technical, scientific, and medical defenses. As a registered patent and trademark attorney, she has a unique perspective and foresight into issues affecting the design, manufacture, and intended use of products. 

Representative Experience

Any result the lawyer or law firm may have achieved on behalf of clients in other matters does not necessarily indicate similar results can be obtained for other clients.

Asbestos Litigation

  • Finished a month-long wrongful death trial in San Francisco County Superior Court that was declared a mistrial by a deadlocked jury. It was the first-ever civil trial in San Francisco to proceed mainly virtually. Only jury selection, opening statements, and closing arguments were in person. The client, an international industrial-seal product manufacturer, was the only defendant at trial.
  • Obtained a defense verdict in the retrial of a wrongful death mesothelioma case pending in the Superior Court of Washington in King County. Her client, a sealing product manufacturer, was the only defendant at trial. The three-week trial proceeded entirely via Zoom.
  • Secured an outright dismissal two weeks into trial in a mesothelioma case in Marion County, Indiana. Her client, a mechanical contractor of services at industrial and commercial facilities nationwide, was the last remaining defendant.
  • Won a defense verdict after a two-week mesothelioma trial in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Her client, a sealing product manufacturer, was the only remaining defendant.
  • Obtained a dismissal mid-trial in a wrongful death mesothelioma case in Anderson County, South Carolina, before the Hon. Jean H. Toal. The client, a sealing product manufacturer, was dismissed after Claire’s opening statement and the testimony of several witnesses.
  • Secured a defense verdict in a wrongful death mesothelioma case in King County, Washington. Her client, a sealing product manufacturer, was the only remaining defendant.
  • Won a defense verdict for a sealing product manufacturer in a wrongful death mesothelioma trial in Alameda County, California.
  • Obtained a defense verdict in an asbestos-related lung cancer and asbestosis case for a sealing product manufacturer, the only defendant at trial. After a three-week trial with $6.5 million at risk, the San Francisco County jury quickly reached a defense verdict after a few hours.
  • Secured a defense verdict in a mesothelioma trial for a leading paint manufacturer in Los Angeles County, California. After a four-week trial with more than $11 million at risk, the jury returned a verdict without ever reaching the questions of causation or damages.
  • Received a defense verdict for a manufacturer of sealing products in a six-week mesothelioma trial in Alameda County, California.
  • Obtained a defense verdict in a $20 million mesothelioma trial in Los Angeles County, California.
  • Secured a directed verdict in a wrongful death mesothelioma case in Los Angeles County, California.
  • Won a defense verdict in a five-week lung cancer trial in Los Angeles County, California.

Selected Cases

  • Lisa Castillo, et al. v. John Crane Inc., et al., Superior Court of California, San Francisco County
  • Era Clevenger v. Bartells Asbestos Settlement Trust, et al., Superior Court of Washington, King County
  • Melody and Robert Lewis v. BMW Constructors, Inc., et al., Marion County Superior Court, Indiana
  • Ralph W. Sivert, Jr. and Sandra Sivert, vs. Air & Liquid Systems, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, Ohio
  • Rita Glenn v. 3M Company, et al., Court of Common Pleas for the Tenth Judicial Circuit, Anderson County, South Carolina
  • Era Clevenger v. Bartells Asbestos Settlement Trust, et al., Superior Court of Washington, King County
  • Booth v. John Crane Inc, et al., Superior Court of California, County of Alameda
  • James Angus and Juana Angus v. Asbestos Corporation Limited, et al., Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco
  • Christine Louise Pass and Joseph David Pass v. Amcord, Inc. f/k/a Riverside Cement Company, et al., Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles
  • Richard Whittenburg and Shuiyu Hu Whittenburg v. John Crane Inc., et al., Superior Court of California, County of Solano
  • James Harkin v. John Crane Inc., et al., Superior Court of California, County of Alameda
  • Parga v. Caterpillar Industrial, Inc., et al., Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles
  • Schildknegt v. Air & Liquid Systems Corporation, et al., Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles
  • Silas J. Minton, Jr. and Stacey L. Minton v. Borgwarner Morse Tec Inc., et al., Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles
  • Steven Burleson, et al. v. 3M Company, et al., Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles
  • Schott, et al. v. Alfa Laval, Inc., et al., Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles
  • William Patchen v. A.W. Chesterton, et al., Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles
  • Keeney, et al. v. A.W. Chesterton Company, et al., Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles
  • Robert Niebauer, et al. v. 3M Company, Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles
  • William Collins, et al. v. State of California, et al., Superior Court of California, County of San Joaquin
  • Mendez v. Bobcat Company, et al., Superior Court of California, County of San Diego
  • Psyche Systems Corporation v. Marvin I. Retsky, M.D. dba TMI Pathology Associates, Inc., American Arbitration Association of Los Angeles County

Professional Engagement

  • Trial Attorneys of America
  • Los Angeles County Bar Association
  • DRI
  • Central City Association
  • State Bar of California
  • American Bar Association

Honors & Awards

  • Selected to Southern California Super Lawyers, 2024 (Rising Stars, 2009-2011)

Presentations

  • “Corporate Representatives,” Perrin National Litigation Conference, Charleston, South Carolina (September 2023)
  • “The Evolution and Expansion of Talc Litigation,” DRI Toxic Torts and Environmental Law Seminar, New Orleans (April 2023)
  • “It’s Time for Some Beach Therapy: Navigating Through Product ID in the Form of Dying Declarations," DRI Asbestos Medicine Seminar, San Diego (2022)
  • "The Perspective of Female Litigators in Cosmetic Talc Cases," DRI Talc Litigation Seminar, Washington, DC (2019)
  • “Asbestos Openings by a Plaintiff and Two Defense Lawyers,” Defense Asbestos Litigation Seminar, Orlando, Florida (2017)
  • "Defense Exhibit 1: ;): Emoticons in Court," Trial Attorneys of America Annual Meeting, Chicago (2016)
  • "Social Media Discovery, Collection & Admissibility," Trial Attorneys of America Annual Meeting, Chicago (2014)
  • "Spoliation of Evidence: When to Cry Over Spilled Milk," Trial Attorneys of America Annual Meeting, Chicago 

Publications

  • Author, "Unsound Expansion of Strict Liability Failure to Warn in California: Johnson v. Monsanto Co.," Washington Legal Foundation, July 9, 2021
  • Author, “Getting Back to Basics: Evidence-Based Science in the Courtroom,” Mealey’s Litigation Report: Asbestos, June 23, 2021
  • Co-Author, “Asbestos Experts Discuss The Future Landscape Of Trials And Verdicts,” Mealey’s Litigation Report: Asbestos, August 26, 2020
  • Co-Author, “The EPA's March to Ban Asbestos: 2020 Draft Risk Evaluation,” International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC) Defense Counsel Journal - Volume 87, Issue 3, July 2020
  • Co-Author, “The EPA’s Draft Risk Evaluation For Asbestos Foretells Decades Of Issues Despite Limited Ongoing Use,” Mealey’s Pollution Liability Report, July 20, 2020
  • Co-Author, “The EPA’s Draft Risk Evaluation For Asbestos Foretells Decades Of Issues Despite Limited Ongoing Use,” Mealey’s Litigation Report: Asbestos, July 8, 2020
  • Co-Author, “The Perspective of Women Litigators in Talc Cases,” DRI: For the Defense, January 2020
  • Co-Author, “Beacon: Signaling a New Duty to Future Homeowners in California?,” DRI: The Critical Path, December 2014

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