Christopher M. Placitella

Education

Syracuse College of Law, J.D.
(cum laude; Law Review and Legal Honor Society)

Fordham University, B.S.  (summa cum laude & 1st in his class for Accounting)

Litigation Leadership Positions

• National Asbestos Litigation Group- Co-Chair;
• Asbestos Advisory Committee to New Jersey Superior Court;
• Liaison Counsel , National Talc Litigation;
• Member of Steering Committee, Multi-District Trans Vaginal Mesh Litigation;
• Liaison Counsel New Jersey Trans Vaginal Mesh Litigation;
• Member of Steering Committee, Multi-District Asbestos Litigation;
• Special Counsel to all State Court Litigants, National Diet Drug Litigation;
• Class Counsel, Johns Manville Class Action Litigation;
• Class Counsel, New Jersey Diet Drug Litigation;
• Member of Steering Committee, National 23 Multi-District TMJ litigation;
• Member of Steering Committee, National Rezulin Litigation;
• Lead Counsel, New Jersey Propulsid Litigation;

Speaking Engagements

• Chair for Mass Tort Litigation Update for the NJ Institute of Continuing Legal Education 2007 through Present
• Chair for Annual Asbestos Litigation Conference for the NJ Institute of Continuing Legal Education 2007 through Present
• Co-Chair for Annual Review and Update of the State of Mass Tort Litigation, New Jersey Association for Justice
• New Jersey Attorney General’s Advocacy Institute, Deposing Corporate Representatives to Help Satisfy the Reptilian Brain
• Pound’s Forum for State Appellate Court Judges
• Deposition College, New Jersey Association for Justice
• NJAJ Meadowlands Seminar, Federal Court – Trial Advocacy
• NJAJ Meadowlands Seminar, Trial Evidence
• NJAJ Meadowlands Seminar, Mass Torts Roundtable
• NJ ICLE seminar – Mass Torts: A New Decade for New Classes
• NJ ICLE seminar – Mastering Medicare Set Aside Trust
• NJ ICLE seminar – The Evolving World of Handling Mass Tort Claims
• Harris Martin’s New Jersey Asbestos Litigation Conference: Mass Torts Made Perfect
• HP Litigation Asbestos Seminar – Outline for Punitive Damages Presentation
• Philadelphia Bar Association: Mass Torts Seminar
• PALS – Las Vegas, Asbestos Litigation Seminar
• AAJ seminar – Litigating Toxic Tort (NJ)
• AAJ Seminar in NYC, Litigating Toxic Tort
• AAJ Asbestos Litigation Group – The Case Against VIOXX

Awards

Bar Admissions

• New Jersey
• New York
• United States District Court, District of New Jersey
• United States District Court, Southern District of New York
• United States Supreme Court

Professional Memberships

• The Board of Governors of the American Association for Justice
• Leaders Forum American Association for Justice
• New Jersey Trial Lawyers (now NJAJ), Former President (2001-2002)
• National Trial Lawyers Association-Executive Committee
• NJAJ PAC, Former Chair
• Trial Lawyers of New Jersey (TANJ) – Board of Governors

Community Service

• Veterans Career Transition Program Co-Founder
• Holidays for the Homeless and Underprivileged, Inc. -Trustee.
• New Jersey Public Interest Law Center- founding Board Member
• 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund- helped organize national pro bono effort to provide free legal assistance for families who lost loved ones in the 9/11 tragedy

Landmark Cases

• Barden v. Johnson & Johnson – $750,000,000 Co-lead counsel in the largest punitive damage verdict in New Jersey History;
• McNeal v Johnson & Johnson – $16,000,000 compensatory verdict concerning mesothelioma caused by exposure to baby powder;
• Williams v. BASF et al – $72,000,000 national class action settlement for fraudulent concealment of evidence concerning exposure to asbestos containing talc;
• Tobacco Litigation – $7.6 billion dollars. Co-lead counsel representing the State of New Jersey against the tobacco industry;
• In Re Diet Drug – $3.75 billion-dollars. Co-lead counsel responsible negotiating a settlement involving the diet drugs Pondimin® and Redux®
• Trial counsel in the largest consolidated asbestos trial in New York City history;
• In Re Ciba Geigy – $38.5 million dollars. Co-lead counsel in the largest environmental tort settlement on behalf of individuals in New Jersey history;
• Whalen v. Ford et al – Argued case before NJ Supreme Court which changed the law holding equipment companies responsible for asbestos related injuries.
• In re Acctutane Argued case before NJ Supreme Court setting the standards for expert testimony in toxic injury cases
• Sun Chemical (2020) Argued case before NJ Supreme Court allowing injured consumers to bring cases under the Product Liability Act & the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act

Articles & Publications

• New Jersey Mass Tort & Class Action Treatise- Co-Editor In Chief
• A 30,000 Foot Look at Cosmetic Talc Cases, TRIAL MAGAZINE
• Interview with Ron Motley on How to Approach a Case, TRIAL MAGAZINE
• A Closer Look at Asbestos Cases, TRIAL MAGAZINE
• Why Are Mesothelioma Cases in New Jersey Still on the Rise, NEW JERSEY LAWYER,
• The Civil Justice System Bridges the Great Divide in Consumer Protection, 43 Duq. L. Rev. 219
• Beshada v. Johns Manville Products Corp.: Evolution or Revolution in Strict Products Liability, 51 Fordham L. Rev. 801
• 9-11: The Agony and the Aftermath, THE JOURNAL, Sept. 2011.