Ted Roberts focuses his practice on the defense of corporate clients involved in toxic tort litigation. He has defended manufacturers, distributors, and contractors involved in industry-wide litigation on local, regional, and national levels and has first-chair trial experience in state and federal courts. Over the course of his career, Ted has tried to verdict, as lead counsel or co-counsel, 18 cases involving claims of occupational cancer, lung disease, and death. He has also tried numerous other cases short of verdict.
Complex medical and scientific issues relating to causation are routinely involved in Ted’s cases. He has developed, defended, and examined expert witnesses from a wide variety of medical and scientific disciplines. He has experience in the defense of claims involving occupational and para-occupational exposure to asbestos. He has also defended cases involving mold, benzene, electromagnetic fields, trichloroethylene, methyl tert-butyl ether, talc, vinyl chloride, noise, Legionella, and other environmental factors.
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.
- Obtained defense verdict for cosmetic talc producer in living mesothelioma negligence and strict liability action. Sarah J. Plant, et al. v. Whittaker, Clark & Daniels, et al., No. 2022-CP-40-1265, Court of Common Pleas, County of Richland, South Carolina (March 3, 2023)
- Obtained defense verdict for equipment manufacturer in mesothelioma wrongful death case. Estate of Rabon Manning v. Gould’s Pumps, LLC, et al., No. 2020-CP-40-01293, Court of Common Pleas, County of Richland, South Carolina (Sept. 16, 2021)
- Secured dismissal of more than 24,000 cases for insulation contractor defendant in asbestos personal injury and wrongful death litigation. (2020-2023)
- Testified before the Maryland House Judiciary Committee in opposition to proposed mass consolidation legislation. (November 2019)
- Successfully argued for exclusion of occupational exposure testimony, resulting in dismissal of nineteen wrongful death cases brought against an insulation contractor. November 2019. Affirmed on appeal. Cooch v. The Wallace & Gale Asbestos Settlement Trust (Md. Ct. Spec. App., Feb. 17, 2021).
- Testified before Maryland House and Senate Judiciary Committees in opposition to a proposed bill to create an executive branch mediation program for all pending asbestos cases in Baltimore. The bill was not passed into law. (April 2019)
- Successfully opposed consolidation of mesothelioma cases on first day of trial for an insulation contractor, resulting in severance from trial, subsequent summary judgment, and favorable outcome on appeal. Davenport v. MCIC, Inc., et al. (Md. Ct. Spec. App.)
- Obtained a defense verdict for an insulation contractor after a two-week jury trial in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City in a confirmed peritoneal mesothelioma case involving shipyard amosite exposure. Plaintiffs sought more than $16m in compensatory damages. Sroka v. Wallace & Gale Asbestos Settlement Trust, et al. (Cir. Ct. Baltimore City.) (Feb. 24, 2016)
- Defeated motion for mass consolidated trial of common issues in more than 10,000 asbestos-related personal injury and wrongful death cases pending in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City. In re Asbestos Personal Injury
- Mounted a successful appeal based on final judgment rule in four mesothelioma cases that led to the subsequent dismissal of more than 150 mesothelioma cases pending against client in Maryland. Brannan v. Wallace & Gale Asbestos Settlement Trust (2012)
- Lead trial counsel for an insulation contractor in more than 10,000 pending cases in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City.
Professional & Civic Engagement
- Member, American Bar Association
- Member, Defense Research Institute
- Member, Maryland State Bar Association
- Member, New Hampshire Bar Association
- Member, Wyoming Bar Association
- Member, Virginia Bar Association
Thought Leadership
- Presenter, "Defending the Non-Smoking Lung Cancer Claim," Defense Asbestos Litigation Seminar, June 2022
- Author, "Medical Literature in the Courtroom: Learned Treatise Trial Practice and Procedure," 45(2) American Journal of Trial Advocacy, Spring 2022
- Presenter, “Medical Literature in the Courtroom: Learned Treatise Practice & Procedure,” Defense Asbestos Litigation Seminar, June 2021
- Quoted, “Thousands of Maryland asbestos-poisoning lawsuits that waited years for trial are being dropped or dismissed,” Baltimore Sun, March 5, 2021
- Quoted “Baltimore Fights to Clear Massive Backlog of Asbestos Cases,” Wall Street Journal, November 18, 2019
- Panelist, “Jurisdictional Update: Status of the Litigation and Recent Decisions,” Perrin Mid-Atlantic Asbestos Litigation Conference, July 17, 2019
- Quoted, “Orioles Visit the Senate House, But Asbestos Bill Foes Have Heavy Hitters of Their Own,” Maryland Matters, April 6, 2019
- Panelist, “Trial Lawyer Panel,” Defense Asbestos Litigation Seminar, June 28, 2018
- Instructor, Maryland Defense Counsel Trial Academy, April 30, 2018
Honors & Awards
- Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America (BL Rankings), 2021
- Rated, AV Preeminent®
