Chris Dalton

Associate

San Diego, (858) 314-7577

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Education

Washington and Lee University (B.A., 1997)
;
Georgetown University Law Center (J.D., 2009)

Practices

Product Liability

Aviation + Aerospace

Class Actions

Bar Admissions

California

Christopher Dalton is an associate in the firm’s Product Liability Practice Group. Prior to joining Morrison & Foerster LLP, Mr. Dalton was an intern at the Office of White House Counsel where he researched and drafted legal memoranda and proposed legislation.

Mr. Dalton was a summer associate at Morrison & Foerster in 2008 and a judicial clerk for the US Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces in 2007. In 2006, Mr. Dalton was a business development intern at Patton Boggs, LLP, where he assisted in developing partnerships and strategies among corporations within the defense and homeland security industries, and built relationships between trace detection corporations and U.S. military anti-terrorism and force-protection units. He also researched the Buy American Act and drafted memoranda advising foreign corporations about the legal issues surrounding the sale of firearms and military material to the U.S. government.

Mr. Dalton has extensive technical knowledge about military aircraft and aviation training standards. From 1997-2006, Mr. Dalton was a U.S. Marine Corps Officer and helicopter pilot, where he gained substantial experience flying the Sikorsky CH-53E “Super Stallion” helicopter. He was also an Operations and Training Officer (2003-2006) and an Aviation Maintenance Supervisor (2000-2003) in the Marine Corps.

Gol Airlines Flight 1907 Litigation

Represented Honeywell International Inc. in a lawsuit involving a mid-air collision between a Boeing 737-800, operated as Gol Airlines Flight 1907, and an Embraer Legacy 600, operated by ExcelAire Services, over the Amazon jungle, Brazil, on September 29, 2006. The accident resulted in the deaths of 154 passengers and crewmembers. Cases were brought in seven different districts, and we were successful in obtaining consolidation of the cases for MDL treatment in the Eastern District of New York. In late July 2008, the motion to dismiss the cases to Brazil for forum non conveniens was granted. The Brazilian carrier is settling the cases with claimants in Brazil. On appeal, the District Court's dismissal of the consolidated actions was affirmed by the Second Circuit. A four week international arbitration conducted in London under the law of England and Wales before a three member tribunal then followed to apportion liability for the accident among certain defendants. The arbitration resulted in a finding Honeywell was without fault for the accident and an award of costs against certain defendants in favor of Honeywell.

Chinook Helicopter Crash off Greece (In re Greek Chinook)

Represented Honeywell International Inc. in litigation arising from the crash of a Boeing Chinook helicopter off the coast of Greece in the Aegean Sea on September 11, 2004. The accident claimed the lives of the 17 passengers and crew on board the helicopter. This litigation involved multiple international jurisdictions, Death on High Seas Act (DOHSA), and a difficult causation investigation. We defended claims involving alleged defects in the helicopter’s engines, FADEC and AFCS. The lawsuits filed in the Greek courts in Chalkidiki, where the accident occurred, were settled. The remaining cases were filed in the U.S. and consolidated in federal court in Philadelphia. Those cases were also settled on terms favorable to the client.

Cessna Caravan 208 Icing Accidents

Representing Cessna Aircraft Company as national coordinating counsel in individual personal injury and wrongful death cases pending in various jurisdictions in the United States arising from accidents involving Cessna Caravan 208 aircraft flown in alleged icing conditions.

Columbia Helicopters Shasta-Trinity National Forest Crash

Successfully mediated and completed settlement of 13 lawsuits arising from the crash of a Sikorsky S-61 helicopter in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest during firefighting operations for the U.S. Forest Service. Our client Columbia Helicopters, a helicopter maintenance facility, had performed maintenance and overhaul work on the helicopter fuel control system. Nine people were fatally injured and four survived—the worst aircraft accident in the United States in 2008. Cases were pending in three separate federal courts and were assigned to the U.S. District Court, District of Oregon for MDL proceedings, resulting in the resolution of all claims. A separate state action was settled on favorable terms in 2012.