Erin Bosman is a partner in the Litigation Department of the San Diego office of Morrison & Foerster LLP. Her practice focuses on product liability with specialization in pharmaceuticals and aviation. She regularly advises clients regarding business risks for companies facing U.S. mass tort litigation, recent judicial and legislative efforts to limit liability, warning and labeling requirements, risk assessments, and product warranties and recalls. Ms. Bosman has tried jury cases to verdict in state and federal court. She has taken and defended over 150 depositions of parties, expert witnesses, and third parties, argued dispositive motions and successfully argued before the California Court of Appeal.

Ms. Bosman received her bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of San Diego (1994) and her J.D. from the University of San Diego School of Law (magna cum laude, Order of the Coif, 1999). During law school she was an editor for the San Diego Law Review.

Ms. Bosman received the Wiley W. Manuel Award for Pro Bono Legal Services from the State Bar of California (2004 – 2005).

Ms. Bosman is a Barrister in the J. Clifford Wallace Inn of Court. Ms. Bosman is a member of the International Aviation Women’s Association and the Association of Business Trial Lawyers. She is a member of the Litigation Section of California State Bar and a member of the San Diego County Bar Association. Ms. Bosman is admitted to practice in all California state and federal courts.

Prior to joining Morrison & Foerster LLP, Ms. Bosman was an associate in the San Diego office of Gray Cary Ware & Freidenrich LLP. She was a judicial extern for the Honorable James F. Stiven, U.S. Magistrate Judge, Southern District of California, in 1997 and was a counselor for the Domestic Violence Restraining Order Clinic in San Diego from 1996 – 1997.

Representative Matters

• Pain Pump Matters. Currently part of the national counsel team for a major pharmaceutical company in product liability litigation filed in numerous jurisdictions around the nation. The plaintiffs in these matters allege that our client’s local anesthetic products used in pain pumps contribute to the development of post-surgical chondrolysis, a degenerative condition of the shoulder.
• Gol Airlines Flight 1907 Litigation. Representing 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. Cases have been brought in several jurisdictions and we obtained centralized MDL treatment of the cases in the U.S. District Court for 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 dismissal will result in the settlement of the cases on the basis of Brazilian-level damages – a great benefit to the client and the aviation insurance market.
• In re Eye Drop Class Action Litigation. Defending a large pharmaceutical company in a class action case alleging that one of its ophthalmologic products contained insufficient preservatives and was subject to contamination, resulting in an infectious injury.
• In re Arediaand ZometaProduct Liability Litigation. Represent the drug manufacturer in an MDL proceeding and state consolidated cases where plaintiffs claim the product causes a degenerative condition of the jaw. The litigation is in discovery.
• Defended a major pharmaceutical company in mass tort litigation where she coordinated discovery for over 500 cases pending in federal and state courts. Ms. Bosman prepared ten cases for trial and was liaison with national counsel.
• Bayer PPA Litigation. Ms. Bosman assisted the national trial team for the Bayer Corporation PPA litigation throughout the United States. PPA was an ingredient of Alka Seltzer Plus, and other cough and cold remedies. Hundreds of cases were filed around the country alleging a correlation between the use of PPA and subsequent strokes.
• Aventis Pharmaceuticals. Represented Aventis Pharmaceuticals in a consumer class action case alleging violations of consumer fraud, violation of the Consumer Confidentiality of Medical Information Act, and Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code section 17200. The team successfully demurred to multiple amendments to the complaint leading to final judgment in favor of Aventis.
• Abbott Laboratories v. DexCom, Inc. Ms. Bosman represents DexCom, a San Diego-based medical device manufacturer, in a patent infringement case filed in the District court of Delaware involving glucose monitoring patents.
• In Re: Air Crash off Point Mugu, California, on January 31, 2000. Represented Alaska Airlines in the multi-district litigation involving the crash of Alaska Airlines Flight 261 on January 31, 2000, near Point Mugu, California. Ms. Bosman conducted damages discovery, prepared pretrial and trial motions, and assisted in mock trial consisting of two juries. In June, 2003, Ms. Bosman participated in jury selection for trial in the MDL court resulting in settlements prior to opening statements.
• Represented pharmaceutical company in a case regarding the provision of treatment in one of the company’s clinical drug studies.
• Provided advice to a biopharmaceutical company regarding drug development and promotion agreements.
• Glassman v. Southwest Airlines. Defended the airline in a trial arising from the death of a passenger. Defense verdict. MS Bosman argued the case on appeal to California court resulting in affirmation of trial verdict.
• Cook v. Southwest Airlines. Defended Southwest in multiple lawsuits arising from runway overrun incident and second-chaired a federal court trial of one of the cases. Ms. Bosman presented the opening statement and conducted direct examinations and cross-examinations of expert and lay witnesses. Plaintiff was awarded less than half of Rule 68 offer.

Representative Publications

• “Product Liability Law Roundtable,” California Lawyer, November 2008.
• Co-author with Don Rushing and Linda Lane, “Anchors Away: Attacking the Suggestion of a Dollar Amount as Compensation for Non-Economic Damages in Closing,” IADC Defense Journal, Vol. 70, No. 3, July 2003.