Charles L. Kerr

Partner

New York, (212) 468-8043

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Education

Brown University (B.A., 1978)
;
New York University School of Law (J.D., 1982)

Practices

Product Liability

Insurance Litigation

Commercial Litigation

Bar Admissions

New York

Clerkships

Hon. James Hunter, U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit (1982-1983)

Charles Kerr is the Managing Partner of the New York office and Co-Chair of the firmwide Product Liability Practice Group. His practice focuses on commercial litigation, complex business litigation, and regulatory enforcement on behalf of both companies and financial institutions. Mr. Kerr has particular experience in cases involving complex contractual and financial matters, insurance coverage, and product liability. In the insurance area, he has litigated complex insurance coverage matters in both federal and state courts and in international arbitration proceedings in Europe and the United States. Mr. Kerr has also tried product liability cases for major manufacturers and advised clients in the United States and overseas on product liability and related issues. He regularly appears in federal and state courts throughout the United States, at both the trial and the appellate levels.

Over the last year, Mr. Kerr has been the lead trial lawyer in several multimillion-dollar disputes involving programming and distribution rights in the Direct Broadcast Services industry. In the area of financial litigation, Mr. Kerr is currently representing an international pension fund in connection with disputes over ownership of pension fund assets. He has also represented and acted as the lead trial counsel for a large commercial bank in a multi-jurisdictional fraud case involving money laundering, and has represented domestic and foreign financial institutions in regulatory investigations and related enforcement actions.

Mr. Kerr became a partner of Morrison & Foerster in 1990 and served as head of the New York Litigation Practice Group from 2000 to 2007. He is a member of the New York State and American Bar Associations, the New York County Bar Association, and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. He served as a member of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York's Standing Committee on Legal Assistance from 1987 to 1990 and as a member of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York's Committee on the Recruitment of Lawyers from 1990 to 1992. Mr. Kerr has participated in seminars sponsored by various bar associations and trade groups and regularly speaks and writes on a range of legal issues involving products liability, privacy, and insurance law.

Mr. Kerr has been recognized as a “New York Super Lawyer” in the area of Business Litigation.

In 1983, Mr. Kerr associated with Parker, Auspitz, Neesemann & Delehanty, which subsequently merged into Morrison & Foerster in October 1987. During law school, Mr. Kerr was a Note and Comment Editor for the New York University Law Review and was elected to Order of the Coif.

NFL Enterprises LLC v. EchoStar Satellite LLC

(Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York). Lead counsel for EchoStar in a major carriage dispute in connection with the distribution of the NFL Network on EchoStar's DISH Direct Broadcast Service. Successfully defended the client against a motion for preliminary injunction and a motion for partial summary judgment. After engaging in an extensive discovery process over an expedited time frame, the action was settled on a confidential basis. (2009)

VOOM HD Holdings LLC v. EchoStar Satellite LLC

(N.Y. Sup.). Lead counsel for EchoStar in a billion-dollar breach of contract action arising out of an Affiliation Agreement for the distribution of High Definition television programming. Successfully defended the client against a motion for a preliminary injunction. Case is currently in the middle of discovery. (Ongoing)

West Caribbean Airways Flight 708.

We represent Honeywell International, Inc. in a lawsuit arising from an accident that occurred on August 16, 2005, when West Caribbean Airways Flight 708 crashed near Machiques, Venezuela, killing 160 people. The aircraft was a Boeing-manufactured MD-82 allegedly equipped with Pratt & Whitney JT8D-217A engines. Representatives of the crewmembers have sued Honeywell and several of defendants for negligence and strict liability based on component parts that were allegedly part of the JT8D-217A engines on Flight 708. (Ongoing)

Fox News v. EchoStar Communications Corp.

(Southern District of NY). Represented Echostar in a breach of contract case regarding an affiliate agreement. News Corp\'s Fox News sued EchoStar Communications Corp for about $50 million, saying the satellite television operator breached a 1998 contract that required it to offer the news channel as part of its most widely-distributed package. The case was settled successfully after the completion of discovery. (2009)

Echostar Satellite Corporation, et al. v. Ace Bermuda Insurance Ltd.

(Private Arbitration in London). Represented EchoStar in a coverage arbitration brought in London under a Satellite Launch Insurance Policy arising out of the failed deployment of EchoStar IV. Successfully stayed the case pending a ruling in a related arbitration in New York. After receiving a favorable interim ruling in the related case, was able to successfully mediate an overall resolution. (2004)

EchoStar Satellite Corporation, et al. v. La Reunion Spatiale, et al.

(AAA). Represented EchoStar in a coverage arbitration brought in London under a Satellite Launch Insurance Policy arising out of the failed deployment of EchoStar IV. Obtained a very beneficial interim award on coverage and financial recovery. (2004)

Gol Airlines Flight 1907 Litigation

(USDC, Eastern District NY). 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 crew. 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. (2009)