David S. Gray
D.S. takes an aggressive approach to all aspects of litigation, including, but not limited to, preliminary pretrial planning, initial motions practice, written discovery, deposition testimony, and briefing just prior to, during, and after trial. This demanding approach yields critical evidence for clients, weakens adversaries' claims, and leads to favorable results.
In products liability matters, D.S. focuses on translating complex legal, scientific, medical, and regulatory concepts into the plain language that winning arguments require. That philosophy has led to the dismissal of personal injury claims against the manufacturers of FDA-approved vaccines and prescription medicines based on governing state law, preemption principles, lack of subject matter jurisdiction, lack of personal jurisdiction, and/or lack of particularity. It also facilitates his collaboration with experts in advanced fields, such as immunology, epidemiology, otolaryngology, regulatory affairs, and hepatology.
In commercial litigation matters, D.S. has represented large institutional clients in the banking, education, consumer products, and steel industries in pretrial, trial, and appellate proceedings. He also counsels clients threatened with potential class action litigation based on consumer protection statutes and on insurance coverage matters.
D.S. also advises clients on proposed contract terms, product safety, user warnings of product hazards, potential liabilities associated with their Internet presence, and gaps in insurance policies, to help limit their potential litigation exposure.
Experience
Representative Matters
- Defends a vaccine manufacturer in nationwide litigation, including consolidated proceedings in multidistrict litigation and two state courts
- Defends a vaccine manufacturer in litigation involving allegations that a preservative in vaccines causes various neurological conditions
- Defended a product manufacturer in nationwide litigation involving injuries attributed to antiepileptic medicine
- Defended a product manufacturer in regional litigation involving claims of hearing loss
- Defended a major medical research institution and researcher against accusations of research fraud
- Counsels nonprofit organizations throughout the United States concerning various insurance coverage issues
- Counseled clients threatened with potential class action litigation based on consumer protection statutes
- Co-authored a motion to dismiss personal injury claims attributed to a client’s vaccine and based on a legal issue of first impression in the United States, resulting in dismissal
- Co-authored multiple winning motions to dismiss personal injury claims attributed to client’s vaccines based on the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986
- Co-authored a winning demurrer that resulted in the dismissal of approximately 200 plaintiffs’ claims based on a lack of personal jurisdiction
- Co-authored forum-non-conveniens-related briefing that resulted in the dismissal of a multi-plaintiff products liability case
- Co-authored multiple winning motions to dismiss federal court cases based on a lack of personal jurisdiction and/or a lack of particularity in misrepresentation claims
- Co-authored winning motions barring failure-to-warn claims against a drug manufacturer and based on preemption principles
- Co-authored a winning motion for summary judgment based on an absence of necessary proximate causation testimony in a products liability case for damages attributed to a client’s vaccine
- Co-authored winning motions for summary judgment based on the Indiana statute of repose, resulting in six defense judgments
- Co-authored winning motions for summary judgment based on Michigan law, resulting in nearly two dozen defense judgments
- Co-authored dozens of successful pretrial motions that eliminated or significantly narrowed the potential liability of clients
- Designed and executed strategy to defend client against Truth-in-Consumer Contract, Warranty and Notice Act claim to take advantage of successful appellate proceedings pursued in analogous cases
- Co-authored an opposition to a motion to certify a nationwide class action of users of a client’s contraceptive product, resulting in favorable results for the client
- Co-authored a winning motion to dismiss a putative class action against a nationwide trade association based on alleged personal injuries resulting from the medical products used by its members
- Co-authored a motion to dismiss punitive damages and fraud and breach of contract claims filed against a chemical manufacturer, which the plaintiffs subsequently dismissed
- Co-authored a winning motion for summary judgment concerning the potential liability of an equipment manufacturer for personal injuries allegedly resulting from alleged asbestos-containing materials in replacement components affixed to the client’s products
- Co-authored an appellate brief supporting the affirmance of a dismissal of personal injury claims filed against a vaccine manufacturer
- Co-authored an amicus brief in support of a dismissal of personal injury claims against a statewide trade association, which the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland affirmed
- Co-authored a motion for summary judgment in favor of a product manufacturer based on the doctrine of misuse – a decision that the Court of Appeals of Maryland ultimately upheld
- Worked on an appellate brief resulting in the affirmance of a defense judgment entered in favor of a manufacturer of formerly asbestos-containing products and based on the governing statute of limitations
- Worked on an appellate brief resulting in the reversal of a multi-million-dollar judgment against a manufacturer of formerly asbestos-containing products
Insights
Credentials
Education
- J.D. summa cum laude University of Baltimore School of Law 2000
- Graduated first in class
- Member, Heuisler Honor Society
- Editor-in-Chief, University of Baltimore Law Review, 1999-2000
- Staff Member, University of Baltimore Law Review, 1998-99
- Recipient, Mount Vernon Scholarship
- B.S. summa cum laude Frostburg State University 1997
- Editor-in-Chief, The Bottom Line (student newspaper), 1995-97
Bar Admissions
- Maryland
Court Admissions
- U.S. Supreme Court
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois
- U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
Clerk Experience
- Honorable Deborah S. Eyler Court of Special Appeals of Maryland 2000 - 2001
Professional Memberships and Activities
- Member, Defense Research Institute
- Member, Maryland State Bar Association
- Secretary, Executive Committee, Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland
- Member, Board of Directors, Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland
Recognition
- Venable LLP, Benjamin R. Civiletti Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year, 2009
Community
Pro Bono
For over a decade, D.S. has served on the board of directors for the Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland (PBRC), and he currently serves as PBRC's Secretary. His significant pro bono matters also have included:
- Appellate work for a criminal defendant challenging ballistics evidence admitted during his murder trial, including co-authoring briefs filed in the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland
- Represented an Iraqi interpreter, who assisted American armed forces, in seeking asylum in the United States
- Represented an incarcerated plaintiff deprived of necessary healthcare