Kevin Eddy

Kevin provides counseling and litigation services to corporations in the transportation, construction, and oil and gas industries throughout the Northeast region.

As an active member of the National Association of Railroad Counsel, Kevin keeps current on changes in the railroad industry and has an active litigation practice defending railroads throughout the East Coast. He counsels Class I and short line railroads on risk management, work safety issues and compliance with state and federal regulations.

Kevin defends railroad companies in personal injury and discrimination actions, labor and employment matters, and toxic tort exposure cases.

Kevin also has extensive construction litigation and counseling experience, including defending design professionals and construction managers during all phases of the design and building process, including risk management, contract negotiation, mediation, arbitration and litigation.


Kevin also represents corporations in the manufacturing and oil & gas industry in a variety of matters including environmental issues, eminent domain, royalty and regulatory compliance.

A sample of Kevin’s recent representative matters:

• Obtained summary judgment in two separate matters in favor of a Class I railroad in Toledo, Ohio based on plaintiff's failure to adduce sufficient scientific and medical evidence establishing a causal connection between plaintiff's allegations of whole body vibration and their alleged injuries.
• Successfully defeated a motion for class certification in a lawsuit filed against a dentist. The dentist hired a recent dental student graduate who he later found out had lied about graduating from dental school and prepared a fraudulent diploma. A group of patients sued the dentist under the theory of respondeat superior and alleged assault. The court found that there was no commonality among the prospective class members and dismissed the motion for class certification.
• Obtained summary judgment on behalf of a construction management company in a suit involving multiple parties to a contract. The construction management company was hired by a public entity to oversee the construction of a storage hanger. The owner delayed the start date of the project. The contractor filed suit against the construction management company claiming tortious interference because the company informed the surety that was underwriting the project that the contractor was late on payments to sub-contractors. The court held in favor of the construction management company stating that it had the right to communicate with the surety about the status of the ongoing project.
• Obtained a reversal and judgment from the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in favor of a construction manager after a trial court found that the construction manager breached its contract with the owner. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals reversed finding there was no evidence of damages.
• Obtained summary judgment on behalf of a skid steer loader manufacturer in a products liability action. In this case, the plaintiff, who was standing near the machine, was hit in the head when the machine’s operator accidentally hit the control panel causing severe brain injury to the plaintiff. The claims were dismissed on the theory that the plaintiff was not an intended user of the product.
• Represented the distributor of a bulletproof vest in a products liability action. A police officer, while wearing the vest, was shot and the bullet penetrated the vest. The manufacturer of the vest and the manufacturer of the nylon fabric joined in a defense to the suit claiming it was the fault of the distributor for failing to properly store the vest. After conducting extensive discovery, the court found that the distributor did nothing to change the composition of the vest to make it less effective. Following an initial demand of $1million, the distributor’s share of the settlement was $10,000.

Areas of Law

• Transportation Litigation
• Occupational Illness Litigation
• Construction Litigation
• Labor and Employment Law
• Environmental Litigation
• Oil and Gas Industry

Education

• University of Pittsburgh (J.D. 2004)
• Canisius College (B.A., history and political science, with honors, 2001)

Publications

• “A Flood of Lawsuits: Will the Natural Gas Industry Drown in Suit if Access to Wastewater Treatment is Denied,” The Legal Intelligencer, May 26, 2009
• “Avoiding Harmful Expert Disclosure” Article, Contributor, DRI’s “For the Defense” Magazine, January 2004

Seminars/Presentations

• “Defending Toxic Exposure Brain Damage Cases,” NARTC Spring Conference, June 2008
• “Design Professionals: A Look at Emerging Issues,” FDCC Winter Conference Marco Island, Florida, March 2005

Bar Admissions

• Pennsylvania, New York, and Florida

Memberships

• American Bar Association
• Pennsylvania Bar Association
• New York Bar Association
• Allegheny County Bar Association (Young Lawyers Division, member services, co-chair)
• American Inns of Court
• National Association of Railroad Counsel
• Independence Oil and Gas Association of Pennsylvania

Community/Civic

• Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, Circles Board, member
• Neighborhood Legal Services, pro bono attorney

Kevin Eddy
Pittsburgh Office
Phone: 412-995-3145
kmeddy@burnswhite.com