Kelly Lynn Ferron

• Illinois
• Florida
• Michigan
• Wisconsin
• United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois
• United States District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin
• United States District Court, Western District of Wisconsin
• United States District Court, Southern District of Florida
• United States District Court, Middle District of Florida

• The University of Miami School of Law, J.D., cum laude, 2009
• University of Wisconsin-Madison, B.S., 2005

ILLINOIS: 

• Secured a dismissal, with prejudice, for a property management company in a Cook County wrongful death case involving a 4-year-old drowning victim. The dismissal was upheld by the appellate court, with the Illinois Supreme Court declining the petition for leave to appeal. 

• Retained by a large excess carrier 2 weeks before trial to spearhead the defense of a school board in a high exposure sexual assault case involving a minor student. Immediately developed strong, cohesive defense trial strategies that vastly improved the defense position, ultimately reducing the demand and achieving a favorable settlement just prior to voir dire; Plaintiff previously refused to negotiate. 

• Successfully defended one of the country’s two largest trucking companies at jury trial, effectively turning Plaintiff’s key medical treater into a defense witness on cross-examination, leading to a favorable mid-trial settlement. Also, successfully won a partial Frye motion severely limiting the testimony of Plaintiff’s life care planner. 

• Implemented a tailored defense strategy from inception through discovery, leading to summary judgment for one of the top 5 largest general retailers in the U.S. in a commercial premises liability case. 

• Secured a favorable settlement in an intentional torts case involving a minor Plaintiff who underwent three surgeries through rigorous deposition preparation, eliciting testimony from Plaintiff’s orthopedic surgeon that the MRI report was incorrect and surgery unnecessary, thorough anti-reptile preparation of client representatives, and implementing effective defense strategies throughout litigation. The settlement amounted to 3% of the initial demand and only 50% of claimed medical expenses. 

• Prevailed on a motion to dismiss negligence and strict liability-based products liability claims, with prejudice, in a fire case on behalf of a retailer; negotiated an agreed dismissal of the retailer’s owner, sued in his individual capacity, for $0. 

• Obtained a highly favorable jury verdict in a wrongful death construction case representing a crane company, in which the jury awarded merely 12% of the amount sought by Plaintiff; our client was found merely 15% negligent, and the verdict was further reduced for the decedent’s negligence. 

• Successfully defended a wrongful death/products liability matter representing the manufacturer of a liftgate by filing a hard-hitting motion for summary judgment allowing for a mere $3,500.00 settlement on the eve of the summary judgment hearing. 

• Obtained summary judgment for a general contractor in a wrongful death multi-party construction negligence case and secured dismissals of both commercial property owners. 

• Prevailed on 5 separate motions to dismiss with prejudice for 5 different defendants, all on different bases, in a toxic tort/municipal liability/premises case. 

• Succeeded on a Motion to Dismiss on behalf of one of the largest domestic corporations and franchisor through aggressive case handling and implementation of a tailored strategy from inception. 

• Successfully argued a motion to dismiss, with prejudice, based upon Plaintiff’s failure to timely serve our client, a motion very rarely granted; thereafter, litigated contractual claims brought by co-defendants and filed competing contractual cross-claims. Recovered monetary sanctions from Plaintiff’s counsel, obtained dismissal of co-defendants’ contractual claims, with prejudice, and recovered nearly $20,000.00 on competing contractual claims against said co-defendants. 

• Prevailed on a summary judgment motion on behalf of a vehicle owner on a negligent entrustment claim. 

• Successfully negotiated an early settlement (prior to any depositions) in an intentional torts case with a highly unfavorable liability scenario, involving a child Plaintiff with a claimed traumatic brain injury (“TBI”) and cognitive deficits, for less than $185,000.00. 

• Aggressively and successfully defended two (2) security companies and a security guard in a negligent security case involving alleged excessive use of force, including asphyxiation and severe physical and psychological injuries; relentlessly defending this incredibly litigious matter, systematically chipping away at Plaintiff’s case, and ultimately securing a favorable settlement for only about 17% of the claimed medical specials. 

• Obtained summary judgment in a multi-defendant wrongful death construction/traffic maintenance negligence case representing a subcontractor. 

• Prevailed on summary judgment on a multi-defendant construction/traffic maintenance negligence case representing a general contractor. 

• Successfully represented a condominium association and board members in an action involving claims of breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, declaratory judgment, and other commercial claims. 

WISCONSIN: 

• Obtained a dismissal, with prejudice, paying $0, prior to any discovery being conducted through careful review and interpretation of a multitude of complex contractual issues and steadfast efforts to persuade Plaintiff’s counsel of our position. 

• Obtained monetary sanctions against Plaintiff’s counsel in a consumer fraud and products liability case for intentionally filing false affidavits and successfully barred Plaintiff’s expert from testifying at trial through a Daubert motion, leading to a highly favorable settlement. 

• Successfully obtained an agreed dismissal, with prejudice, in less than 3 months in a declaratory judgment and UIM action through a compelling motion to dismiss. 

• Conducted a systematic, well-thought-out investigation and later Examinations Under Oath to expose clear fraud enabling the denial of a stolen vehicle claim. 

• Obtained an incredibly favorable settlement in a high exposure trucking case involving a tetraplegic 11-year-old Plaintiff, for 3% of the amount Plaintiff asked the jury for, which was less than 7% of the prior demand and for only 11% of claimed economic damages. After being retained only a week prior to expert disclosures and a month prior to trial, made major changes in defense strategy, replaced subpar experts, secured vital last minute deposition testimony, and prepared and presented our experts, leading to their near seamless testimony and overcoming all Daubert challenges. Plaintiffs’ attorneys said prior to our involvement that they would “never consider settling.” 

• Successfully defended a natural gas explosion wrongful death case that occurred at a gas station, methodically garnering evidence to demonstrate substantial negligence on the part of the decedents. 

• Persuaded Plaintiff’s counsel to agree to a voluntary dismissal of a top retailer in a commercial premises liability case, without paying any settlement. 

• Successfully argued statute of limitations and failure to effectuate service defenses, securing a dismissal, with prejudice, in a commercial premises case, with our client paying $0. 

• Played an integral role defending a very large agricultural, construction, and lawn care equipment manufacturer as parachute counsel for the excess carrier, achieving a favorable settlement. 

• Involved with the environmental PFAs/”forever chemicals” MDL currently pending in the US District Court of South Carolina, admitted pro hac vice. 

FLORIDA: 

• Secured a highly favorable settlement in an 11-plaintiff boat explosion maritime parachute case, involving extremely severe injuries, including one Plaintiff who lost all 4 limbs and another who lost 1 limb; secured key experts who built a to-scale test chamber simulating the boat’s engine compartment and through testing systematically refuted all of Plaintiffs’ experts’ opinions as to ignition and fuel source, ultimately achieving a settlement for 15% of what was sought, a shockingly low figure for an 11-Plaintiff case. 

• Obtained summary judgment in a commercial premises liability case on behalf of a maintenance company, which was upheld on appeal. 

• Prevailed on a Daubert motion barring Plaintiff’s expert in a trucking case. 

• Obtained a defense verdict in a jury trial in a commercial premises liability case in Broward County. 

• Obtained a defense verdict in a jury trial in a commercial premises liability case in Miami-Dade County. 

• Effectuated a very favorable settlement representing a college in a case involving an off-campus sexual assault of a student by a non-student. 

• Negotiated an extremely early dismissal, with prejudice, paying nothing, in a PIP action through an early and aggressive Motion to Dismiss filed pursuant to personal jurisdiction and venue defenses. 

• Successfully defended a large security company and obtained an excellent settlement in a negligent security wrongful death case involving a shooting of a decedent in his 20s with two young children. 

• Effectively represented one of the largest food/beverage companies in the world in an admitted liability trucking case involving severe injuries, which settled on the eve of trial after prevailing on multiple key Motions in Limine, including a Daubert challenge of Plaintiff’s expert. 

• Prevailed on a motion for summary judgment in an action representing a large commercial vehicle rental company based upon the Graves Amendment. 

• Effectively worked up and defended a large Miami construction company in an enormous traffic maintenance/MUTCD related case with over 20 defendants and more than 100 depositions, achieving a shockingly low settlement. 

• Successfully defended one of the largest TV/cable companies in the United States in an extremely litigious high exposure motor vehicle accident case with over a $5 million demand, ultimately achieving a settlement for $35,000.00 and being asked to serve as that company’s preferred trial counsel in the State of Florida. 

• Obtained dismissal in a commercial premises case at a hospital after challenging Plaintiff on the intricate details of her claim in her deposition, ultimately resulting in her admitting that the incident never occurred and dismissing the case, with prejudice. 

• Prevailed on a Motion to Dismiss based upon complex constitutional law arguments involving the retroactivity of a statute in a wrongful death negligent construction matter. 

MICHIGAN: 

• Executed a highly effective defense strategy from the inception of a multi-vehicle pile-up case involving a TBI and cognitive deficits through all discovery, and secured a voluntary dismissal, with prejudice, paying $0. 

• Successfully defended a defamation case involving allegations of indecent exposure. 

• Successfully defended and obtained a highly favorable settlement in a high exposure motor vehicle accident case. 

NEW YORK (PRO HAC VICE): 

• Successfully secured summary judgment in a trucking case involving mass casualties in Kings County, which was upheld on appeal, in collaboration with local and appellate counsel. 

COLORADO (PRO HAC VICE): 

• Successfully defended a very unpopular, well-known, formerly large corporation that had been previously indicted for multiple fraud related charges in a construction defect case brought as a result of sinkholes and significant ground settlement in a new upscale community. 

• The Science of Well Being, Yale University