Elizabeth Wright

Partner

Phone: 612.355.4100
Fax: 612.355.4101
Email: wright@parkerdk.com
Address: 888 Colwell Building
123 North Third Street
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55401

Professional Experience

  • Provided counsel to businesses of all sizes, particularly in healthcare, drug and medical device industries, in products liability, high-value breach of contract and employment matters.
  • Extensive experience as a team leader or core team member litigating multi-jurisdictional matters and putative class actions and coordinating defense teams composed of lawyers from numerous firms.
  • Judicial Clerk for the Honorable David S. Doty, United States District Court for the District of Minnesota

Areas of Practice

  • Business and Commercial Litigation
  • Insurance Coverage Litigation
  • Employment Contract Litigation
  • Products Liability and Breach of Warranty Litigation
  • Appellate Advocacy

Courts Admitted

  • Minnesota
  • United States District Court District of Minnesota
  • United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin
  • United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit

Education

  • University of Michigan, Bachelor of Arts, Economics (1983)
  • University of Minnesota Law School, Juris Doctor, Cum Laude (1987)
  • Member of Minnesota Law Review

Representative Cases

  • Utility Vehicle Manufacturer v. Motor Vehicle Component Manufacturer (Client) Defended corporation that supplied brake components in multimillion-dollar breach-of-warranty action. Discovery exposed evidence of numerous design and mechanical defects unrelated to client’s products and fundamental flaws with plaintiff’s business strategy, leading to a defense verdict.
  • Individual v. Motor Vehicle Rental Company (Client) Successfully led team defending multimillion-dollar personal injury action in Clark County Nevada which settled on extremely favorable terms after exposure of plaintiff’s undisclosed preexisting conditions and effective depositions of plaintiff’s treating physicians and expert witnesses.
  • Individual v. Medical Device Manufacturer (Client) — Defended action by cataract-surgery patient claiming damage to vision as a result of client’s medical device. Favorable settlement following the development of evidence of misuse of the device by the plaintiff’s treating physician.
  • Business v. Telecommunications Corporation (Client) — Nuisance value settlement in breach of contract action where detailed analysis of the parties’ documents uncovered plaintiff’s own fraud related to the contract.
  • In re Mass Tort Litigations Defense team leader or core team member in state and national mass-tort products-liability actions involving pharmaceuticals, biologics, food supplements and industrial coatings.
  • Individual v. Disability Insurance Company (Client) — Defended breach of contract action involving dentist suing under own-occupation disability insurance policy. Detailed analysis of computer data and careful questioning of dentist under oath exposed that he was not in fact disabled leading to summary judgment in favor of client.
  • Corporation (Client) v. Comprehensive General Liability Insurance Carrier — Senior member of team representing foreign manufacturer of industrial coatings seeking coverage under insurance policy. After extensive discovery, carrier agreed to provide coverage.
  • Corporation v. Corporation Successfully represented numerous companies and individuals in breach of employment contract actions involving restrictive covenants and trade secrets

Representative Clients

  • US and foreign manufacturers of pharmaceuticals, medical devices and industrial products.
  • Distributors of consumer products
  • Insurance carriers
  • National motor vehicle rental company
  • Telecommunications corporation