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Madison Kitchens specializes in defending product manufacturers in the pharmaceutical, medical device, automotive, consumer goods, and energy industries against class action and mass tort claims brought by plaintiffs across the United States.

Madison is a frequent author and speaker on class actions, complex litigation, and product liability.  He is the Co-Editor of the Fifth Edition of The Product Regulation and Liability (eds. Varner & Kitchens), which analyzes the landscape of product liability law in 18 countries.  Additionally, he has written chapters in numerous practitioner treatises, including the ABA’s Business & Commercial Litigation in the Federal Courts (4th ed.) and Drug and Device Product Liability Litigation Strategy (2d ed.). 

Madison maintains an active appellate practice in addition to his trial work, and has authored briefs filed in the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Courts of Appeals, and state supreme courts.  Additionally, Madison has served as an instructor for Emory University School of Law’s Trial Advocacy Workshop and as a Barrister in the Bleckley Inn of Court. 

Madison graduated from Duke University, magna cum laude, in 2004 with a B.A. in Economics.  He earned his J.D. from Harvard Law School, with honors, in 2010.  While in law school, Madison served as Chief Articles Editor for the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy and was a semifinalist in Harvard’s Ames Moot Court competition.  After law school, he clerked for the Honorable Frank M. Hull of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

Full Bio

Credentials

J.D., Harvard University, cum laude

B.A., Economics, Duke University, Magna Cum Laude

Court of Appeals of Georgia

Georgia

Supreme Court of Georgia

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia

Law Clerk, Hon. Frank M. Hull, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

Defense Research Institute (DRI)

Executive Board, Federalist Society -- Atlanta Lawyers Chapter

Georgia Defense Lawyers Association

Matters

Representing Kimberly-Clark and Halyard Health in class action litigation, parallel qui tam suits, government investigations, and a Lanham Act competitor suit challenging the design, labeling and advertising of Class II medical devices.

Representing SmileDirectClub in suit filed against the Georgia Board of Dentistry for alleged antitrust and constitutional violations.  

Representing Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz USA in a putative class action pending in Georgia federal court alleging that the HVAC systems in various Mercedes-Benz vehicles are defective.

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Matters

Representing Kimberly-Clark and Halyard Health in class action litigation, parallel qui tam suits, government investigations, and a Lanham Act competitor suit challenging the design, labeling and advertising of Class II medical devices.

Representing SmileDirectClub in suit filed against the Georgia Board of Dentistry for alleged antitrust and constitutional violations.  

Representing Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz USA in a putative class action pending in Georgia federal court alleging that the HVAC systems in various Mercedes-Benz vehicles are defective.

Representing an SEC university in a putative class action pending in an MDL before the Northern District of Illinois that alleges the university failed to protect football players from concussion-related injuries.

Obtained summary judgment on behalf of Highstar Capital against minority shareholders’ fraud and aiding and abetting claims arising out of $470 million acquisition. 

Represented an international automotive company and obtained final approval of class settlement involving over 9 million class members in In re: Takata Airbag Products Liability Litigation, 15-02599-MD-MORENO (S.D. Fla.).

Represented Ford Motor Company in putative class actions filed in the Central District of California and Western District of Kentucky. 

Obtained dismissal of putative class action at motion to dismiss stage on behalf of R.J. Reynolds Vapor Company in case alleging that its e-cigarette products exposed users to undisclosed and harmful levels of chemicals, in violation of Proposition 65 and California consumer protection statutes.  Harris v. R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co., 2017 WL 3617061 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 23, 2017). 

Represented Merck in multidistrict litigation involving allegations of injuries from use of the company’s osteoporosis medication, including in two bellwether trials in two different MDLs pending in federal courts in New York and New Jersey.  In Glynn v. Merck, the jury returned a complete defense verdict, after which the court granted judgment based on federal preemption.

Defeated two proposed consumer class actions claiming that Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz USA had defrauded Mercedes E-Class owners in California, Texas, Florida, Georgia, New Jersey, Illinois, and Virginia by failing to disclose alleged defects in their fuel systems.  McCabe v. Daimler AG, 160 F. Supp. 3d 1337 (N.D. Ga. 2015); Barinova v. Daimler AG, et al., 2:14-cv-07684 (D. N.J. Apr. 21, 2015).

Defeated class certification motion on behalf of Halliburton in class action and mass joinder cases in Oklahoma federal court brought by hundreds of plaintiffs alleging personal injuries and/or property damage from exposure to ammonium perchlorate.  McCormick v. Halliburton Energy Servs., Inc., 2015 WL 918767 (W.D. Okla. Mar. 3, 2015).

Defeated expedited motion for preliminary injunction in Texas federal court seeking to require General Motors to issue a nationwide “Park It Now” notice in connection with the GM ignition switch recall litigation.  Silvas v. Gen. Motors, LLC, 2014 WL 1572590 (S.D. Tex. Apr. 17, 2014). 

Represented Kimberly-Clark in putative class actions in New York and California federal courts challenging the labeling and advertising of FDA-regulated products under state consumer protection laws and the FTC’s Green Guides.

Represented Purdue Pharma in an action filed by the Kentucky Attorney General seeking Medicaid-related costs and other damages allegedly caused by the company’s marketing and promotion of its prescription pain medication.

Obtained dismissal of medical monitoring claims in groundwater contamination mass joinder cases in Oklahoma federal court.  McCormick v. Halliburton Co., 895 F. Supp. 2d 1152 (W.D. Okla. 2012). 

Insights

Article · Source: The Law Reviews

March 28, 2023
The Product Regulation and Liability Review: Editors' Preface

Newsletter

October 21, 2022
Predominant Issues October 2022

Newsletter

April 29, 2022
Predominant Issues April 2022

View all

Matters

Representing Kimberly-Clark and Halyard Health in class action litigation, parallel qui tam suits, government investigations, and a Lanham Act competitor suit challenging the design, labeling and advertising of Class II medical devices.

Representing SmileDirectClub in suit filed against the Georgia Board of Dentistry for alleged antitrust and constitutional violations.  

Representing Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz USA in a putative class action pending in Georgia federal court alleging that the HVAC systems in various Mercedes-Benz vehicles are defective.

See more

Close

Matters

Representing Kimberly-Clark and Halyard Health in class action litigation, parallel qui tam suits, government investigations, and a Lanham Act competitor suit challenging the design, labeling and advertising of Class II medical devices.

Representing SmileDirectClub in suit filed against the Georgia Board of Dentistry for alleged antitrust and constitutional violations.  

Representing Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz USA in a putative class action pending in Georgia federal court alleging that the HVAC systems in various Mercedes-Benz vehicles are defective.

Representing an SEC university in a putative class action pending in an MDL before the Northern District of Illinois that alleges the university failed to protect football players from concussion-related injuries.

Obtained summary judgment on behalf of Highstar Capital against minority shareholders’ fraud and aiding and abetting claims arising out of $470 million acquisition. 

Represented an international automotive company and obtained final approval of class settlement involving over 9 million class members in In re: Takata Airbag Products Liability Litigation, 15-02599-MD-MORENO (S.D. Fla.).

Represented Ford Motor Company in putative class actions filed in the Central District of California and Western District of Kentucky. 

Obtained dismissal of putative class action at motion to dismiss stage on behalf of R.J. Reynolds Vapor Company in case alleging that its e-cigarette products exposed users to undisclosed and harmful levels of chemicals, in violation of Proposition 65 and California consumer protection statutes.  Harris v. R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co., 2017 WL 3617061 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 23, 2017). 

Represented Merck in multidistrict litigation involving allegations of injuries from use of the company’s osteoporosis medication, including in two bellwether trials in two different MDLs pending in federal courts in New York and New Jersey.  In Glynn v. Merck, the jury returned a complete defense verdict, after which the court granted judgment based on federal preemption.

Defeated two proposed consumer class actions claiming that Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz USA had defrauded Mercedes E-Class owners in California, Texas, Florida, Georgia, New Jersey, Illinois, and Virginia by failing to disclose alleged defects in their fuel systems.  McCabe v. Daimler AG, 160 F. Supp. 3d 1337 (N.D. Ga. 2015); Barinova v. Daimler AG, et al., 2:14-cv-07684 (D. N.J. Apr. 21, 2015).

Defeated class certification motion on behalf of Halliburton in class action and mass joinder cases in Oklahoma federal court brought by hundreds of plaintiffs alleging personal injuries and/or property damage from exposure to ammonium perchlorate.  McCormick v. Halliburton Energy Servs., Inc., 2015 WL 918767 (W.D. Okla. Mar. 3, 2015).

Defeated expedited motion for preliminary injunction in Texas federal court seeking to require General Motors to issue a nationwide “Park It Now” notice in connection with the GM ignition switch recall litigation.  Silvas v. Gen. Motors, LLC, 2014 WL 1572590 (S.D. Tex. Apr. 17, 2014). 

Represented Kimberly-Clark in putative class actions in New York and California federal courts challenging the labeling and advertising of FDA-regulated products under state consumer protection laws and the FTC’s Green Guides.

Represented Purdue Pharma in an action filed by the Kentucky Attorney General seeking Medicaid-related costs and other damages allegedly caused by the company’s marketing and promotion of its prescription pain medication.

Obtained dismissal of medical monitoring claims in groundwater contamination mass joinder cases in Oklahoma federal court.  McCormick v. Halliburton Co., 895 F. Supp. 2d 1152 (W.D. Okla. 2012). 

Insights

Article · Source: The Law Reviews

March 28, 2023
The Product Regulation and Liability Review: Editors' Preface

Newsletter

October 21, 2022
Predominant Issues October 2022

Newsletter

April 29, 2022
Predominant Issues April 2022

View all

Credentials

J.D., Harvard University, cum laude

B.A., Economics, Duke University, Magna Cum Laude

Court of Appeals of Georgia

Georgia

Supreme Court of Georgia

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia

Law Clerk, Hon. Frank M. Hull, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

Defense Research Institute (DRI)

Executive Board, Federalist Society -- Atlanta Lawyers Chapter

Georgia Defense Lawyers Association