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Course Details

Course Information
  • smart_display Format

    On-Demand

  • signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level

    Intermediate

  • work Practice Area

    Commercial Law

Date & Time
  • event Date

    Tuesday, June 10, 2025

  • schedule Time

    1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT

  • timer Program Length

    90 minutes

Credit Information

  • This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.

$297.00
CLE
ALL

This CLE program will discuss the unforeseen and hidden challenges--and the emerging solutions--when defending claims arising from the use and operation of autonomous vehicles or autonomous systems in vehicles. The panel will use trucking claims to illustrate these issues but the same concerns will arise in claims involving other types of vehicles.

Faculty

John J. Powers
Partner
Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Mr. Powers represents Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 clients in product liability, class action, antitrust and commercial litigation matters. He is a trial attorney with first- and second-chair trial experience in state and federal courts. The world’s premier technology companies entrust Mr. Powers to defend their most sensitive product liability litigation suits. He has been on the cutting edge of product liability actions for major technology and app-based companies, with an intimate knowledge and experience with consolidated actions, especially Judicial Council Coordinated Proceedings and MDLs. Mr. Powers vigorously defends his clients at all stages of litigation including arbitrations, high-stakes depositions and critical hearings, as well as devising defense strategy and leading teams at pivotal stages of trial. His representation of the technology industry in legally innovative product liability actions includes social media platforms, rideshare apps, grocery apps, food delivery apps and autonomous vehicles. Mr. Powers’ product liability defense work focuses on defending U.S. and foreign medical device, pharmaceutical, technology and automotive manufacturers in nationwide and multidistrict litigation. John also acts as national coordinating counsel in mass tort litigations for various technology, pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers.

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Description

The promise of autonomous systems and vehicles is fewer and less severe accidents, with the implied benefit that when accidents do occur, autonomous systems can provide indisputable, objective data about what happened making claims quicker and less expensive to resolve. In reality, these systems add levels of complexity that require specialized knowledge, add unavoidable costs to litigation, increase the number and types of disputes, and increase the number of defendants and insurers--all of which actually make resolution more challenging.

First and foremost, all parties must appreciate that autonomous systems can generate gargantuan amounts of data that has to be stored and preserved somewhere, and then ultimately reviewed. Even with AI and TAR, the task could be extremely expensive, especially if discovery is requested for similar vehicles over time and with respect to testing of the systems. Debates can be expected over what this data could have or should have communicated to the parties.

Because both plaintiffs and defendants will be looking to transfer or spread liability among as many defendants as possible, more defendants will be included and more product liability claims can be expected in accident cases. Design and warning defect claims are inevitable. Litigants can expect trials within trials, where the consequences reach far beyond the case at hand. Plaintiffs and defendants may join hands against hardware and software vendors, or multiple defendants may look to blame drivers. Alliances and strategies in these cases may shift.

Listen as the panel discusses the challenges and emerging solutions when defending autonomous vehicle litigation, whether heavy trucking businesses or vehicle manufacturers.

Outline

  1. Potential challenges
    1. Voluminous data
    2. Expanded number of defendants
    3. FMCCSA and other regulations
    4. Managing discovery
    5. Increased number of defendants
  2. Theories of liability
  3. Product liability claims
  4. Defenses
  5. Allocation of liability and shifting alliances

Benefits

The panel will review these and other topics:

  • What types of "safety" systems are involved in claims?
  • What types of defects (design, manufacturing, warning) are most likely to present?
  • Can defense counsel benefit from using plaintiff's tactics against manufacturers or other third-party defendants?
  • Is every accident now a crashworthy case?