Pappas Grubbs Price Attorneys Secure Fifth Circuit Win

Congratulations to Pappas Grubbs Price PC attorneys, Rich Sheehy, Willy Collins, Laura Favaloro, and Travis Armstrong for their significant appellate victory in a product’s liability case involving a student who fell from the rear emergency exit of a school bus.  After winning summary judgment last year based on federal preemption, plaintiffs appealed to the Fifth Circuit. Mr. Sheehy handled the oral argument in December and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit concluded that the district court correctly dismissed the suit. This is an important decision for bus manufacturers on an issue that courts rarely have addressed since the development of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.

To read the full opinion click here.

Mr. Sheehy is a founding shareholder of the firm and is head of the Firm’s appellate section. He has represented clients on both sides of the docket in over 150 cases in the appellate courts, including cases in the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, the Texas Supreme Court, and the Texas Courts of Appeals. Many of these cases are considered the leading authorities in Texas on the issues presented in the appeal.

Mr. Collins is head of a litigation team specializing in defense of transportation and products liability. Mr. Collins has practiced products liability law and transportation law for more than thirty-five years, and has handled or overseen the handling of products cases on a national basis in a number of different states.

Ms. Favaloro has twenty-five years of experience in civil litigation in state and federal court and has extensive experience handling transportation cases, in particular, cases filed under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA).

Mr. Armstrong joined the firm in 2013, and his practice focuses on appellate law. Travis also has extensive experience in insurance, employment, and commercial litigation.