Brian C. Dalrymple
Partner

Practice Areas

Experience

Brian Dalrymple focuses on product liability, aviation, medical device, insurance, and commercial litigation. He has extensive experience representing foreign and domestic corporations, airlines, and aviation manufacturing clients in the coordination and defense of complex and multidistrict casualty and commercial litigation, with an emphasis on issues related to federal and international jurisdiction, including suits involving foreign governments and their agencies or nationalized corporate entities.

Brian Dalrymple has extensive experience as national and international litigation counsel for aircraft and helicopter manufacturers in connection with wrongful death, personal injury, and property damage suits in the United States and Canada. He also represents FAR Part 135 and Part 121 domestic, regional, and international airlines; cargo airlines and freight forwarders; aircraft avionics and component parts manufacturers; FAR Part 145 aviation maintenance and repair facilities; airports; fixed base operators; and aircraft equipment and finance entities. He has also represented medical device manufacturers in U.S. litigation involving cardiac pacemakers, prosthetic devices, and dental augmentation materials.

Mr. Dalrymple has counseled aviation clients in more than fifty National Transportation Safety Board accident investigations and in a number of high-profile NTSB Public Hearings and FAA enforcement actions. He has also represented clients before the Federal Aviation Administration in connection with regulatory matters and HAZMAT issues.

The Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory has given Mr. Dalrymple its highest rating, AV.

Mr. Dalrymple is an FAA licensed Airline Transport Pilot and a Certified Flight and Ground Instructor with ratings for single (CFI) and multiengine aircraft (MEI), as well as instrument aircraft (CFII). He has accumulated in excess of 5,500 hours of flight time in a variety of aircraft ranging from single engine trainers to multiengine turboprop and jet aircraft.

Appointments, Articles, and Presentations

Editor, Nixon Peabody Aviation Law Alert.

NTSB Bar Association Regional Vice President - Western Pacific Region

Co-Chair, American Bar Association, Aviation Litigation Section, 2007–2008

Vice-Chair, Aviation and Space Law Committee, Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section, American Bar Association, 2004-2008.

Chair, Technology Subcommittee, Aviation and Space Law Committee, Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section, American Bar Association.

Co-editor, Aviation & Space Law Committee Newsletter, Tort and Insurance Practice Section, American Bar Association; Aviation Litigation Committee of the Section of Litigation, American Bar Association, 2004–2006.

Program Committee Chair, National Transportation Safety Board Bar Association, 2004—2006.

Panel Moderator, “In-House Counsel and Claims Officer Think Tank on Managing Litigation, Containing Costs, and Formulating Defense Strategy.” Co-Moderator for three separate panels, “The Manufacturers, The Carriers and The Insurers.” American Conference Institute’s Aviation Litigation Conference, Boston, MA, June 23-24, 2009.

Speaker and Panelist, “Electronic Data Discovery—What Can I Expect To Happen In My Case?” American Bar Association, Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section, Aviation & Space Law Committee, “Aviation and Space Law Litigation National Program,” Washington, DC, October 16–17, 2008.

Speaker, “Foreign Aircraft Accidents Litigated in the US: Foreign Non Conveniens and Aircraft Lessor Liability Issues,” Presentation to International Aerospace Insurance Services, Inc., and Arch Insurance Group at Santa Barbara, California, September 10, 2008.

Speaker and Panelist, “Airport Infrastructure and the Aviation Industry: Tackling the Legal Issues;” “The Legal and Risk Management Implications of FAA Advisory Circular 150/5200-37 (Introduction To Safety Management Systems (SMS) For Airport Operators) on FAR Part 139 Certificated Airports.” Inter-Pacific Bar Association 18th Annual Conference, “Many Borders. One World.” April 27-30, 2008, Los Angeles, California.

Speaker, “Large Truck and Motor Coach Accident Investigations: A Case Study of the NTSB’s Investigation of the Motor Coach Fire on Interstate 45 During The Hurricane Rita Evacuation Near Wilmer, Texas, September 23, 2005,” Defense Research Institute (“DRI”) Conference, “Strictly Automotive: Cutting Edge Issues In Automotive Product Liability Litigation,” September 6–7, 2007, Hotel del Coronado, San Diego, California.

Coauthor, “Demonstrative Evidence in Aviation Cases,” Chapter in Litigating the Aviation Cases, 3d ed., American Bar Association, Tort and Insurance Practice Section, Brian Dalrymple and Raymond L. Mariani, 2007.

Speaker and Panelist, “Behind the Scene of this Year's New Developments in Aviation Litigation,” General Aviation Revitalization Act (GARA) Update, American Bar Association Section of Litigation, Aviation Litigation CLE Seminar, June 1, 2007, New York, NY.

Speaker, “FAR Part 139 Airport Risk Management Issues—The Anatomy of a National Transportation Safety Board Investigation,” Airports Council International-North America, Insurance & Risk Management Conference, “Preparing for New Challenges and Market Changes,” Las Vegas, Nevada, January 11–12, 2007.

Speaker, “Electronic IT Litigation,” National Transportation Safety Board Bar Association Blue Angels Aviation Law Seminar, Pensacola Beach, Florida, November 7–11, 2006.

Panel Moderator, “NTSB Investigations: We’re from the Government and We’re Here to Help,” (with Gary Halbert, NTSB General Counsel, and Peter Goelz, former NTSB Managing Director), American Bar Association Annual Air & Space Law TIPS Conference, “On the Horizon: Securing Safety, Insuring Fully and Litigating Fairly—Part II,” Washington, DC, October 26–27, 2006.

Speaker, “Corporate Aviation Accident Investigations,” Marsh Aviation Safety Seminar, Oakland International Airport, September 26, 2006.

Speaker, Aviation Industry Forum: Accident Response Workshop, Ohio State University Airport, Columbus, Ohio Department of Transportation, August 1, 2006.

Coauthor, “Ninth Circuit Further Interprets GARA, Statute of Repose, Confirms its Application to Foreign Manufacturers,” NTSB Bar Association Newsletter, Summer 2006 (with Paul Stinson of Nixon Peabody).

Speaker, “E-Discovery: Electronic Discovery and Litigation Readiness,” presentation to various Aviation Insurers and Underwriters at Lloyds of London, March 8, 2006.

Panel Moderator, “E-Discovery: Is the Sky Falling or is E-Discovery Manageable?” American Bar Association Annual Air & Space Law TIPS Conference, “On the Horizon: Securing Safety, Insuring Fully and Litigating Fairly,” Washington, DC, November 9–11, 2005.

Speaker, “Emergency Planning—Are You Ready?” 47th Annual Conference of the Northeast Chapter of the American Association of Airport Executives (NEC/AAAE), Newport, Rhode Island, August 29, 2005.

Program Chair and Organizer, National Transportation Safety Board Bar Association Conference, “Aviation and Other Related NTSB Transportation Investigations and Legal Issues,” Washington, DC; Panel Moderator, “Litigating a Foreign Aircraft Accident in the United States,” June 6–8, 2005.

Commissioner, Marin County Aviation Commission, 2005–2007.

Speaker and Panelist, Marsh Aviation Accident Investigation & Ground Safety Workshop, Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Concord, North Carolina, March 16, 2005.

Author, “General Aviation Revitalization Act (‘GARA’) Update—2004,” Aviation & Space Law Committee Newsletter, Fall 2004.

Panelist, “Discovery Issues in Aviation Cases,” American Bar Association Annual Air & Space Law TIPS Conference, Practical Views from the Cockpit to the Courtroom, Washington, DC, October 21–22, 2004.

Coauthor, “Electronic Discovery—What You Need to Know and What It May Cost If You Don’t” (with Dan Harshman, counsel, Nixon Peabody LLP); presented at the American Bar Association Annual Air & Space Law TIPS Conference, Practical Views from the Cockpit to the Courtroom, Washington, DC, October 21–22, 2004.

Speaker, “U.S. Punitive Damages Law and the United States Supreme Court’s Decision in Campbell v. State Farm Automobile Association,” Center for International Legal Studies Conference, Negligence and Damages in an International Setting, Salzburg, Austria, September 24–25, 2004.

Speaker, “U.S. Punitive Damages Law—Procedural and Substantive Constitutional Limitations,” German-American Lawyers Association (Deutsch-Amerikanische Juristen-Vereinigung e. V.), Munich, Germany, September 22, 2004.

Speaker, “Corporate Flight Department Risk Management Issues,” Arizona Business Aviation Association, August 10, 2004, Scottsdale, Arizona.

Speaker, “Aviation Product Liability Prevention and Product Integrity,” presentation to various Lloyds Aviation Insurers at Marsh, London, May 19, 2004.

Speaker, “State Farm Automobile Insurance Co. v. Campbell—An Update on Punitive Damages Law,” Thirty-Eighth Annual Southern Methodist University Air Law Symposium, Dallas, Texas, February 26–27, 2004.

Author, “Punitive Damages after the Supreme Court’s Decision in State Farm Automobile Insurance Co. v. Campbell,” Thirty-Eighth Annual Southern Methodist University Air Law Symposium, Dallas, Texas, January 2004.

Program Co-Chair and Organizer, American Bar Association Annual Air & Space Law TIPS Conference, “From Kitty Hawk to the Future; The ABA Celebrates 100 Years of Flight,” Washington, DC, October 16–17, 2003.

Program Co-Chair and Speaker, “The National Transportation Safety Board Investigation Process and Warning Signs of a NTSB Investigation Gone Awry—What Can Your Company Do?” Marsh Aviation Accident Investigation Workshop, San Francisco, California, July 16, 2002.

Author, “Anatomy of a National Transportation Safety Board Accident Investigation,” Risk Management Seminar presentation, June 2002.

Author, “National Transportation Safety Board Accident Investigations—How to Protect Your Company—Warning Signs,” Risk Management Seminar presentation, June 2002.

Author, “Obtaining Evidence under the National Transportation Safety Board’s Regulations,” January 2001.

Author, “The Sky’s the Limit—Aviation Products Liability/Product Integrity,” Risk Management Seminar presentation, April 2000.

Speaker, “The Sky’s the Limit—Aviation Products Liability,” Marsh Aviation Aerospace Component Manufacturers Seminar, Morristown, New Jersey, April 11, 2000.

Speaker, “1998 Amendments to Title 49 Part 835,” Thirty-Fourth Annual Southern Methodist University Air Law Symposium, Dallas, Texas, February 24–25, 2000.

Author, “1998 Amendments to Title 49 Part 835,” Thirty-Fourth Annual Southern Methodist University Air Law Symposium, Dallas, Texas, October 1999.

Speaker, “The Corporation and the Aviation Accident Investigation,” Marsh Aviation Corporate Aviation Accident Response Seminar, Manhattan Beach, California, September 28, 1999.

Author, “Aviation Accident Response Recommendations,” Risk Management Seminar presentation, September 1999.

Admissions

Mr. Dalrymple is admitted to practice in California and the District of Columbia and before the U.S. district courts for the Northern, Southern, Central, and Eastern districts of California; U.S. courts of appeals for the Fifth, Seventh, and Ninth circuits; and the Supreme Court of the United States.

Education

University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, J.D. (Pacific Law Journal, Traynor Honor Society)
University of California, Davis, B.A., Political Science

Affiliations

Mr. Dalrymple is a member of the American, California, District of Columbia, and San Francisco bar associations. He is co-chair of the  American Bar Association’s Aviation Litigation Section.  He is also a member of the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association, the Lawyer-Pilots Bar Association, the National Transportation Safety Board Bar Association, the Aviation Insurance Association, the Defense Research Institute, and the Helicopter Association International. Mr. Dalrymple is a jazz and classical musician and he is an associate member of the Bohemian Club of San Francisco.