Eric C. Strain Associate estrain@nixonpeabody.com 415-984-8373 Fax: 415-984-8300 San Francisco, CA Download vCard

Practice Areas

Aviation
Products: Class Action, Trade & Industry Representation

Experience

Eric Strain is a senior associate who practices in the areas of aviation, product liability and commercial litigation. He has more than 10 years of experience representing foreign and domestic clients, including some of the world’s largest aircraft manufacturers, distributors and air carriers, in federal and state courts throughout the United States in all phases of litigation. Eric’s significant courtroom experience includes arguing numerous pretrial motions, many of which have resulted in full or partial dismissals for clients, and he has federal court jury trial and appeal successes.  He also represents clients in mediations and arbitrations, and provides regulatory and risk avoidance advice. 

Representative Cases

National Union Fire Insur. Co. of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania v. American Eurocopter Corp., et al., 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 99491 (D. Haw., Oct. 26, 2009).  Successfully briefed and argued that helicopter distributor was not subject to personal jurisdiction in Hawaii for a tour helicopter crash on Kauai, resulting in a transfer of the case to a more favorable forum.    

Jerpe v. Aérospatiale Helicopter Corporation, United States District Court for the Eastern District of California (September / October 2008).  Obtained a complete defense jury verdict for helicopter distributor that was the sole defendant in a wrongful death case arising from a emergency medical services helicopter crash.

Mezaki v. Eurocopter, S.A.S., United States District Court for the District of Arizona (July 2008).  Obtained a complete pretrial dismissal of all claims brought against a French aircraft manufacturer and its U.S. distributor who were the sole defendants in a wrongful death case arising from a tour helicopter crash in the Grand Canyon. 

Watson v. Société Nationale Industrielle Aérospatiale, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 225 Fed. Appx. 716, 2007 U.S. App. LEXIS 7246 (9th Cir., Mar. 23, 2007).  Successfully argued personal jurisdiction and agency issues to obtain affirmance of District Court’s dismissal of French aircraft manufacturer from wrongful death litigation.

Publications

• “The ‘Nexus’ Requirement for Specific Jurisdiction in Product Liability Cases: What Do Federal Courts Require Before a Forum Can Exercise Specific Jurisdiction Over a Foreign Manufacturer Who Did Not Place the Product Into the Stream of Commerce in the United States,” Product Liability 360, March 2009 (with Hugh Koss and David Tennant)
• “The Qualcomm Decision:  Trend Continues to Severe Sanctions for Discovery Violations Relating to Electronic Data,” Nixon Peabody Aviation Law Alert, March, 2008 (with Raymond Mariani)
• “Little-Used Federal Statute May Limit the Civil Liability of Aircraft Owners, Lessors, or Secured Parties for Damages Arising from Aircraft Accidents, Nixon Peabody Aviation Law Alert, April, 2006
• “Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act: Assessing the Immunity of Foreign States in U.S. Litigation,” published in the American Bar Association’s The Brief, Fall, 2004 (with Hugh Koss and Brooke Gilardi)
• “Supreme Court Rules that Airline Is Liable Under Warsaw Convention for Refusing to Assist Asthmatic Passenger Who Died from Exposure to Secondhand Smoke in the Cabin,” Nixon Peabody Aviation Law Alert, February, 2004
• “U.S. Supreme Court Limits Coverage of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act,” Nixon Peabody Aviation Law Alert, June, 2003
• “Recent Developments in Aviation Law,” Southern Methodist University Journal of Air Law and Commerce, Winter, 1999 (with Hugh Koss and Michael Rodenbaugh)
  

Admissions

Eric is admitted to practice before the Supreme Courts of California and Washington, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, all of the United States District Courts in California and in the Western District of Washington. He also has had pro hac vice admissions in numerous federal and state courts nationwide.

Education

University of San Francisco School of Law, J.D., cum laude
University of California at Davis, B.A., History, summa cum laude
Phi Beta Kappa

Affiliations

Eric is a member of the California and Washington Bar Associations.