Among his most memorable trial victories, in 1997 Mr. Berger defended a pharmaceutical company in a month-long consolidated products liability action in Galveston, Texas, and obtained defense verdicts on the claims of all plaintiffs. Mr. Berger represents this and other pharmaceutical manufacturer clients in multiple other matters and jurisdictions and defends against claims that prescription and over-the-counter drugs caused serious personal injury, including strokes, heart attacks, congestive heart failure, immune system dysregulation, diabetes, and dermatological disorders.

Mr. Berger represents manufacturers and industrial clients in a range of complex solvent– and benzene-related cases. He has, for example, defended gasoline manufacturers and successfully obtained summary judgment in leukemia cases relating to alleged exposure to benzene.   
(Bly v. Tri-Continental Indus., 663 A.2d 1232 (D.C. 1995)). He also has successfully advocated the causation defense relating to alleged benzene exposures in complex workplace settings involving contract laborers and by-standers.   

Mr. Berger served as counsel for Norfolk Southern in the case of Avondale Mills v. Norfolk Southern, Civ No. 1:05-2817-MBS (D.S.C. 2005). Plaintiff Avondale alleged property damage to its textile plants arising from a January 2005 train derailment and chlorine release. Mr. Berger led the defense of financial damages issues in the case, which was the largest single mass tort case in South Carolina history. After a month of an anticipated three-month trial, the parties agreed to a confidential settlement.

Mr. Berger has represented former manufacturers of asbestos-containing products, advancing complex medical causation defenses in trials and appeals, including one client’s Havner challenges in connection with the consolidated Texas statewide asbestos docket.
     
Mr. Berger has defended personal injury and property damage claims brought against a leading termiticide manufacturer. In a key pre-Daubert ruling, Mr. Berger obtained summary judgment based on the failure of plaintiffs’ medical causation evidence, as to the claims of five plaintiffs who alleged that pesticide had contaminated their home. Conde v. Velsicol Chemical Corp., 804 F. Supp. 972 (S.D. Ohio 1992), aff’d, 24 F.3d 809 (6th Cir. 1994). In another federal case for this client, after extensive international discovery, he won summary judgment against a plaintiff who had experienced a serious acute medical event during the fumigation of a building.

Mr. Berger also litigates diverse environmental matters, including CERCLA and RCRA actions and major natural resource damages claims. He has obtained a rare summary judgment in an environmental contribution action arising out of chemical disposals in a municipal landfill. Hassayampa Steering Comm. v. Velsicol Chemical Corp., 942 F.2d 791 (9th Cir. 1991).
     
Prior to joining Hollingsworth LLP, Mr. Berger worked for the United States Department of Justice in both the Civil Rights Division and the Lands and Natural Resources Division. He has taught Trial Practice as an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University Law Center and has frequently chaired seminars, lectured, and written on trial practice, toxic tort litigation, and environmental issues. He clerked for the Honorable John Minor Wisdom, United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. While attending law school, he served as Executive Editor of the Harvard Law Review.