Practice / Specifications:
Commercial Litigation; Antitrust, Securities, Environmental, Mass Tort Litigation, the Defense of Professionals including lawyers, accountants, Bankers, Directors and Officers, Insurance Coverage and Bad Faith Litigation

Biography:

In the area of complex commercial litigation, Mr. Ruberry has substantial experience in the trial of major lawsuits. He has obtained numerous multimillion dollar “verdicts” in behalf of clients in jurisdictions through the country and obtained settlements in excess of 20 million dollars.  

He has represented clients in some of the largest commercial lawsuits throughout the country including: the Corrugated Container Antitrust Litigation; the Uranium Cartel Antitrust Litigation; the Folding Carton Antitrust Litigation; the Fine Paper Antitrust Litigation; and the Liquid Gas Antitrust Litigation. Mr. Ruberry has tried price fixing cases including the six month trial of the Corrugated Container Antitrust Litigation in Houston, Texas.  He also has tried cases involving rule of reason and group boycotts. 

Mr. Ruberry represented the officers and directors of Continental Bank in the Continental Bank Securities Litigation which involved the demise of Penn Square Bank and the massive EPS securities litigation.  Mr. Ruberry also was one of the lead lawyers for the insurance industry in the Attorney Generals’ tobacco litigation, as well as the suits against the manufacturers of breast implants.  

Mr. Ruberry is also active in toxic tort litigation and has served as lead counsel in numerous multi-district lawsuits. He has litigated complex insurance coverage disputes on a nationwide basis.  He has also tried bad faith insurance coverage and suits in behalf of professionals in numerous cases through the country, including construction defect, attorney/accountant malpractice, broker liability, architect/engineer and environmental matters.

He has tried scores of cases to verdict throughout the country in such diverse jurisdictions as Houston, Texas, Palestine, Texas, Decatur, Alabama, New Orleans, Louisiana, Jacksonville & Tampa, Florida, Des Moines, Iowa, Denver, Colorado, New York, New York, and Chicago, Illinois. For purposes of brevity, the following is a list of some of the noteworthy matters that he has tried to verdict:

Pillsbury v. International Paper – Federal Court, Houston, Texas. Represented Pillsbury against 15 defendants in a price-fixing conspiracy case. After a six month jury trial, Mr. Ruberry obtained a verdict in favor of Pillsbury, with his clients receiving over $8 million from the litigation.
TIG v. Phelps Dunbar – Tampa, Florida. Successfully obtained a $6.2 million verdict in a Florida arbitration proceeding on behalf of our client, the underlying insurer. The suit involved a legal malpractice action against underlying defense counsel for its failure to adequately defend the insured in the underlying action.
Sargent and Lundy v. ISLIC – State Court, Chicago, Illinois. Represented a Crum & Forster entity in the longest insurance coverage trial in the history of Cook County. The case involved nuclear power plants in Ohio, Kentucky and Illinois, and required 161 trial days over the course of five years to complete. The plaintiff sought over $100 million in damages. The case is under a protective order.
Wells Fargo v. Zurich – State Court, New York. Tried an environmental coverage case to verdict in the New York Supreme Court wherein he represented Kemper regarding an environmental policy purchased as additional security on a loan tied to a number of Florida gas stations. The plaintiffs claimed damages of $12-15 million. Mr. Ruberry obtained a verdict of zero damages after the plaintiffs turned down $960,000. The case was recently affirmed on appeal.
Will v. Comprehensive Accounting – Federal Court, Chicago, Illinois. Represented numerous franchises in a case against Comprehensive Accounting involving claims of group boycott, tie-in and breach of contract clause. After a lengthy trial, the jury returned a verdict for millions of dollars in favor of numerous franchises.
Johnson v. City of New Orleans - State Court, New Orleans, Louisiana. Defended a class action brought against the City of New Orleans by the residents of the Agricultural Landfill Project wherein the plaintiffs sought tens of millions of dollars for property damage and bodily injury. The plaintiffs alleged that the exposure to environmental conditions at the site caused these catastrophic losses. After a lengthy trial on class certification, he was able to settle the case for a reasonable amount.
CSX Transportation v. Admiral - State Court, Jacksonville, Florida. CSX brought a suit to obtain coverage against a number of carriers to recover tens of millions of dollars that it had expended to remediate environmental problems at numerous railroad yards throughout the country, and to obtain reimbursement for settlement of a number of cases involving exposure to chemicals and other toxic materials. After a month long trial, the client did not have to pay a verdict based upon Mr. Ruberry’s damage allocation theory.
EPS Litigation – Chicago, Illinois.  Obtained a $2.6 million verdict on behalf of a law firm on a fee dispute case after a three week trial which included obtaining a defense verdict as to claims by the carrier.
International Ins. Co. v. Employer's Casualty - Federal Court, Huntsville, Alabama. Tried a case in Decatur, Alabama on behalf of Westchester, an excess carrier, against a primary carrier for failure to settle within policy limits. After a one month trial, the jury returned a verdict on behalf of Westchester for $900,000, the maximum amount that could be awarded under the contract.
Goodman v. Otis - Federal Court, Denver, Colorado. Mr. Ruberry obtained a defense verdict on behalf of his client for breach of contract against a plaintiff seeking millions of dollars in damages. Ed then obtained a liability verdict for the client on its counterclaim based on breach of contract and malicious prosecution which resulted in the client obtaining millions of dollars.
Kemper v. Broadspire - Chicago, Illinois. Obtained a plaintiff’s verdict in excess of $500,000 for breach of contract and professional negligence on behalf of an insurance carrier against its MGA; this was the maximum amount that could be awarded under the insurance contract.
Pillsbury v. Alton Box - Chicago, Illinois. Obtained a $21.5 Million settlement as an "opt out" Plaintiff in an antitrust case in the Northern District of Illinois. The entire class consisting of thousands of Plaintiffs only obtained a $190 million settlement.
In re: Securities Litigation – Chicago, Illinois.  Obtained a $15 million settlement in a securities case against a national brokerage firm and for malpractice against a national accounting firm. (The case is under a protective order.)

Education:
Editor, Loyola University Law Review
Loyola University School of Law, J.D.
Coe College, B.A.

Judicial Clerkships & Lecturing Positions:
Law Clerk to the Honorable Daniel P. Ward, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Illinois
Law Clerk to the Honorable Arthur P. McGloon, Presiding Judge of the Illinois Appellate Court
Extern Clerk to the Honorable Edward R. Becker, United States District Court for the East District of Pennsylvania

Visiting Professor, Illinois Institute of Technology/Chicago-Kent College of Law

Recognition:
Leading Lawyers routinely has recognized Edward Ruberry for a number of years as one of the “Top Business Lawyers in Illinois” in the trial of complex case litigation including commercial, environmental and mast tort litigation, antitrust and securities, insurance coverage and bad faith litigation.

Illinois Super Lawyers routinely has selected Edward Ruberry as a “Super Lawyer” for a number of years in the field of complex cases.

Speaking Engagements:
Lead Speaker, Banking Liability Seminar for insurance industry in New York
Lead Speaker, Synopsis of an Antitrust Case for Combined Illinois and Chicago Bar Association

Publications:
The Defense of Lead Poisoning Claims
Attorney Malpractice and Insurance Coverage Issues in Louisiana
Subprime Mortgage Crisis & Professional Liability Litigation
Tort Reform – A Survey of Federal and State Regulation
Subrogation – 17 State Survey of Insured’s Rights
Overview of Issues and Federal Law Re: Employment Practices Liability Exposure
Overview of Construction Defect Litigation and GCL Coverage
50 State Survey – The Interpretation of the Absolute and Total Pollution Exclusions
Bad Faith Claims and Issues
50 State Survey –  An Insured’s Rights to Recover Attorney’s Fees
Choice and Control of Defense Counsel and Costs
Bad Faith & Environmental Coverage Disputes
ERC Real Estate – Errors & Omissions Coverage
Bad Faith Litigation in Illinois
A Review of Environmental Coverage Case Law
National Survey of Bad Faith Law