Paul S. Rosenlund

Partner

  • Paul S. Rosenlund
  • Phone: +1 415 957 3178

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  • Duane Morris LLP
    Spear Tower
    One Market Plaza, Suite 2200
    San Francisco, CA 94105-1127
    USA

Paul S. Rosenlund is a trial lawyer who advises and represents business clients in a variety of areas, including products liability litigation and risk management; toxic torts and California Proposition 65; unfair competition and commercial disputes, including international arbitration; trade secrets; trademark, copyright and patent litigation; and class actions, including consumer protection, antitrust and unfair trade practices under state and federal laws, including California B & P § 17200, privacy and credit transactions. He serves as national or regional counsel for manufacturers and distributors and has handled dozens of jury trials around the country. He also counsels manufacturers, importers and retailers in trade regulation, distribution issues, resale price maintenance, and regarding product safety, recalls and compliance matters involving the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and its counterparts in other countries. Many of his clients are European or Asian manufacturers, investors or insurers who benefit from national or international coordination of their legal affairs.

In addition to handling individual disputes and transactions, Mr. Rosenlund develops and manages systems for efficient control and handling of claims, litigation and discovery, including e-discovery, on a national and regional basis for international and domestic clients. Closely connected with the sports and recreation and hospitality industries, Mr. Rosenlund advises hotel and resort operators in transactions and litigation matters, and he represents foreign and domestic manufacturers and distributors of products ranging from ski equipment to helmets, bicycles, in-line skates, ice skates, scuba gear, water sports, yachts and marine equipment, involving products liability, manufacturing and distribution issues, intellectual property licensing, labels and instructions, warranties, advertising and Internet commerce. A regular speaker and writer on these and related topics, he has recently spoken or written for organizations such as the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (SGMA), the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the American Boat and Yacht Council, the Defense Research Institute (DRI), the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry (WFSGI) and the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA). He also has served as judge pro tempore in the courts of Nevada and Placer counties.

Although his practice primarily involves representing business interests, Mr. Rosenlund also represents deserving individuals and organizations in carefully screened plaintiffs' cases. He represented the plaintiffs in a class action suit against a major consumer electronics company that settled for more than $200 million after the court certified a national litigation class, and he represented the plaintiffs in one of California's largest plaintiff personal injury verdicts to have withstood an appeal (nearly $30 million).

Mr. Rosenlund is a 1979 graduate of the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, where he was Articles Editor of the Hastings Law Journal, and a graduate, with honors, of the University of California, Davis.

Representative Matters

  • Represented a fast-growing bicycle manufacturer in connection with a €210 million line of credit to a Germany-based group of companies from a consortium of banks led by BNP Paribas Fortis SA/NV and Landesbank Baden-Württemberg, secured by the stock of the bicycle company and in an ancillary $15 million line of credit from BNP Paribas New York. 

  • Represented America's Cup sailor in defending charges of gross misconduct under Rule 69 of the ISAF Racing Rules of Sailing. After five days of hearings before the America's Cup International Jury, our client was exonerated of the most serious charges and was permitted to continue sailing for Oracle Team USA in its successful defense of the America's Cup.

  • Obtained on behalf of a theme park a dismissal with prejudice of a suit alleging violations of the Song-Beverly Credit Card Act, which prohibits the collection of personal information from credit card customers, and successfully resolved Song-Beverly claims on behalf of other national and local retailers.

  • Obtained an order dismissing a putative products liability class action against a major Japanese retailer that had sought refunds and medical monitoring for lead poisoning.

  • National product liability counsel for American, Austrian, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Swiss manufacturers of ski, snowboard, cycling, scuba, tennis and climbing equipment, including helmets

  • Advise and represent manufacturers, importers and retailers before the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in product hazard reporting, planning and implementing recalls, and compliance issues involving the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA), Flammable Fabrics Act, Federal Hazardous Substances Act, Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and other state and federal regulatory schemes

  • Advise and represent manufacturers, importers and distributors of jewelry, apparel, toys, sporting goods, electronics and other consumer products in claims and litigation involving California Proposition 65, including settlements and consent decrees in public and private enforcement actions

  • Represented multiple retailers in defending consumer class actions involving customer privacy, credit-card transactions, gift cards, product recalls, claims for diagnostic-testing codes resulting from toxic exposures and various other consumer claims.

  • Provide counseling and due diligence to clients involved in mergers and acquisitions relative to potential exposures involving product liability, recalls, toxic torts and consumer protection claims.

  • Represented clinical drug trial contractor in successful resolution of dispute with drug developer arising from pivotal Phase 3 clinical trials utilizing electronic data capture and management

  • Represent major marine products retailer in asbestos litigation

  • Represented Swiss and German manufacturers in trademark licensing and trade secret dispute arbitrated before AAA

  • Represented French manufacturer in defense of antitrust suit involving alleged group boycott

  • Defense and prosecution of class actions

  • Represented famous Napa Valley winery in arbitration of claims involving alleged TCA (2,4,6-Trichloroanisole) contamination of wine while in cellar storage

  • Represented French winemakers in suit against American chemical company whose pesticides caused TCA contamination

  • Lead trial counsel in defending dozens of ski and snowboard liability suits, which established the primary assumption of risk defense in California; see e.g., Connelly v. Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, 39 Cal.App.4th 8, 45 Cal.Rptr.2d 855 (1995)
  • Successful defense of European ski equipment manufacturers in class action unfair competition suit which sought to bar the use of liability releases by ski shops; see Olsen v. Breeze, Inc., 48 Cal.App.4th 608, 55 Cal.Rptr.2d 818 (1996)

  • Trial counsel in successful defense of patent infringement suit involving medical devices which sought damages in excess of $80 million

  • Represented Hong Kong publisher in successful prosecution of copyright infringement action against American newspaper publisher

  • Represented Italian manufacturer of carbon fiber composite structures in successful defense of product liability suit

  • Developed plans and agreements for foreign product manufacturer to insulate parent company from U.S. product liability exposures

  • Developed plans and agreements for major U.S. retailer to shift product liability and recall risks to Asian manufacturers and their insurers

  • Advise retailers, importers and manufacturers regarding U.S. dealer relationships, risk shifting and warranty issues, gray market and related trade regulation issues

  • Represented hotel management company negotiating management agreements with project owners involving multiple properties, and in obtaining injunction to maintain status quo while transition negotiations were underway

  • Represented California software company in obtaining injunction to bar disclosure of trade secrets by departing employees

  • Won dismissal of class action suit brought against toy manufacturers by attorney group which attempted to stop Internet toy sales only days before Christmas

  • Plaintiff class counsel in national class action suit against major consumer electronics manufacturer which settled for more than $200 million

Admissions

  • California
  • Washington, D.C.
  • Supreme Court of the United States
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii
  • U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado

Education

  • University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, J.D., 1979
  • University of California, Davis, B.S., with honors, 1976

Professional Activities

  • ALFA International
    - Past Director
  • American Bar Association
  • Association of Ski Defense Attorneys
    - Past President
  • ASTM / International Standards Organization
    - Member of ASTM committees F08 and F27
    - American delegate to ISO Technical Committees
  • Defense Research Institute
    - Former Chair, Recreational Products Specialized Litigation Group
  • Maritime Law Association of the United States
    - Former Chair, Subcommittee on Maritime Products Liability
  • Sports & Fitness Industry Association Legal Task Force
  • Tahoe-Truckee Bar Association

Honors and Awards

Civic and Charitable Activities

  • Chairman, City of Belvedere Planning Commission
  • Norwegian Club of San Francisco

  • Commodore, The San Francisco Yacht Club

Selected Publications

Selected Speaking Engagements

  • Speaker, "Proposed ASTM Standards for Padding of Man-Made Ski Obstacles," Association of Ski Defense Attorneys Conference, March 11, 2024
  • Presenter, "Consumer Fraud and Consumer Product Safety Commission Issues in the Pandemic," Duane Morris COVID-19: Navigating Forward Webinar Series, May 6, 2021
  • Speaker, "Product Liability Recalls: Preparing for a Recall and Mitigating Legal Risks," Strafford Webinar, June 20, 2012
  • Speaker, "An Expensive Awakening—The Class Action Threat," 2012 SGMA Litigation & Risk Management Summit, Las Vegas, April 10, 2012
  • "CPSIA Update and Related California Developments," Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association Litigation and Risk Management Summit, New Orleans, Louisiana, April 5, 2011
  • "Understanding California Proposition 65," Webinar, American Apparel & Footwear Association, March 28, 2011
  • "The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008," Teleseminar, Sporting Goods Manufacturing Association, June 17, 2009
  • "The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008: Compliance Strategies for Manufacturers, Importers and Retailers in an Uncertain Regulatory Environment," Strafford Publications Teleconference, May 21, 2009
  • "Liability Releases in Sports Litigation," American Bar Association, Chicago, Illinois, August 6, 1995
  • "Product Liability Indemnity for Manufacturers and Retailers: How to Get It and How to Sell It," Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association spring market trade show, Las Vegas, June 12, 2007
  • Program Chair, Recreational Products Specialized Litigation Group, DRI Product Liability Seminar, New Orleans, Louisiana, February 8, 2007
  • "Current Issues in Ski Resort Liability," National Ski Areas Association, Marco Island, Florida, May 23, 2006
  • "Product Liability In Sports," Loyola Law School Sports Law Institute, Los Angeles, California, February 10, 2006
  • "Reporting and Recalls Involving the Consumer Product Safety Commission," Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association, Orlando, Florida, January 23, 2006
  • "Product Liability Deposition Training Workshop for Company Engineers and Managers," sponsored by the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association and the American Society for Testing and Materials, Reno, Nevada, May 16, 2005
  • "Governmental Liability Risk Reduction: CPSC Reporting and Recalls," Webinar sponsored by the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association, November 2, 2005
  • "Attorney-Client and Work Product Issues in Business Litigation," ALFA International Client Seminar, Boca Raton, Florida, March 10-11, 2005
  • "Jury Selection and Trial Presentation in Cases Involving Injured Children," Defense Research Institute Product Liability Seminar, Los Angeles, California, February 16-18, 2005
  • "The Role of Outside Counsel in a Risk Management Review," Defense Research Institute Product Liability Seminar, Las Vegas, Nevada, February 12, 2003
  • "Risk Benefit Analysis - Practical Applications Under the New Restatement," ALFA International Products Liability Conference, Atlanta, Georgia, October 10-11, 2002
  • "Compendium of Business Law Issues: Unfair Competition and Deceptive Business Practices," ALFA International Client Seminar, Rancho Mirage, California (author and editor), March 15-17, 2002
  • "Recreational Product Trial Strategies: Experts and Similar Accidents," Defense Research Institute Products Liability Conference, Los Angeles, California, February 13-15, 2002
  • "Nuts and Bolts of Defect Reporting and Recalls With the Consumer Product Safety Commission," Defense Research Institute Products Liability Conference, Los Angeles, California, February 13-15, 2002
  • "Current Litigation and Risk Management Issues Facing the Ski Industry," National Ski Areas Association Annual Meeting, La Quinta, California, May 8, 2001
  • "Effective Use of Extranets in Litigation Management," ALFA International Client Seminar, Amelia Island, Florida, March 30, 2001
  • "Discovery of Computer Databases," ALFA International Client Seminar, Amelia Island, Florida, March 30, 2001
  • "Maritime Law for Product Liability Lawyers," Defense Research Institute, San Francisco, California, February 8, 1996
  • "Assumption of Risk and Liability Releases in Sporting Goods Products Liability Litigation," Defense Research Institute, San Francisco, California, February 8, 1996
  • Speaker, "Importing Defective Products: Legal Risks, Preventive Measures and Defense Strategies," CLE Teleconference, September 19, 2007