Michael Hoenig has extensive experience in products liability and complex litigation. He has served as national, regional and local defense counsel for a number of foreign and domestic motor vehicle companies, including all phases of product litigation; settlement negotiations in complex or catastrophic injury cases; class actions; regulation matters; warnings issued; and preventive counseling. He headed major litigation groups engaged in product liability defense from the inception of claims through trials and appeals.
For decades, Mr. Hoenig has litigated cases presenting traditional and frontier issues in products liability and complex litigation and has written and lectured extensively on these subjects. He has been a Lecturer and Panelist in CLE programs for New York Judges on Judicial ‘Gatekeeping’ of Scientific Evidence and Expert Testimony and other topics.
In November 2010, Mr. Hoenig was appointed Special Counsel in the World Trade Center Litigation by U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein (SDNY) to advise, as a neutral, hundreds of plaintiffs who declined to communicate with their attorneys regarding whether they would opt-in or opt-out of the proposed settlement. Mr. Hoenig’s team of seven litigators, co-headed by Natalie Lefkowitz, completed their project on an emergency basis, resulting in plaintiffs’ decisions that made the settlement effective. See In re World Trade Center Disaster Site Litigation, 762 F. Supp. 2d 631, 650 and Appendices (SDNY 2010).
Practice Areas
Representative Matters
- National co-supervising products liability defense counsel for major automobile manufacturers.
- Regional New York metropolitan products liability defense counsel for domestic automobile manufacturers.
Publications
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Books
- Products Liability: Substantive, Procedural and Policy Issues (PLAC Foundation 1992).
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Book Chapters
- “The Law of Manufacturing and Design Defect Liability,” Vol. 1, Products Liability In New York: Strategy and Practice, Chapter 1 (N.Y. State Bar Association, 2019 Revision).
- “Gatekeeping: Reliability of Expert Testimony Under Daubert (and Frye),” Vol. 2, Preparing For And Trying The Civil Lawsuit (N.Y. State Bar Association, 2019 Revision).
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New York Law Journal Columns
- “Complex Litigation,” a regular, monthly column in N.Y. Law Journal.
- Earlier, authored the monthly “Products Liability” column, a regular feature of N.Y. Law Journal.
- Articles in the hundreds of columns focus upon past and recent developments in substantive, procedural and appellate law in federal and state courts; class actions; litigation practice; trial tactics and techniques; policy and ethical issues; and methods for professional improvement.
- The NYLJ articles are too numerous to list here individually. Many are also accessible on LEXIS and Westlaw.
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Law Review Articles
- M. Hoenig & L. Brown, Arbitration and Class Action Waivers Under Concepcion: Reason and Reasonableness Deflect Strident Attacks, 68 Ark. L. Rev. 669—730 (2015).
- Earlier law review articles focused on product liability, design and warnings law, automobile crashworthiness and other topics.
Affiliations + Recognition
- Member, American Bar Association
- Member, New York State Bar Association
- Member, New York County Lawyers Association
- Sustaining Member, The Product Liability Advisory Council (PLAC)
- Member, PLAC Amicus Curiae Case Selection Committee
- Super Lawyers Selection, 2006—2019, As Top-Rated New York Products Liability Attorney
- Highest rating from Martindale-Hubbell (AV Rating)
- Appointed Special Counsel in the World Trade Center Litigation by Judge Alvin Hellerstein (S.D.N.Y.)
- Served for years as Arbitrator in Small Claims Court, Queens County, N.Y.
- Articles Editor of the St. John’s Law Review and an Editor of its Biannual Survey of New York Practice.
Speaking Engagements
- Speaker and panelist on Experts’ Evidence topics at CLE programs for New York State Judges held at various venues in New York.
- Lecturer on defense trial tactics (Federal Publications Programs) held at various venues in the United States.
- Speaker and panelist at PLAC seminar education programs.
News + Insights
- What Real Jurors Like/Dislike About Lawyers
- 2 Recent Decisions Serve as Reminders About Expert Evidence
- Litigators’ Immunity From Non-Client Lawsuits
- ‘Residual Hearsay’ Exception: Recent Changes Bring More Muscle
- ‘Smart’ Clothing: A New Liability Frontier?
- Court Deference to Agencies’ Interpretations
- Recent ‘Frye’ ‘Gatekeeping’ Rulings
- Recent Expert Reliability Rulings
- Eavesdropping and Spying by Smart TVs and Devices
- Is Products Liability Closing In on Amazon?
- Jurisdiction and Due Process; Deposition ‘Coaching’ Update
- Court Rules on Optional Safety Devices
- The ‘Class Actionization’ of America
- Judges’ Use of Social Media: Tensions Ahead?
- Attorney Misconduct in Opening Statements
- Discovery Battles About Social Media
- The Witness Litigation Privilege
- The Witness Litigation Privilege – (Proving Causation in Toxic Tort Cases)
- Attorney Misconduct During Depositions
- Privacy and Protective Confidentiality Orders
- Has Federal Pre-emption Killed Drug Design Litigation?
- Vacation Dangers: Liability Considerations When You’re ‘Getting Away’
- Distracted Driving and Liability Considerations: A Thriving Issue
- Recoverable Damages in Trade Secret and Unfair Competition Claims
- Admissibility of Computer-Generated Animations
- A ‘Refresher’ for Expert Battles in 2018
- The ‘Driverless’ Car Era: Liability Considerations
- Unreliable Methodologies Doom Neck Brace Experts
- ‘The Impropriety of Punitive Damages in Mass Torts’: Highlights, Observations
- Class Arbitration: Who Decides, The Arbitrator or the Court?
- SCOTUS Speaks on ‘Specific’ Jurisdiction
- SCOTUS Speaks on General Jurisdiction, Hague Service, and Arbitration Clauses
- U.S. Supreme Court Speaks On Discovery Sanctions
- PowerPoints and Other Persuasion Tools
- Experts’ Proofs Flunk N.Y. ‘Reliability’ Standards
- Improper Argument at Trial: Scrutinizing Counsel’s Conduct
- Guarding Against Improper Argument at Trial: Courts, Counsel Are Instrumental
- Liability Exposure When Experts Flub
- Judicial ‘Gatekeeping’ of Experts Has Impact
- Practical Tips About Opening Statements
- Practical Tips for Trial Regarding the Defense Case
- Some Practical Tips on Trial Preparation
- When Experts ‘Cherry-Pick’ Among Competing Studies
- Be Vigilant When It Comes to Deposition Corrections
- Experts Flunk Reliability Test in BMW Case
- Arbitration Clause Class Waivers Upheld Again
- When Judges Research the Internet
- More on Experts and ‘Unreliable’ Articles
- Surprising Revelations on Experts and Contingent Fees
- Ethnicity-Based ‘Economic Loss’ Testimony Unconstitutional
- When Jurors Learn About Settlement Offers
- Ruling on Asbestos Experts a Potential Game Changer
- ‘Crashworthiness’ Rulings
- Corporate ‘Death’ and Attorney-Client Privilege
- Protecting Privileged ESI: Sedona Commentary
- Product Warnings Litigation: Fixing What’s Wrong
- When Experts Contradict Their Own Party’s Testimony
- Expert’s Causation Opinion Excluded by ‘Zoloft’ MDL Judge
- Spoliation of Evidence Issues Bedevil Store Injury Litigants
- Attorney Profanities, Surreptitious Recordings
- N.Y. Court of Appeals Clarifies Medical Reports Production Rule
- Unreliable’ Articles: More on Peer Review’s Frailties
- Unreliable’ Articles, ‘Trial By Literature’ Revisited
- The New Era in Analyzing Personal Jurisdiction
- ‘Cornell’ Ruling on Mold Clarifies ‘Reliability’ Needed from Experts
- U.S. Supreme Court Clarifies Personal Jurisdiction Boundaries
- Settlement Confidentiality; Spoliation Sanctions
- Supreme Court Should Review ‘Washing Machine’ Class Cases
- Rulings on ‘Gatekeeping’ of Expert Testimony
- Appellate Division Clarifies Spoliation Standards
- Penalties Awarded for Wrongful Deletion of Emails
- Hospital’s Duty to Intoxicated Patient; Settlements by Email
- Class Arbitration Waivers Upheld; Science Article Shielded From Liability
- ‘Good Company’ Behavior Can Knock Out Class Actions
- ‘Fraud Pleading Failures Can Lead to Lawyer Sanctions
- Gatekeeping’ Economic Experts in Contract Litigation
- Developments Regarding Arbitration and Class Action Waivers
- Appellate Division Rulings Clarify CPLR Article 16, E-Filing Issues
- Supreme Court Review Sought on Crucial Class Action Issues
- Food Industry Besieged; Cheerios Class Action Crunched
- Admissibility of Computer-Generated Animations and Simulations
- No Product-Training Duty; Punitive Damages; Medical Records
- Recall Moots Class Action; Video Trial Testimony; ‘English-Only’ Warnings
- Lawyers’ Use of Internet to Influence Jurors
- Jurors’ Social Media and Internet Misbehavior
- Arbitration Clauses Displace Consumer and Class Lawsuits
- Appellate Division Embraces Federal ESI Standards
- No Liability for Another’s Asbestos Products
- New Considerations on Warnings Issues
- ‘Experts ‘Frye’d On Tylenol-Cirrhosis Link
- Doomes’day for Speculative Design Evidence
- Courts Shoot Down Asbestos Causation Theory
- Testifying Experts and Scientific Articles: Reliability Concerns
- Jury Rejection of Uncontradicted Expert Testimony
- Supreme Court Speaks on Warnings and Personal Jurisdiction Issues
- Summary Judgment Practice Refined by a New Decision
- On Videos, Experts, Other Rulings You May Have Missed
- Air Bag Warning Claim Preempted; ‘Scarlet Letter’ Sanction Ordered
- Supreme Court Speaks (Again) On Preemption Of Lawsuits
- The Ills of Open-Ended Warnings Litigation
- Second Circuit Adopts ‘Bright Line’ Removal Rule
- Seventh Circuit Unmasks Class Action Ills
- Class Action Imbroglios Revisited
- Class Actions to Be Decided By the Supreme Court
- Attempts to Use Settlement Discussions as Evidence
- Gatekeeping’ Expert Testimony: From Popcorn to Tires and Beyond
- Discovery Demands From Nonparties
- Screening Experts on Sudden Acceleration and Other Issues
- Interviewing Jurors After Trial
- Interviewing Jurors After Trial
- E-Discovery Requirements Clarified in New Decision
- Complexities Abound In Product Design Claims