Partner
Location
New Orleans, LA
Practice Areas
- Appellate
- Aviation
- Civil Litigation
- Class Actions
- Commercial Litigation
- Expropriation
- Fidelity and Surety Law
- General Casualty Litigation
- Insurance Coverage
- Personal Injury
- Products Liability
- Professional Liability
- Securities Litigation
- Toxic Tort & Environmental
- Transportation
Jurisdictions
- Louisiana
- Texas
Mr. Cherry is a partner in the firm whose practice philosophy is to bring, through focused personal attention, a customized approach for each case, designed to maximize winning and achieving the client’s goals at an acceptable cost. Mr. Cherry digs into details and is always willing to “get his hands dirty” to develop the case properly and effectively. He has broad litigation experience, embraces new challenges, and specializes in development of new law favorable to his client’s position and, if necessary, reversing existing unfavorable precedents. Mr. Cherry's tort litigation experience includes serious personal injury, property damage and wrongful death claims arising from aviation (both commercial and general), products liability, oil and gas exploration activities, admiralty, chemical exposures (latent and acute exposure toxic torts), professional malpractice (legal, insurance broker, accounting). He also handles insurance coverage litigation involving aviation and CGL coverages, as well as business and contractual disputes. He maintains an active appellate practice in the above areas of law, and has experience in the administration of complex litigation.
Aviation/Wrongful Death and Personal Injury
Mr. Cherry has long represented and defended commercial air carriers such as American, Delta and Southwest, against myriad passenger claims. Such claims included boarding and disembarkation accidents, overhead bins, baggage or cargo loss and theft, abusive passenger arrests, assaults, clear air turbulence injuries, denied boarding, Air Carrier Access Act Claims, and Warsaw “accident,” claims such as strokes, heart attacks and other vascular incidents during flight.
Mr. Cherry has also defended numerous personal injury suits arising from alleged errors in connection with Part 135 and Part 91 fixed wing and rotorcraft operators, fixed base operators, aerial applicators, general aviation private pilots, and repair facilities. Recent successes include extricating a helicopter repair facility with no-pay dismissals from a 10 death S-76A crash offshore, involving avionics repair and design claims, and defending the insurer by a pilot who crashed his Beech Baron in New Hampshire, killing all six passengers and himself.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Cherry was primary associate trial counsel in multi-district wrongful death/personal injury/property damage litigation arising from crash of Pan Am 759 into a suburban neighborhood near New Orleans in 1982. That litigation involved approximately 200 injury and wrongful death suits and was litigated from 1982 through 1985. He conducted discovery in and prepared over sixty wrongful death suits for trial, participating directly in over twenty-five Pan Am jury trials, including twelve wrongful death suits, a burn case involving 85% burns to mother and 8 year old daughter, psychic injury claims of neighborhood residents, personal injury claims (e.g.,back injury, knee injury, severe burns of children and adults) and numerous house damage claims involving extensive engineering investigation and testimony. See, e.g., Trivelloni-Lorenzi v. Pan American World Airways, 789 F.2d 1092 (5th Cir. 1986), 821 F.2d 1147 (5th Cir. 1987) (en banc), reversed in favor of Pan Am on Warsaw Convention issue, 109 S.Ct. 1928 (U.S. 1989), on remand, 883 F.2d 17 (5th Cir. 1989); Tudela v. Pan American World Airways, 764 F.2d 1082 (5th Cir. 1985); Turgeau v. Pan American World Airways, Inc., 764 F.2d 1084 (5th Cir. 1985); Leconte v. Pan American World Airways, 736 F.2d 1019 (5th Cir. 1984); Giancontieri v. Pan American World Airways, 767 F.2d 1151 (5th Cir. 1985); Brun-Jacobo v. Pan American World Airways, 847 F.2d 242, 11 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 585 (5th Cir. 1988); Bode v. Pan American World Airways, Inc., 786 F.2d 669 (5th Cir. 1986); Savoie v. Pan American World Airways, Inc., 742 F.2d 1451 (5th Cir. 1984); Eymard v. Pan American World Airways, Inc., 795 F.2d 1230 (5th Cir. 1986).
He has extensively litigated numerous Warsaw Convention and Montreal Convention issues, including notice issues, “accidents,” liability and damages.
Airport Regulation and Federal Preemption
Obtained in U.S. Fifth Circuit first precedent in the United States affording a federal venue under federal question jurisdiction to pursue in federal court a declaratory judgment action on behalf of local airport authority against adjoining municipality who sought to interfere with airfield construction projects. City of New Orleans v. City of Kenner, 974 F.2d 748 (5th Cir. 1992).
Admiralty
Admiralty law often intersects with personal injury claims in southern Louisiana given the prevalence of oil and gas offshore activities. Mr. Cherry has created several admiralty precedents in connection with platform, helicopter and work vessel injuries. Mr. Cherry prevailed in the District Court and then in the U.S. Fifth Circuit on November 18, 2004 in 2004 WL 2615742 in (1) having products used by a seaman for his core functions fall within maritime jurisdiction; and (2) having the Court apply the pecuniary damage limitation of the Jones Act to a non-employer maker of equipment that injured a seaman, saving $2 million. A summary judgment dismissing wrongful death claims for loss of love and affection was affirmed, eliminating several million dollars of liability.
Obtained U.S. Fifth Circuit precedent applying the Gilbert forum non conveniens criteria to admiralty cases. Trivelloni-Lorenzi v. Pan American World Airways, 789 F.2d 1092 (5th Cir. 1986), 821 F.2d 1147 (5th Cir. 1987) (en banc). Obtained similar precedent under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act requiring the law of the adjoining state to be applied to a rig accident precluding imposition of punitive damages under a depecage "choice of law" theory. Wooton v. Pumpkin Air, Inc., 889 F.2d 848 (5th Cir. 1989). Miles v. Apex, 498 U.S. 19 (1990) was successfully advocated to require a uniform general maritime remedy where seaman are involved Scarborough v. Clemco, 391 F.3d 660 (5th Cir. 2004).
Products Liability, General Tort
Has defended numerous products against claims of defects and causation of injuries, including:
-- Automobiles
-- Avionics
-- Surgical devices
-- Pharmaceuticals
-- Protective gear
-- Respirators
-- Pistols
-- Pumps
-- Valves
-- Appliances
Toxic Tort/Environmental
-- Silicosis
-- Toxic exposures
-- SO2
-- H2S
-- RCRA/Superfund
-- Toxic dumps
-- DBCP litigation
-- PPA litigation
Since 1997, Mr. Cherry has handled silicosis litigation subgroups at the firm for a protective gear manufacturer. These cases were filed and pend throughout Louisiana. Most recent trial was eight day jury trial of an eight-plaintiff wrongful death suit (31st JDC) in August of 2009, resulting in defense verdict.
Business and Professional E & O
His experience also includes professional malpractice defense for lawyers, accountants, and insurance brokers. He has successfully defended several sex and age discrimination claims brought against employers, as well as litigation brought by shareholders and various commercial disputes.
Securities Fraud
Has directed and participated in all aspects of substantial securities fraud actions. Defended syndicator of real estate limited partnerships against six suits totaling $40MM in claims for alleged fraud and RICO which involved complex evidentiary issues and numerous federal and state claims against syndicator, lenders and guarantors, and resulted in a defense verdict in the first case tried, and favorable settlements within limited insurance limits.
Expropriation and Constitutional Issues:
Obtained reversal of 100 years of contrary Louisiana precedent by requiring a valuation date in "regular" expropriations no earlier than as of the date of trial based upon federal and state constitutional guarantees, thus allowing recovery of tremendous appreciation in value occurring after the suit was filed. As a result, the landowner client received a jury valuation of approximately $9 million greater than the $4 million the expropriating agency sought to pay. NOEHA v. Missouri Pacific, 625 So.2d 1070 (La. App. 4th Cir. 1993), writ denied (La. 1994). In February of 1996, tried claim for attorney's fees and costs and received $3.36 million additional recovery for clients, and establishing a new constitutional measure for recovery of costs and fees for landowners.
In 2000, represented property owners in Shreveport against expropriation for a convention center/hotel. Established broader right to recover replacement value and loss of use. Five day jury trial resulted in over doubling recovery of landowners. In 2001, Mr. Cherry briefed and argued the constitutional challenge to the attempted taking for partial commercial purposes before the Second Circuit. The verdict was and taking affirmed, and a large award to compensate for attorney’s fees incurred in the unsuccessful challenging of public use was allowed as a matter of public policy. Subsequently, in 2006, public purpose was narrowed by a constitutional amendment consistent with the client’s asserted position.
Appellate
Mr. Cherry normally handles his own appellate work, including brief writing to the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Fifth Circuit, Louisiana Supreme Court, and all Louisiana circuit appellate courts. His extensive appellate experience in addition to the topics set forth above, includes complex legal issues, including Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, Warsaw Convention (Carriage by Air), personal jurisdiction, subject matter jurisdiction, admiralty jurisdiction, federal inherent power (one involving $416 million award, 1995), federal preemption in numerous contexts, choice of law, forum non-conveniens, multi-district litigation, Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, enforceability of Louisiana Oilfield Indemnity Act, arbitration awards, nuances of the attorney-client privilege, including crime-fraud exception, limits of mental injury recovery, exclusion of expert opinions, securities fraud under federal and state laws, expropriation and constitutional due process rights, Unfair Trade Practices Act, numerous procedural issues such as new trial, remittitur, directed verdict, jury charges, as well as evidentiary issues of all kinds. He also taught various topics at seminars, including federal jurisdiction, preemption, products liability, economic damages and trial/litigation techniques.
Professional Activities and Honors
Louisiana State Association (Member, House of Delegates 1999-2001)
Federal Bar Association
Defense Research Institute
Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel
New Orleans Bar Association
American Bar Association (Antitrust and Business Law, Torts and Insurance, Litigation Sections; Aviation Law and Products, General Liability and Consumer Law Committees)
AV Rated
Education
J.D., summa cum laude, Tulane University, 1979
-- Order of the Coif., 1979
-- Tulane Law Review, 1978-1979
B.S., Economics, Tulane University, 1976
Aviation/Wrongful Death and Personal Injury
Mr. Cherry has long represented and defended commercial air carriers such as American, Delta and Southwest, against myriad passenger claims. Such claims included boarding and disembarkation accidents, overhead bins, baggage or cargo loss and theft, abusive passenger arrests, assaults, clear air turbulence injuries, denied boarding, Air Carrier Access Act Claims, and Warsaw “accident,” claims such as strokes, heart attacks and other vascular incidents during flight.
Mr. Cherry has also defended numerous personal injury suits arising from alleged errors in connection with Part 135 and Part 91 fixed wing and rotorcraft operators, fixed base operators, aerial applicators, general aviation private pilots, and repair facilities. Recent successes include extricating a helicopter repair facility with no-pay dismissals from a 10 death S-76A crash offshore, involving avionics repair and design claims, and defending the insurer by a pilot who crashed his Beech Baron in New Hampshire, killing all six passengers and himself.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Cherry was primary associate trial counsel in multi-district wrongful death/personal injury/property damage litigation arising from crash of Pan Am 759 into a suburban neighborhood near New Orleans in 1982. That litigation involved approximately 200 injury and wrongful death suits and was litigated from 1982 through 1985. He conducted discovery in and prepared over sixty wrongful death suits for trial, participating directly in over twenty-five Pan Am jury trials, including twelve wrongful death suits, a burn case involving 85% burns to mother and 8 year old daughter, psychic injury claims of neighborhood residents, personal injury claims (e.g.,back injury, knee injury, severe burns of children and adults) and numerous house damage claims involving extensive engineering investigation and testimony. See, e.g., Trivelloni-Lorenzi v. Pan American World Airways, 789 F.2d 1092 (5th Cir. 1986), 821 F.2d 1147 (5th Cir. 1987) (en banc), reversed in favor of Pan Am on Warsaw Convention issue, 109 S.Ct. 1928 (U.S. 1989), on remand, 883 F.2d 17 (5th Cir. 1989); Tudela v. Pan American World Airways, 764 F.2d 1082 (5th Cir. 1985); Turgeau v. Pan American World Airways, Inc., 764 F.2d 1084 (5th Cir. 1985); Leconte v. Pan American World Airways, 736 F.2d 1019 (5th Cir. 1984); Giancontieri v. Pan American World Airways, 767 F.2d 1151 (5th Cir. 1985); Brun-Jacobo v. Pan American World Airways, 847 F.2d 242, 11 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 585 (5th Cir. 1988); Bode v. Pan American World Airways, Inc., 786 F.2d 669 (5th Cir. 1986); Savoie v. Pan American World Airways, Inc., 742 F.2d 1451 (5th Cir. 1984); Eymard v. Pan American World Airways, Inc., 795 F.2d 1230 (5th Cir. 1986).
He has extensively litigated numerous Warsaw Convention and Montreal Convention issues, including notice issues, “accidents,” liability and damages.
Airport Regulation and Federal Preemption
Obtained in U.S. Fifth Circuit first precedent in the United States affording a federal venue under federal question jurisdiction to pursue in federal court a declaratory judgment action on behalf of local airport authority against adjoining municipality who sought to interfere with airfield construction projects. City of New Orleans v. City of Kenner, 974 F.2d 748 (5th Cir. 1992).
Admiralty
Admiralty law often intersects with personal injury claims in southern Louisiana given the prevalence of oil and gas offshore activities. Mr. Cherry has created several admiralty precedents in connection with platform, helicopter and work vessel injuries. Mr. Cherry prevailed in the District Court and then in the U.S. Fifth Circuit on November 18, 2004 in 2004 WL 2615742 in (1) having products used by a seaman for his core functions fall within maritime jurisdiction; and (2) having the Court apply the pecuniary damage limitation of the Jones Act to a non-employer maker of equipment that injured a seaman, saving $2 million. A summary judgment dismissing wrongful death claims for loss of love and affection was affirmed, eliminating several million dollars of liability.
Obtained U.S. Fifth Circuit precedent applying the Gilbert forum non conveniens criteria to admiralty cases. Trivelloni-Lorenzi v. Pan American World Airways, 789 F.2d 1092 (5th Cir. 1986), 821 F.2d 1147 (5th Cir. 1987) (en banc). Obtained similar precedent under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act requiring the law of the adjoining state to be applied to a rig accident precluding imposition of punitive damages under a depecage "choice of law" theory. Wooton v. Pumpkin Air, Inc., 889 F.2d 848 (5th Cir. 1989). Miles v. Apex, 498 U.S. 19 (1990) was successfully advocated to require a uniform general maritime remedy where seaman are involved Scarborough v. Clemco, 391 F.3d 660 (5th Cir. 2004).
Products Liability, General Tort
Has defended numerous products against claims of defects and causation of injuries, including:
-- Automobiles
-- Avionics
-- Surgical devices
-- Pharmaceuticals
-- Protective gear
-- Respirators
-- Pistols
-- Pumps
-- Valves
-- Appliances
Toxic Tort/Environmental
-- Silicosis
-- Toxic exposures
-- SO2
-- H2S
-- RCRA/Superfund
-- Toxic dumps
-- DBCP litigation
-- PPA litigation
Since 1997, Mr. Cherry has handled silicosis litigation subgroups at the firm for a protective gear manufacturer. These cases were filed and pend throughout Louisiana. Most recent trial was eight day jury trial of an eight-plaintiff wrongful death suit (31st JDC) in August of 2009, resulting in defense verdict.
Business and Professional E & O
His experience also includes professional malpractice defense for lawyers, accountants, and insurance brokers. He has successfully defended several sex and age discrimination claims brought against employers, as well as litigation brought by shareholders and various commercial disputes.
Securities Fraud
Has directed and participated in all aspects of substantial securities fraud actions. Defended syndicator of real estate limited partnerships against six suits totaling $40MM in claims for alleged fraud and RICO which involved complex evidentiary issues and numerous federal and state claims against syndicator, lenders and guarantors, and resulted in a defense verdict in the first case tried, and favorable settlements within limited insurance limits.
Expropriation and Constitutional Issues:
Obtained reversal of 100 years of contrary Louisiana precedent by requiring a valuation date in "regular" expropriations no earlier than as of the date of trial based upon federal and state constitutional guarantees, thus allowing recovery of tremendous appreciation in value occurring after the suit was filed. As a result, the landowner client received a jury valuation of approximately $9 million greater than the $4 million the expropriating agency sought to pay. NOEHA v. Missouri Pacific, 625 So.2d 1070 (La. App. 4th Cir. 1993), writ denied (La. 1994). In February of 1996, tried claim for attorney's fees and costs and received $3.36 million additional recovery for clients, and establishing a new constitutional measure for recovery of costs and fees for landowners.
In 2000, represented property owners in Shreveport against expropriation for a convention center/hotel. Established broader right to recover replacement value and loss of use. Five day jury trial resulted in over doubling recovery of landowners. In 2001, Mr. Cherry briefed and argued the constitutional challenge to the attempted taking for partial commercial purposes before the Second Circuit. The verdict was and taking affirmed, and a large award to compensate for attorney’s fees incurred in the unsuccessful challenging of public use was allowed as a matter of public policy. Subsequently, in 2006, public purpose was narrowed by a constitutional amendment consistent with the client’s asserted position.
Appellate
Mr. Cherry normally handles his own appellate work, including brief writing to the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Fifth Circuit, Louisiana Supreme Court, and all Louisiana circuit appellate courts. His extensive appellate experience in addition to the topics set forth above, includes complex legal issues, including Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, Warsaw Convention (Carriage by Air), personal jurisdiction, subject matter jurisdiction, admiralty jurisdiction, federal inherent power (one involving $416 million award, 1995), federal preemption in numerous contexts, choice of law, forum non-conveniens, multi-district litigation, Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, enforceability of Louisiana Oilfield Indemnity Act, arbitration awards, nuances of the attorney-client privilege, including crime-fraud exception, limits of mental injury recovery, exclusion of expert opinions, securities fraud under federal and state laws, expropriation and constitutional due process rights, Unfair Trade Practices Act, numerous procedural issues such as new trial, remittitur, directed verdict, jury charges, as well as evidentiary issues of all kinds. He also taught various topics at seminars, including federal jurisdiction, preemption, products liability, economic damages and trial/litigation techniques.
Professional Activities and Honors
Louisiana State Association (Member, House of Delegates 1999-2001)
Federal Bar Association
Defense Research Institute
Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel
New Orleans Bar Association
American Bar Association (Antitrust and Business Law, Torts and Insurance, Litigation Sections; Aviation Law and Products, General Liability and Consumer Law Committees)
AV Rated
Education
J.D., summa cum laude, Tulane University, 1979
-- Order of the Coif., 1979
-- Tulane Law Review, 1978-1979
B.S., Economics, Tulane University, 1976
