Alyson Walker Lotman

Partner

  • Alyson Walker Lotman
  • Phone: +1 215 979 1177

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  • Duane Morris LLP
    30 South 17th Street
    Philadelphia, PA 19103-4196
    USA

Alyson Walker Lotman is a trial attorney, representing and advising clients in state and federal court. She serves as a team lead for the Duane Morris Transportation/Automotive industry group. Ms. Lotman's practice is focused on products liability litigation, including pharmaceutical, mass tort and toxic tort litigation, and personal injury defense litigation, including premises and FELA litigation. Ms. Lotman also has participated in appeals before the Pennsylvania appellate courts. Ms. Lotman has extensive experience in all phases of litigation, including significant experience deposing plaintiffs and fact witnesses, coordinating discovery, drafting a wide range of motions, and participating in trial preparation and at trial.

Ms. Lotman is a 2007 cum laude graduate of Villanova University School of Law, where she was editor in chief for the Villanova Environmental Law Journal, and a magna cum laude graduate of Bucknell University.

Representative Matters

  • Defending a privately owned airport against claims by neighboring property owners related to PFAS contamination of soil, groundwater and drinking water including medical monitoring.

  • Second chaired a three week trial and obtained a defense verdict on behalf of leading motor vehicle company, in which plaintiff claimed that her decedent’s mesothelioma was caused by exposure to the defendant’s products. The jury found that defendant had provided adequate warnings to plaintiff.

  • Obtained decision for Ford Motor Company in the Superior Court of Pennsylvania, affirming summary judgment in a product liability case in which the plaintiff contended that Ford was liable for its English subsidiary's products under the "apparent manufacturer" doctrine and the "piercing the corporate veil" theory.

  • Second chaired a trial and obtained a defense verdict for an interstate railroad company. Plaintiff alleged that the railroad was negligent for not erecting a barrier between the road and the railroad tracks, and the jury found the railroad was not negligent.

  • Defended toxic tort cases, including asbestos and benzene claims, on behalf of various companies.

  • Defended generic pharmaceutical manufacturers in failure to warn personal injury litigation.

  • Drafted motions and provided other trial support for trial team that obtained a defense verdict for a major automotive manufacturer following a five-and-a-half week trial involving a peritoneal mesothelioma claim brought by a 44-year-old gentleman. The matter involved a unique claim for design defect of company’s braking system.

  • Obtained summary judgment on behalf of a defendant where plaintiff claimed asbestos attributable to the client caused a decedent's mesothelioma and subsequent death. Plaintiff's claims included an attempt to pierce the corporate veil to hold the client liable for its wholly owned subsidiary.

  • Drafted motions and provided other trial support for trial team that obtained a defense verdict, after a two-week trial, on behalf of a leading motor vehicle company, where the jury found the plaintiff's pleural mesothelioma was caused by therapeutic radiation treatments he received as a teenager and not asbestos exposure.

  • Obtained on behalf of a motor vehicle company, in a significant asbestos-related appeal before the Superior Court of Pennsylvania, a reversal of an order granting a mistrial and a reinstatement of a defense verdict from the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas.

  • Obtained decision from Pennsylvania Supreme Court that the “each and every breath” theory of causation lacks general acceptance under Frye in Betz v. Pneumo Abex.
  • Served as MDL coordinating counsel for major automobile manufacturer in MDL-875 In re: Asbestos Products Liability Litigation.

  • Representing pro bono clients in guardianship cases in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas.

  • Representing Paraguayan client in seeking return of child to home country pursuant to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

Admissions

  • Pennsylvania
  • New Jersey
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
  • U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania
  • U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey

Education

  • Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law, J.D., cum laude, 2007
    Editor in Chief, Villanova Environmental Law Journal
  • Bucknell University, B.A., magna cum laude, 2004

Experience

  • Duane Morris LLP
    - Partner, 2017-present
    - Associate, 2007-2016

Board Memberships

  • Philadelphia VIP
    - Board Member
  • Foundation for Learning in Tredyffrin/Easttown
    - Board of Trustees
    - Communications Chair

Selected Publications

Selected Speaking Engagements

  • Speaker, "Voir Dire and Jury Selection in Pennsylvania," NBI Webinar, July 13, 2023
  • Moderator, "Legal Boot Camp: Electric Vehicles and Beyond," Duane Morris Webinar, July 12, 2023
  • Speaker, "How to Lay a Foundation to Get Your Evidence Introduced in Pennsylvania," NBI Webinar, August 3, 2022
  • Speaker, "How to Prepare for an Expert Deposition," DRI 2021 Asbestos Medicine Seminar, New Orleans, November 4, 2021