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Daniel H. Skerritt

Office: 503.802.2024
E-Mail: dan.skerritt@tonkon.com

Education:
J.D., summa cum laude, Willamette University College of Law, 1968
L.L.M., George Washington University, 1972
B.A., Willamette University, 1965

Admitted to Practice:
Oregon
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. District Court, District of Oregon
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

Biography:

Widely recognized for trial excellence during his past 35 years of practice, Dan represents both plaintiffs and defendants in their complex commercial litigation and disputes.  He is the current State Chair of the American College of Trial Lawyers and a fellow in the International Society of Barristers.

 

His background includes litigation involving securities, corporate governance, energy and general business issues.

 

 

Dan has achieved some of Oregon’s largest awards and settlements. Representative matters include:

·         Amen v. Roberts - $5.1 million arbitration award, reduced to judgment, February 2009, Josephine County, Oregon.

·         Star-Wood v. Sussman et al. – Plaintiff's verdict, 2008 breach of fiduciary duty claim.

·         Johnson et al. v. Buchanan Ingersoll - $850,000 verdict in 2008 legal malpractice case.

·         2008 – Successful mediation of multiple plaintiffs' claims against a broker-dealer.

 

·         State of Oregon v. Phillip Morris Incorporated - Served as one of the legal team members representing the state in Big Tobacco litigation which resulted in a $2.25 billion state settlement. 

 

·         PPM Energy, Inc. v. Black Hills Power, Inc.  – Represented the plaintiff, an energy marketing company, in arbitration claims, for breach of an energy exchange agreement.  Client was awarded $1.7 million in damages and favorable declaratory relief. In this private arbitration matter, the award was reduced to judgment in District Court, Jefferson County Colorado.

 

·         Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway v. Gunderson Inc. – Obtained summary judgment for our client, the defendant, to defeat a $14 million products liability claim in Texas arising from a train derailment.

 

 

·         Gray and Company v. Archer Daniels Midland Company et al. - Successfully prosecuted plaintiffs’ antitrust case alleging price-fixing conspiracy by high fructose and corn syrup producers. Following successful appeal before the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, we negotiated a favorable settlement.

 

·         Word Logic v. Hewlett Packard -- Settlement of plaintiff’s copyright infringement claims reported in Word Logic SEC filing (http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1139614/000110313204000042/wlq0604.htm).

 

·         Allen v. OHSU – Successfully represented Oregon Health & Science University in defense of a whistle-blower complaint.

 

·         eFusion v. Zuber - Obtained injunction enforcing high tech firm’s non-competition and trade secrets agreement.

 

·         Power Medical System v. Intermedics- Obtained $9 million plaintiff’s verdict resulting from failed merger of a medical device company.

 

·         Eischen v. AVIVA et. al. – Defended a class action shareholder claim through to completed trial, challenging AVIVA- Reebok merger.

·         Midway-Sunset Cogeneration Company v. Southern California Gas – Achieved a judgment valued at more than $9 million for a breach of contract case involving a cogeneration facility.

 

 

·         Nevada Cogeneration Associates v. Nevada Power Company – Awarded $1.3 million in arbitration for cogenerator against a utility for improper curtailment.

 

·         Evergreen International Airlines v. Pan Am – Reclaimed leased aircraft from Pan Am bankruptcy on behalf of a private aviation company.

  
For the fifth consecutive year, Dan was selected as one of the top-tier litigation attorneys in Oregon by Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business.  Other accolades for Dan include selection by The National Law Journal as a top Oregon trial lawyer and as a leader in bet-the-company litigation, commercial litigation and alternative dispute resolution by The Best Lawyers in America®.  He is also listed as one of Oregon’s Top 50 Super Lawyers and named a "local litigation star" in the 5th edition of Benchmark Litigation, the Guide to America's Leading Law Firms and Attorneys.
 

Dan is a former Board member of the Oregon Association of Defense Counsel and serves on the Board of Visitors at the Willamette University College of Law. Following law school, he served for four years as a captain in the U.S. Army’s Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps.

A prolific writer, Dan has authored more than 20 CLE articles on substantive areas of the law and trial practice techniques, and most recently served as co-editor of the 2012 two-volume Oregon State Bar CLE Oregon Civil Pleading and Practice. For several years, he has served as co-editor of the Oregon State Bar’s Oregon Civil Pleading and Practice Manual. He recently authored "Trials and Pleadings and Organization," Oregon Law Institute 2008 CLE on Hot Topics in Federal Practice and Procedure, and was a speaker on Oregon's Expedited Trial Rule at the 2010 Convention of the Oregon Association of Defense Counsel. He was program co-chair for the 2010 Pacific Northwest Regional Conference of the American College of Trial Lawyers, and chair of the Oregon Chapter of the American College of Trial Lawyers in 2011 and 2012.

 

Professional Organizations:
American College of Trial Lawyers - Vice-Chair of the national Jury Committee; Current State Chair, Oregon
International Society of Barristers
Oregon State Bar - Member, House of Delegates [2003-2006]; Member and past Chair, Civil Rights Section; Past Member, Civil Jury Instructions Committee
American Bar Association - Business Tort Committee and Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution Sections
Multnomah Bar Association
Oregon Association of Defense Counsel - Director
Willamette University College of Law -Board of Visitors, Member

Community Activities:
Oregon State Parks Trust - Past Chairman, Board of Trustees
French American International School, Board of Trustees
World Trade Club - Past President and Past Director
Cathedral School - Past Advisory Board