Brendan Henderson Fitzpatrick

Brendan H. Fitzpatrick, a leader in the firm’s Toxic Tort and Environmental Practice Group and co-chair of the ABA’s Environmental and Toxic Tort Subcommittee of the Mass Torts Committee, litigates complex civil matters in federal and state trial courts across the country. His practice focuses primarily on toxic tort and environmental litigation, but he also litigates and advises clients on commercial, intellectual property, and cybersecurity concerns. Brendan offers a proven track record of effectively and efficiently achieving client goals in a broad range of matters and obtaining favorable resolutions for clients both inside and outside the courtroom.

Brendan's toxic tort experience primarily concerns the defense of asbestos exposure claims. He is known for his ability to develop creative defenses through discovery, his skill in molding cases for trial through motions practice, and his trial skills. Brendan's clients include manufacturers, distributors, and installers of thermal insulation, boilers, gaskets, packing, rope, brakes, clutches, transmissions, pipe, floor tile, electrical components, and joint compound. He also defends toxic tort claims involving exposure to Legionella bacteria, benzene, lead, mold, and other chemicals and bacteria.

Brendan's environmental background began in law school when he clerked with both the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Enforcement and Compliance and with the Department of Justice's Environment and Natural Resources Division, where he worked on Clean Air Act enforcement actions against stationary sources. Brendan's environmental litigation practice is highly varied, ranging from defense of Clean Water Act citizen suits to claims for contamination from gasoline spills. He has also authored and submitted comments on behalf of a stakeholder on Maryland Department of Environment’s state action plan concerning compliance with federal mandates on pollution levels in Maryland’s navigable waters.

Brendan strives to fashion and implement functional and cost-efficient strategies that today’s complex litigation environment demands. His extensive experience enables him to create strategic plans encompassing a wide variety of litigation tactics to meet client objectives. Each action Brendan takes in litigation fits into the plan for achieving the client’s ultimate goals.

Brendan’s cases routinely involve complex medical, scientific, and technological issues. To this end, he has developed, defended, and examined fact and expert witnesses from a wide variety of disciplines. Brendan monitors and has published on several emerging areas including potential human health hazards of nanomaterial exposure and ovarian cancer litigation. He also contributes to the firm’s Asbestos Case Tracker and Environmental Law Monitor blogs.

A trusted authority in his practice areas, Brendan holds the highest AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell and has been recognized as a Super Lawyers Rising Star in Maryland every year since 2013.

Sampling of recent successes:
Secured a directed verdict on defense of assumption of risk for a manufacturer of sealing products in a wrongful death asbestos-related case. The plaintiffs claimed their decedent developed lung cancer and mesothelioma as a result of asbestos exposure. After nine days of trial, the trial court granted the motion for judgment at the close of plaintiffs’ case.
Obtained a defense verdict as member of the trial team for an insulation contractor in a peritoneal mesothelioma case following a two-week trial. The jury agreed that the exposures to his client’s products were not a substantial contributing cause of development of disease.
Obtained summary judgment for a boiler manufacturer on the basis that the claims were time-barred pursuant to Maryland’s statute of repose. Plaintiffs alleged that components of the boiler caused the death of their decedent. This case was the first known application of Maryland’s statute of repose to injuries alleged from a residential boiler.
Obtained summary judgment on behalf of a demolition contractor in claim for over $3M in property damage as a result of developing evidence establishing plaintiffs’ claims against the client as a factual impossibility.