Thomas Peter Bernier

Thomas Bernier is chair of the Nanotechnology Practice Group — a subgroup of the Toxic Torts and Environmental Practice Group. He has more than three decades of experience successfully defending complex and high-profile civil and criminal cases in the state and federal courts throughout Maryland and Washington, D.C., and in other parts of the country.

He focuses his civil practice on the defense of toxic tort actions against companies in a wide range of industries, with particular concentration on claims alleging exposure to Legionella, asbestos, lead paint, carbon monoxide, and mold. Tom also has extensive experience defending personal injury, premises liability, and product liability. He is a frequent author and presenter on personal injury defense and other topics in his areas of concentration, with two seminars he developed being honored by the Maryland Institute for Continuing Professional Education of Lawyers (MICPEL) as “Best of MICPEL” seminars.

Further demonstrating his trial prowess and litigation capabilities, Tom has litigated hundreds of serious criminal cases over the past 30-plus years, including two capital cases. He is the author of Defending Allegations of Sexual Child Abuse in Maryland, an original treatise published in 2004 that highlights a subspecialty of his criminal practice and is used by the District Court of Maryland in the training of District Court Commissioners. Tom has been asked to testify before the House and Senate Judiciary Committees of the Maryland General Assembly on matters of criminal law and evidence, and he has counseled the writing staff of NBC’s Law and Order: Special Victims Unit on the perspective of a defense attorney in a sex crimes case and on technical accuracy of potential script ideas.

Highlights of his practice include:
Served as a member of defense trial team that secured a directed verdict predicated on the plaintiff’s assumption of risk for a manufacturer of sealing products in a wrongful death asbestos-related case. This significant victory followed nine days of trial in the Circuit Court of Maryland for Baltimore City.
Obtained summary judgment in the Superior Court for the District of Columbia on behalf of a building owner who faced a lawsuit brought by a plaintiff claiming millions of dollars in personal injury damages as a result of contracting Legionnaire’s disease. The victory centered on the successful exclusion of the plaintiff’s expert witness, and the District of Columbia Court of Appeals affirmed the Superior Court’s decision.
Obtained a defense verdict after more than two years of litigation — culminating in an 11-day jury trial — in a case involving medical, scientific, and real estate issues relating to environmental contamination. Damages sought were more than $3 million.
Successfully argued for compulsory nonsuit, following two weeks of trial, in favor of a manufacturer of asbestos-containing gaskets in a product liability wrongful death lawsuit alleging asbestos-induced mesothelioma, tried in the Court of Common Pleas for Philadelphia County.
Working pro bono on the ABA “Death Penalty Project," obtained life-without-parole verdict in death penalty resentencing jury trial in Miller County, Arkansas as part of a three-lawyer defense team.
Obtained a defense verdict in favor of manufacturer of maritime diesel engines in a product liability case alleging asbestos-induced lung cancer, tried in the Court of Common Pleas in Philadelphia County.
Obtained defense verdict in favor of a manufacturer of asbestos-containing gaskets in a products liability case alleging asbestos-induced mesothelioma, tried in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.
Obtained mistrial, following hung jury, on behalf of a boiler manufacturer in a product liability case alleging asbestos-induced mesothelioma, tried in the Superior Court of the State of Delaware.
Successfully argued for the reversal of a $1.3 million verdict against a manufacturer of asbestos-containing gaskets before the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland.
Obtained mistrial, following hung jury, on behalf of a client charged with federal conspiracy to harbor unlawful aliens and money laundering, tried in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland; the client was the only defendant not convicted following trial.
Co-tried the successful defense of a death penalty case.