Jason D. Killips

Jason Killips concentrates his practice in commercial litigation and related strategic consulting, with a special focus on the automotive supply chain. He has represented clients in complex litigation in state and federal courts across the country and in various courts of appeal. Prior to joining the firm, Jason spent ten years with Young & Associates PC and two years with Howard & Howard Attorneys PC. Using his unique blend of both engineering and legal degrees, Jason has been listed as a “Rising Star” in Michigan Super Lawyers (2013-2016). 

Some examples of his success include:

• Successfully negotiated and litigated many manufacturing-supply-chain disputes, including between tier-1 suppliers and their OEM customers, and between tier-1 and tier-2 suppliers and their lower-tier suppliers
• Successfully litigated on behalf of clients on a wide variety of legal issues, including patent infringement, trade secrets, warranty, requirements contracts, tooling ownership and possession, commercial fraud, commercial contracts, real property rights, directors' and officers' liability, fiduciary duty, legal malpractice, accounting malpractice, art fraud, and defamation.
• Successfully argued on behalf of the plaintiff before the Michigan Court of Appeals in Coppola v. Manning, Case No. 323994, Nov. 17, 2015 (named a Most Important Opinion, July through December 2015, by Michigan Lawyers Weekly)
• Successfully served as principal attorney in the Michigan Supreme Court on behalf of prevailing party in In re Petition by Treasurer of Wayne County for Foreclosure, Case No. 129341 (May 23, 2007).
• Principal author on many appellate briefs filed with the Michigan Supreme Court, the Michigan Court of Appeals, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
• Successfully represented one of the world's largest art galleries in a series of lawsuits in state and federal trial and appellate courts.
• Obtained a $10 million verdict in favor of a tier-2 automotive supplier after its former customer violated a confidentiality agreement and stole the supplier's design. Multimatic, Inc. v. Faurecia Interior Systems USA, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Case No. 05-60120.
• Obtained partial summary judgment and ultimately negotiated successful resolution for tier-1 automotive supplier after a supplier threatened to stop shipments when its demands for a price increase were not met. Eberspaecher North America, Inc. v. Nelson Global Products, LLC, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Case No. 12-11045.
• Successfully obtained temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions in federal and state courts on behalf of tier-1 automotive suppliers whose operations were threatened by the actions of their suppliers.
• Drafted global and regional terms and conditions and other significant contract documents for tier-1 automotive suppliers.
• Developed and implemented strategies used by tier-1 automotive suppliers to obtain price increases and other extra-contractual payments from OEMs after preproduction problems, volume shortfalls, and other changes in circumstances.