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Kurt E. Reitz

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Kurt is an experienced lead trial counsel in the defense of personal injury and property damage litigation, including product liability, mass tort, railroad, trucking and class action cases. He has tried many cases during the course of his career and also argued appellate proceedings in both state and federal courts.

Kurt has successfully defended cases for a wide range of Thompson Coburn clients, including Lorillard Tobacco, Norfolk Southern Railway, Illinois Central Railroad, CSX Transportation, lllinois Midland Railroad, Schneider National Carriers, General Motors, Joy Manufacturing and Detroit Diesel. Many of the cases Kurt handles are in federal and state courts in southern Illinois, widely recognized as one the most dangerous defense venues in the nation.

He has briefed and argued numerous cases in the Illinois state appellate courts and in the Illinois Supreme Court. He has also briefed and argued cases in the United State Courts of Appeals for the Seventh and Eighth Circuits and has briefed three cases before the United States Supreme Court.

Kurt is the author of Chapter Three, Pleadings and Motions of Illinois Products Liability, and is responsible for the yearly supplement. His experience in the field of products liability includes both trial and appellate work in state and federal courts.

National Association of Railroad Trial Counsel
American Bar Association
Illinois State Bar Association
St. Louis Bar Association
St. Clair County Bar Association
Board of Directors (1992-1996; 2000-2002)
Monroe County Bar Association
Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission - Member, Oversight Committee
Gibault Catholic High School
School Board (1998-Present)
President (2001-Present)
Finance Committee – Chairman (2001-Present)
Endowment Committee (2003-Present)
Major Gifts Committee (2003-Present)
Waterloo Country Club
Board of Directors, Vice President (1992-1998)
Human Support Services (HSS)
Board of Directors (1988-1992)
HSS Endowment Foundation
Board of Directors (1988-1992)
Selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2012 (Copyright 2011 by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, S.C.)
Kurt has handled 31 litigation matters to conclusion for Lorillard Tobacco in Madison County, Illinois. Of those 31 handled to conclusion, 22 were dismissed outright and another was dismissed based on a forum non conveniens defense. The remaining 8 were settled. He is currently representing Lorillard Tobacco in 10 active cases in this venue.
Myers v. Illinois Central Railroad. Kurt won an FELA case in the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit for longtime client Illinois Central Railroad Company. The Seventh Circuit then affirmed summary judgment. This victory was the third in a series of victories by Kurt’s Illinois trial team for railroad clients in the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois. The Seventh Circuit Opinion in Myers followed similar summary judgments in Campbell v. CSX Transportation, Inc. (Central District of Illinois) and McCann v. Illinois Central Railroad Company (Central District of Illinois). (2010)
Kurt obtained another victory in Madison County for Norfolk Southern Railway Company. This case was an alleged diesel fume/exhaust exposure case asserted under the FELA against Norfolk Southern. The plaintiff was a locomotive engineer alleged to have been totally disabled from reactive airways disease, chemically induced asthma and other respiratory ailments. The case was tried for before Judge Kardis in Granite City, Illinois and resulted in a defense verdict. (2004)
Kurt E. Reitz
University of Illinois College of Law
J.D. (1984)
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
B.A. (1981)
With High Distinction
Phi Beta Kappa
Thompson Coburn LLP
Partner (1992-Present)
Associate (1984-1991)
Illinois
Missouri