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Kerrie  L. Campbell

Kerrie L. Campbell

Partner
Chair, Consumer Product Safety
kcampbell@manatt.com


Professional Experience

Kerrie Campbell is a partner in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office and chair of the Consumer Product Safety practice group.  She specializes in consumer product safety matters and related counseling.  With extensive defamation litigation experience, Ms. Campbell also specializes in defamation and speech-related matters and counsels clients on reputation recovery issues.

CPSC and CPSIA

Ms. Campbell represents manufacturers, importers, retailers and distributors, large and small, in investigation, enforcement and penalty proceedings before the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and in matters referred by the Commission to the U.S. Department of Justice.  She provides advice and counsel on reporting requirements and compliance with product safety laws administered by the CPSC, including the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA).  The author of the comprehensive BNA overview article on the CPSIA, Ms. Campbell helps companies understand and comply with sweeping new CPSIA requirements.  She advises clients on product recalls, corrective actions, responses to agency inquiries and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.  Ms. Campbell is a member of the Advisory Board for BNA’s Product Safety and Liability Reporter and a featured speaker and writer on CPSC-related issues.

Defamation and Media Law

Ms. Campbell routinely handles defamation matters arising from the publication of false and misleading statements that unfairly harm the reputations of individuals, businesses and products.  She has extensive experience in matters involving the print, broadcast and online media and regularly advises clients on pre- and post-publication strategies to address inaccurate or misleading publications and media crisis situations.  Focusing on defamation, First Amendment and advertising issues, Ms. Campbell has successfully litigated defamation and Lanham Act cases on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants.  She has represented public figures, including G. Gordon Liddy and Deepak Chopra, in high-profile cases and obtained the largest defamation jury verdict affirmed by the Virginia Supreme Court against a local news station based on a false and defamatory “I Team” investigative report.  Ms. Campbell also represented Lt. Colonel Martha McSally (the first woman to command a U.S. Air Force fighter squadron) in her successful challenge of the Department of Defense regulation that required American servicewomen stationed in Saudi Arabia to wear the Islamic abaya.


Education

American University Washington College of Law, J.D., cum laude, 1987.

George Mason University, B.A., With Distinction, 1984. 


Representative Matters

  • Counsel for Mark Felt, Sr. ("Deep Throat") and John O'Connor in federal district court litigation concerning rights to Felt Sr.'s story.

  • Counsel for companies and individuals subject to national and local print and broadcast news reports and other publications.

  • Counsel for Nextel Communications, Inc. in Lanham Act litigation to stop a competitor's deceptive advertising campaign. The defendant pulled the ads.

  • Counsel for Pharmacia Corporation in Lanham Act litigation to stop a competitor's deceptive advertising. The defendant pulled the ads.

  • Counsel for Trex Company in defense of an alleged consumer class action concerning composite wood decking.

  • Counsel for Lt. Col. Martha McSally in her successful challenge of the Department of Defense regulation requiring American Service women stationed in Saudi Arabia to wear the abaya and ride in the back seat of vehicles.

  • Counsel for Dr. Stephen Levin in a defamation action arising from promotional advertisements and news broadcasts. The plaintiff’s $2 million defamation verdict was affirmed by the Virginia Supreme Court.

  • Counsel for G. Gordon Liddy in a libel action brought by Ida Maxwell ("Maxie") Wells alleging defamatory statements concerning Wells’ role in the Watergate controversy. The jury found in favor of the defendant.

  • Counsel for G. Gordon Liddy in a libel action brought by John and Maureen Dean alleging defamatory statements in connection with the Watergate break-in and cover-up. The plaintiffs dismissed the lawsuit against Liddy.

  • Counsel for Deepak Chopra in a defamation action arising from an article published in the Weekly Standard. The case settled and the Weekly Standard published a retraction before trial.

  • Counsel for Mobil Oil Corporation in a patent infringement and trade secret action involving satellite altimetry technology. Summary judgment for Mobil was affirmed.

  • Counsel for plaintiff in an antitrust and contract action against PGA. The plaintiff's verdict for $2.6 million, trebled, plus $4.8 million in punitive damages.

  • Counsel for a manufacturer in a CPSC penalty action referred to the U.S. Dept. of Justice. The Dept. of Justice declined to prosecute.

Memberships & Activities

Admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and California.


Speaking Engagements

Speaker, “CPSIA Public Database: Materially Inaccurate Information,” U.S Consumer Product Safety Commission Public Workshop, Bethesda, Maryland, January 12, 2010.

Speaker, “Fairness and Accuracy in Consumer Reporting:  How do we get there?” International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization, 2009 Annual Meeting and Training Symposium, Orlando, FL, February 25, 2009.

Speaker, “Consumer Product Safety,” PMA Promotion Marketing Law Conference, Chicago, IL, November 21, 2008.

Speaker, “New Enforcement Tools/Prohibited Acts,” The New Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008:  The New World of Regulation and Enforcement – 2008 BNA Legal Edge Conference, Washington, DC, October 30, 2008.

Speaker, “Access to Information,” The New Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008:  The New World of Regulation and Enforcement – 2008 BNA Legal Edge Conference, Washington, DC, October 30, 2008.

Speaker, “The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 and You,” Electronic Retailing Association Webinar, October 2, 2008.