Best Lawyers In America: Commercial Litigation, Personal Injury Litigation, Mass Tort Litigation and Bet the Company Litigation
Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business: Litigation
Benchmark Litigation: Local Litigation Star: Appellate, Commercial Litigation, Environmental Litigation, Personal Injury, Products Liability
Mid-South Super Lawyers' Top 50 in Mississippi: Business Litigation
Chris Shapley joined the Brunini firm in 1976. He has concentrated his practice in litigation since that time. He has handled all types of civil litigation but has concentrated his practice in the last several years on business litigation, mass torts, environmental litigation, insurance coverage and products liability. He is licensed to practice in all state and federal courts in Mississippi, the United States Courts of Appeals for the Fifth and Eleventh Circuits, the United States Court of Claims, and the United States Supreme Court. He is past chairman of the firm's litigation section and a former member of the firm's Board of Directors. He was inducted into the American College of Trial Lawyers in 1995, into the American Board of Trial Advocates in 2000 and into the International Association of Defense Counsel in 2001. He is recognized in the Best Lawyers in America in Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Personal Injury Litigation and Mass Tort Litigation; Chambers U.S.A. in General Commercial Litigation; Mid-South Super Lawyers (Top 50 in Mississippi);and Benchmark Litigation: Local Litigation Star in Appellate, Commercial Litigation, Environmental Litigation, Personal Injury, Products Liability.
Defended a Mississippi Supreme Court appeal, along with Trey Jones, concerning a statute of limitations issue which is very important in the areas of personal injury and environmental exposure litigation. Brunini's clients were sued for allegedly causing the plaintiff's cancer by exposure to chemicals. Shapley and Jones successfully argued to the trial judge that the case should be dismissed based on the statute of limitations since the plaintiff did not file suit within three years of when she was diagnosed with cancer. The plaintiff argued on appeal that the statute of limitations should not begin to run in "latent injury" cases until the plaintiff knows that her injury was caused by wrongful conduct. She also argued that her claims were timely under the federal CERCLA statute. Following en banc oral argument, the Mississippi Supreme Court ruled in favor of Brunini's client and held that the statute of limitations begins to run on the date the plaintiff is diagnosed with the disease.
Obtained summary judgment related to alleged fraud and conspiracy related to real property purchase.
Obtained summary judgment along with Trey Jones on behalf of two owners and operators of a wood-treating facility. The plaintiff in the federal court action was the estate of a deceased man which claimed that chemicals from the wood treating facility were responsible for wrongful death and property damage. Plaintiff sought substantial compensatory and punitive damages and injunctive relief. Shapley and Jones were successful in obtaining Daubert exclusions of plaintiff's causation experts and dismissal of all claims.