Denver Criminal Defene Attorney

Paul J Komyatte

Denver Personal Injury Attorney, Paul Komyatte

Counsel

Practice Areas: Personal Injury and Product Liability

Experience:

Paul Komyatte joined Ridley, McGreevy & Winocur, P.C. as Of Counsel in 2011.  Mr. Komyatte specializes in representing injured consumers in product liability and personal injury cases.  Prior to joining Ridley, McGreevy & Winocur, P.C., he spent 16 years at the law firm Gilbert, Ollanik & Komyatte, P.C., where he was a partner and specialized in product liability litigation. 

Mr. Komyatte represents individuals and consumers who have been seriously injured by defective products and by the negligence of others.  He has successfully litigated product liability and complex personal injury actions against some of the world's largest product manufacturers and retailers, including Ford, General Motors, Chrysler, Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Sears, Wal-Mart, Takata and Briggs & Stratton.  Mr. Komyatte has recovered tens of millions on behalf of his clients involving a diverse range of products, including automobiles, tires, seatbelts, airbags, toys and electrical products.  Mr. Komyatte's practice is national in scope, and he currently represents consumers injured by defective products from California to West Virginia in matters involving defective vehicles, seatbelts, medical devices, contact lens solution and contaminated alcohol wipes.

paul-komyatte-denver-personal-injury-attorneyMr. Komyatte stays at the forefront of important national litigation affecting consumer safety.  In 2002, his work on 15 passenger van litigation was featured on Denver’s 9News. Mr. Komyatte is the author of numerous publications on product liability and trial preparation issues, and he is also a frequent lecturer for trial lawyer associations across the country.   

Mr. Komyatte is active with volunteer organizations and has donated his time to various social and environmental causes.  Currently, he is a state certified firefighter with the Genesee Fire & Rescue volunteer fire department.  He has also served as a pro bono volunteer lawyer for the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund, the Land and Water Fund of the Rockies, the Chicago Bar Association Pro Bono law project, and the Denver Metro Volunteer Lawyers.  He also previously served as Chair of the Amnesty International Chicago Lawyers Committee. 

Publications (Author or Co-Author)

  • “Product Liability Primer for Non-Product Liability Lawyers,” Trial Talk, December/January 2011.
  • “Making sure child-restraint seats protect,” Trial, November, 2008. 
  • “Pursuing the Lack-of-ESC Case,” Trial Talk, December 2007/January 2008.
  • “Keeping the ESC Case on Course,” Trial, November, 2007.
  • “Recognizing Automotive Product Liability,” Chapter 13 in Colorado Auto Litigator’s Handbook (Colorado Trial Lawyers Association 2006).
  • “‘It’s a Small World’ – Globalization Opens Doors in Auto Defect Litigation,” Trial Talk, December 2005/January 2006.
  • “The Small World of Auto Defect Litigation,” Trial, November, 2005.
  • “Automakers Gloss Over Glass Defects,” Trial, November 2004.
  • “Use a Computer to Build a Safer Alternative Design,” Trial, March 2004.
  • “Automobile Window Glass – A Design Defect That Should Not Be Overlooked,” Trial Talk, December 2003/January 2004.
  • “Auto Design Defect,” Chapter 59 in ATLA’s Litigating Tort Cases (West-ATLA Press 2003).
  • “15 Passenger Vans – Dangerous And Unpredictable When Used As Intended,” Trial Talk, December/January, 2002. 
  • “Hitting The Wall In The Discovery Race,” Trial, March, 2002.
  • “Simplify Complex Cases With Focus Groups,” Trial, April, 2001. 
  • “Defective Tire Litigation:  Recognizing and Pursuing Defective Tire Cases,” Trial Talk, December/January, 2000.
  • “Crashworthiness Litigation:  Recognizing the Automotive Design Defect Case,” The New Mexico Trial Lawyer, February/March 2000.
  • “Crashworthiness Litigation:  Recognizing the Automotive Design Defect Case,” Trial Talk, December/January, 1999.
  • “Recognizing the Auto Restraint Defect Case,” Trial Talk, December/January, 1998.
  • “The Trouble with Sport Utility Vehicles” in Products Liability Litigation: Product Studies (West-ATLA Press 1997).
  • “The Trouble with Sport Utility Vehicles,” Trial, November, 1996.
  • “Recognizing and Investigating Crashworthiness Cases,” Trial, November, 1995.
  • “Medical Monitoring Damages: An Evolution of Environmental Tort Law,” The Colorado Lawyer, July, 1994.

Lectures and Seminar Presentations

  • “Is Early Settlement in Products Cases an Oxymoron?” Panelist Member, ABA Alternative Dispute Resolution Seminar, Denver, Colorado, April 21, 2011.
  • “Investigating a Defective Seatbelt Case,” Attorneys Information Exchange Group Spring Seminar, Bonus Section, Austin, Texas, March 23, 2011. 
  • AAJ’s Case Plus -- The Next Step in Developing and Testing Your Trial Story, National College of Advocacy, Houston, Texas, December 2-5, 2009 (faculty – focus group leader).
  • “Inadvertent Seatbelt Buckle Release,” as part of “Proving They Were Belted” Panel, Attorneys Information Exchange Group Spring Seminar 2009, San Francisco, California, March 27, 2009. 
  • “Vehicle Structure,” Attorneys Information Exchange Group Nuts & Bolts Seminar, Denver, Colorado, July 31-August 1, 2008.
  • “Getting to Your Best Venue,” Attorneys Information Exchange Group Spring Seminar 2008, Seattle, Washington, April 3, 2008. 
  • “Recent Auto Safety Developments and Auto Products Litigation,” Colorado Trial Lawyers Association Blockbuster Auto Seminar 2008, Denver, Colorado, January 17, 2008.
  • “Focus Groups on a Dime,” Colorado Trial Lawyers Association 2007 Annual Convention, Steamboat Springs, Colorado, August 9-12, 2007.
  • “Protecting Your Children in Your Car,” Colorado Trial Lawyers Association 2007 Annual Convention, Steamboat Springs, Colorado, August 9-12, 2007.
  • “Seatbelt Buckle Defects,” Western Trial Lawyers Association Ski Seminar, Steamboat Springs, Colorado, March 1-3, 2007.
  • “Finding the Product Case in the Terrible Crash or Tragic Event/Proving the Alternative Design in Auto Defect Cases With Computer Modeling,” Colorado Trial Lawyers Association 2006 Annual Convention, Copper Mountain, Colorado, August 2-6, 2006. 
  • ATLA’s Case Workshop Program, National College of Advocacy, Boston, Massachusetts, April 20-23, 2006 (faculty – focus group training).
  • “ATLA’s Case Plus – The Next Step in Developing and Testing Your Trial Story,”  San Jose, California, November 30 - December 4, 2005 (faculty – focus group leader).
  • “Vehicle Structural Defects,” Attorneys’ Information Exchange Group “Nuts and Bolts” Seminar, Denver, Colorado, August 24, 2005.
  • “What a Focus Group Can and Cannot Tell You,” ATLA Teleseminar on Focus Groups:  How Can They Help Your Practice, August 12, 2005. 
  • “ATLA’s Case Plus – The Next Step in Developing and Testing Your Trial Story,”  New Orleans, Louisiana, December 1-4, 2004 (faculty – focus group leader).
  • “Small World – Internationalization Creates Opportunities for Plaintiffs,” Attorneys’ Information Exchange Group Auto Focus 2004 Seminar, Santa Fe, New Mexico, October 27-30, 2004.
  • “Proving the Alternative Design with Computer Modeling,” Attorneys’ Information Exchange Group Spring Seminar 2004, Las Vegas, Nevada, March 24-27, 2004.
  • “Focus Groups For Any Budget,” Colorado Trial Lawyers Association 2003 Annual Convention, Vail, Colorado, August 7-10, 2003. 
  • “The Missing Evidence: Is There An Innocent Explanation?” Attorneys’ Information Exchange Group Rollover Symposium IV, Denver, Colorado, June 12-13, 2003. 
  • “The Glass Defect,” Attorneys’ Information Exchange Group Spring Seminar 2003, New Orleans, Louisiana, April 9-12, 2003.
  • “Psychology and Effective Trial Strategies – Using focus groups to overcome jury bias, develop trial themes and strategies and maximize your case potential,” Western Trial Lawyers Association, 2003 Annual Ski Seminar, Beaver Creek Colorado, March 9, 2003.
  • ATLA’s Case Workshop Program, National College of Advocacy, Atlanta, Georgia, February 27-March 2, 2003 (faculty – focus group training).
  • ATLA'sCase Workshop Program, National College of Advocacy, Phoenix, Arizona, April 18-21, 2002 (faculty – focus group training).
  • “The Hows and Whys of Focus Groups – Why conduct them, the various options, conducting them in-house and knowing when and how to use a consultant,” Colorado Trial Lawyers Association’s Using Focus Groups to Advance Trial Advocacy Seminar, March 15, 2002 (seminar chair and speaker). 
  • “Schafersman v. Agland Coop – Facing & Overcoming Daubert and its Progeny,”  Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys Annual Meeting and Fall Seminar, Lincoln, Nebraska, October 19, 2001.
  • ATLA’s Essentials of Civil Litigation, National College of Advocacy, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, May 20-25, 2001 (faculty).
  • “Facing and Overcoming Daubert, Kuhmo & Joiner (and also Weisgram),” The Inner Circle of Advocates Experts Seminar, Denver, Colorado, April 27, 2001. 
  • “Using Focus Groups to Address Juror Bias and Make Your Case Compelling,” New Mexico Trial Lawyers Association Annual Damages Seminar, Albuquerque, New Mexico,  December 8, 2000.
  • “Presenting the Complicated Case in an Understandable Manner,” South Dakota Trial Lawyers Association 2000 Fall Seminar, Spearfish, South Dakota, September 15, 2000. 
  • “Early Morning Ethics,” ATLA Annual Convention, Chicago, Illinois, August 1, 2000 (moderator).
  • ATLA's Case Workshop Program, National College of Advocacy, Atlanta, Georgia, April 13-16, 2000 (faculty – focus group training).
  • “Supplemental Juror Questionnaires – Building Upon and Using Pretrial Research to Improve Jury Selection,” presented at the ATLA Case Workshop Program, Atlanta, Georgia, April 13-16, 2000.
  • “Personal Injury Practice:  Spotting the Products Liability Claims in Your Case Files,” Continuing Legal Education/Colorado Bar Association, Denver, Colorado, December 11, 1999.
  • ATLA’s Case Workshop Program, National College of Advocacy, Dallas, Texas, September 23-26, 1999 (faculty – focus group training).
  • “The Use of a Manufacturer's Software for Alternative Design,” Attorneys' Information Exchange Group Spring Seminar 1999, Atlanta, Georgia, April 15-17, 1999.
  • “Ulmer v. Takata – Retractor Failure Skip-Lock Case,”  Attorneys' Information Exchange Group Spring Seminar 1999, Atlanta, Georgia, April 15-17, 1999.
  • “Recognizing A Crashworthiness Case,” Douglas & Elbert County Bar Associations, Castle Rock, Colorado, November 4, 1998.
  • "Effective Use of Demonstrative Evidence," Kansas Trial Lawyers Association Automobile & Personal Injury Seminar, Topeka, Kansas, May 15, 1998. 
  • “Locating, Requesting, and Using Electronic Data:  Discovery Rules, Obligations, and Strategies,” Continuing Legal Education/Colorado Bar Association Discovery of Electronic Information for Evidence Seminar, Denver, Colorado, June 26, 1997.
  • “The Minivan Liftgate Latch Litigation,” Attorneys’ Information Exchange Group Spring Seminar 1997, Atlanta, Georgia, May 8-10, 1997.
  • “Using the New Federal Rules to the Plaintiff's Advantage in Automobile Products Cases,” Attorneys’ Information Exchange Group Spring Seminar 1996, San Antonio, Texas, April 18-20, 1996.

Representative Matters

  • Counsel to an Indiana City sued by a large chemical company challenging a city ordinance restricting the emissions of toxic chemicals.  Lawsuit was successfully resolved.
  • Counsel to numerous consumers over the years who suffered catastrophic injuries due to defective seatbelt buckles coming unlatched during rollover accidents.
  • Counsel to a Colorado resident who suffered a potentially deadly infection from a contaminated alcohol wipe.    Filed one of the first lawsuits against H&P Industries, Inc. and Triad Group, Inc. arising out of their recall of contaminated alcohol prep pads and swabs.
  • Counsel to a New Mexico college professor who was rendered quadriplegic during a rollover by defects in his seatbelt and the roof structure of his vehicle.  Obtained a default judgment against the defendant automaker entered as a sanction after extensive discovery abuse by the manufacturer and numerous discovery evidentiary hearings.
  • Counsel to a family who lost a father and husband due to a defective electrical product.  After substantial discovery, the matter was settled for a confidential amount that would have been a record or close to a record verdict for the venue in question.
  • Co-trial counsel to a Colorado woman who suffered catastrophic injuries during a rollover due to seatbelt failure.  One of the first trials involving an automotive component maker as the Defendant resulted in a $17.5 million jury verdict.
  • Counsel to numerous consumers suffering catastrophic injuries during rollovers due to defects in the roof structure of their vehicles.
  • Counsel to numerous consumers suffering serious injuries due to structural defects in their vehicles.  Worked with engineers using dynamic modeling software to “redesign” the vehicles so as to demonstrate how modest alternative designs would have prevented the injuries.
  • Counsel to consumers suffering catastrophic injuries when their airbags failed to fire during frontal impacts.    

Awards and Honors

  • Colorado Super Lawyers:    Best Plaintiff Product Liability Lawyers -- 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2011
  • LawDragon:                        One of the 500 Leading Plaintiff Lawyers in  America -- 2007
    • Top 3000 Lawyers in America – 2011
  • Colorado Trial Lawyers Assoc.:           Best Trial Talk Article -- 2000

Professional Affiliations

  • Attorneys Information Exchange Group (Board Member)
  • American Association of Justice
  • Public Justice
  • Colorado Trial Lawyers Association

Education       

  • University of Chicago, J.D. 1988
    • Awarded a Tony Patino Fellowship 1985-1988
    • Winner, Hinton Moot Court Competition 1987
  • University of Notre Dame, B.A.      1985

Bar Admissions

  • Colorado State Bar 1993
  • Illinois State Bar 1988
  • U.S. District Court, District of Illinois 1988
  • U.S. District Court, District of Colorado 1993