Courtney Shytle defends product manufacturers in high-stakes product liability, mass tort, class action and regulatory matters, with a particular focus on automotive, medical device, motorcycle, ATV and industrial equipment litigation. National manufacturers turn to Courtney not only to defend individual catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases, but also to help coordinate consistent, enterprise-wide strategies when product issues generate litigation on multiple fronts.
Courtney’s practice is distinguished by her ability to understand a client’s products, business, technical record, company witnesses and litigation objectives across cases. She works closely with manufacturers to develop the company story, prepare corporate and expert witnesses, manage complex discovery and align litigation strategy with broader business, regulatory and reputational considerations. Her approach is especially valuable in pattern and mass tort litigation, where positions taken in a single case can affect personal injury actions, wrongful death claims, economic class actions, regulatory proceedings, government investigations, recall issues and future litigation.
Courtney has extensive experience defending automotive manufacturers in high-exposure product liability matters involving airbags, restraint systems, motorcycles, ATVs, forklifts and other vehicles and mobility products. She also represents medical device manufacturers in complex personal injury and wrongful death litigation, including matters involving technical product performance, warnings, regulatory history, adverse event evidence, recall issues and expert-driven causation disputes.
In mass tort and pattern litigation, Courtney advises clients on coordinated response strategies across personal injury and wrongful death litigation, economic class actions, regulatory inquiries and government investigations involving agencies such as NHTSA, CPSC, FDA, the Department of Justice and state attorneys general. She has also counseled manufacturers on recall-related issues and the litigation risks that follow from field actions, regulatory communications and public-facing product narratives.
Courtney is an architect of the Takata Airbag Injury Trust and serves on the Takata Trust OEM Advisory Committee, where she provides counsel to manufacturers affected by Takata airbag litigation. Her Takata work reflects the breadth of her practice: coordinating litigation strategy across personal injury and wrongful death claims, bankruptcy trust issues, manufacturer interests, regulatory considerations, expert development and recurring technical and corporate-witness themes.
Courtney has defended clients in federal and state courts throughout the United States at both the trial and appellate levels. She manages all phases of litigation, including early case assessment, fact development, company witness preparation, expert strategy, discovery, motion practice, mediation, trial preparation and appeal. Clients value her ability to see both the individual case and the broader product liability litigation landscape, helping them resolve cases efficiently and trying them when necessary.
Before entering private practice, Courtney served as a law clerk to the Honorable Karen J. Williams, Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and as a staff attorney for the South Carolina Court of Appeals.