E-mail:
hm@psh.com
(tel) 401-861-8277 (fax) 401-861-8210
Mr. Merten represents businesses, financial services institutions and individuals in complex civil litigation. His practice focuses on commercial litigation products liability, insurance, media, and intellectual property matters. Mr. Merten‘s achievements have earned him recognition in The Best Lawyers in America since 1997, in the Media Law and Commercial Litigation Categories, as well as Super Lawyers and Chambers USA, both in commercial litigation.
REPRESENTATIVE CASES
- Obtained judgment as a matter of law for a chemical manufacturer sued for allegedly supplying contaminated chemicals which plaintiff claimed destroyed one of its jewelry manufacturing businesses
- Successfully defended a national financing company against class actions alleging violations of the Truth-in-Lending Act
- Successfully defended the manufacturer of a gas detector against claims that its equipment failed to detect the presence of gas which exploded, severely injuring plaintiffs
- Obtained a multimillion dollar judgment against, and helped federal authorities convict, a group of conspirators who diverted millions of premium dollars collected from independent truckers
- Obtained a judgment declaring that the Rhode Island campaign finance statutes respecting referenda were unconstitutional
- Proved that a garage had sent inflated repair bills to an auto rental fleet over the course of several years, at times billing for “repairs” to parts which did not exist in certain makes and models
- Convinced a federal district court to withdraw an order against a local newspaper because it was an unconstitutional prior restraint
- Successfully represented a minority shareholder in fraud, deceit and breach of fiduciary duty claims against a majority shareholder
- Obtained judgment for a manufacturer of an anti-diarrhea drug that allegedly caused plaintiff’s intestinal diverticulae to rupture
- Successfully defended the decision of a national insurer to deny coverage to the victim of a serious stabbing incident
- Acted as liaison for the Media Committee formed by the Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court in Rhode Island during a high profile criminal trial
EDUCATION
Boston University School of Law, J.D.
magna cum laude, 1984
Princeton University, B.A.
cum laude, 1981
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel
Products Liability, Business Torts and
Commercial Litigation, and Insurance
Coverage Sections
Defense Counsel of Rhode Island
Board of Directors, President-Elect
Litigation Counsel of America
Fellow
Lawyers for Civil Justice
Defense Research Institute
Product Liability, Insurance Law and
Commercial Litigation Committees
Rhode Island Bar Association
Rhode Island Federal Bench Bar Committee
American Bar Association
Litigation Section
Maritime Law Association
Media Law Resource Center
REPRESENTATIVE PUBLICATIONS:
Coauthor: "Protecting Confidentiality in Communication with Excess Carriers," FDCC Quarterly, (Spring 2006)
Coauthor: “Aftermarket Aftershock: Assessing Kodak’s Effect on Business Planning for Parts and Service,” Preventive Law Journal (Spring 1996);
Contributor: “An Overview of Vertical Restraints,” 27th and 25th Annual New England Antitrust Conference, Course Publication (1993 and 1991);
Contributor: “Horizontal Restrains and Collaboration Among Competitors,” 24th, 23d and 22d Annual New England Antitrust Conference, Course Publication (1990, 1989, 1988).
Contributor: case notes to “Covered Events” for D.R.I.
Contributor: “Media Law Letter” for the MLRC.
COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES
Rhode Island Zoological Society
Board of Directors
BAR MEMBERSHIPS
Rhode Island, 1984
Massachusetts, 2006
U.S. District Court, Rhode Island, 1985
U.S. Court of Appeals, 1st Circuit, 1991
