Dennis Keene is an AV-rated Partner who represents corporations and individuals in tort-based litigation with an emphasis in product liability and trucking law.  His diverse client base ranges from international manufacturers and national motor carriers to regional carriers and local businesses.  Mr. Keene gained extensive trial experience as a judge advocate in the U.S. Army, and continues to use these trial skills as a civil practitioner, having litigated and tried a number of lawsuits in Georgia.

Mr. Keene is a member of the State Bars of Florida and Georgia and is admitted to practice in all Florida and Georgia state courts, the U.S. District Court for the Southern and Northern Districts of Georgia, as well as the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. He has also been admitted on a pro hac basis in a number of jurisdictions.

Mr. Keene is a member of the American Bar Association, where he serves as a Vice Chair on its Trial Techniques Committee; the American Law Firm Association's Product Liability Practice Group, where he serves as its Vice Chair; ALFA's Transportation Practice Group, where he serves on its steering committee; the Savannah Bar Association, where he serves on the bar grievance committee; and the Defense Research Institute, where he is a member of the Product Liability Committee. He is also an Attorney Coach for the State Bar of Georgia Mock Trial Competition, which recognized him as the 2011 Outstanding Attorney Coach for his region.

Mr. Keene received his B.A. in Economics, magna cum laude, from Syracuse University in 1990, and his J.D., cum laude, from the University of Miami School of Law in 1993. While at Syracuse, Mr. Keene was a member of the Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC). He was named the recipient of the General Meyer Leadership Award and, upon graduation, was deemed a Distinguished Military Graduate. He was also Phi Beta Kappa. At the University of Miami, Mr. Keene served as an Articles and Comments Editor for the school's Business Law Journal and co-chaired the Student Bar Association's Law-Related Education Program.

After law school, Mr. Keene completed the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps Officer Basic Course, where he made the Commandant’s List by graduating in the top twelve in his class. He served on active duty in the U.S. Army JAG Corps from 1993 to 1999, holding various legal positions, including government contract attorney, procurement fraud advisor, prosecutor, and criminal defense attorney. As a prosecutor and defense attorney, he served as lead counsel in more than seventy-five courts-martial.

Mr. Keene is married and has two school-aged children. He is a parishioner at St. James Catholic Church in Savannah and he is a fourth degree member of the Knights of Columbus. Mr. Keene serves on the board of the Rape Crisis Center of the Coastal Empire and is a member of the National and Savannah chapters of the Harley Owner's Group (H.O.G.). He his very active in his children's school, Savannah Country Day School, where he has served as an attorney coach for the mock trial team for eleven years, chaired the school's Annual Fund campaign and served a term on the Board of Trustees. In addition, Mr. Keene formerly served as the Chair of the Budget and Finance Committee of the Military Order of World Wars.

• Representative Engagements

  • Trickett v. Advanced Neuromodulation Systems, Inc., Represented medical device manufacturer in product liability lawsuit stemming from alleged defective spinal cord stimulator.
  • Pitts v. Fisher-Price, Inc., Represented toy manufacturer in product liability lawsuit resulting in ultimate dismissal with prejudice in favor of client.
  • Smith v. Caterpillar, Inc., Plaintiff dismissed lawsuit on eve of summary judgment hearing in this product liability lawsuit alleging excessive carbon monoxide exposure.
  • Jenkins v. Caterpillar, Inc.,  Plaintiff alleged design defects in state-of-the-art cut-to-length logging equipment.  Court granted summary judgment to manufacturer client on all warranty, contract and products claims relating to the sale and use of farm equipment of more than $1,000,000.
  • Bomfim v. Bombardier Recreational Products Inc. (BRP), Represented personal watercraft manufacturer in jury trial with favorable verdict.
  • Taylor v. BRP and Medley v. BRP, Represented personal watercraft manufacturer in product liability lawsuits stemming from alleged defective design.
  • Boekenheide v. Club Car, Inc., Represented golf car manufacturer in product liability lawsuit stemming from alleged defective design that caused multi-million dollar property loss claim.
  • Cuya v. Ashland, Inc., Obtained dismissal of manufacturer in product liability/wrongful death action.
  • Great Dane, L.P., Serve as a coordinating counsel for global trailer manufacturer's product liability litigation.
  • Myers v. Nutone, Inc., Plaintiff convinced to voluntarily dismiss cause of action against manufacturer client in this products liability lawsuit after significant investigation into cause of fire that led to Plaintiff’s injuries.
  • Seymour v. Penske Truck Leasing, LP, Court granted truck leasing company client's summary judgment motion based on federal preemption argument pursuant to the Graves Amendment, 49 U.S.C. s. 30106.
  • Hudd Distribution Services, Inc./Maersk Distribution Services, Inc., Represent carriers in numerous personal/catastrophic injury cases.
  • Bridge Terminal Transport, Inc., Represent carriers in numerous personal/catastrophic injury cases.
  • Strickland v. Sysco Corp., Represent trucking company in death case.
  • Bays v. Prudential Residential Svcs. & Repcik v. Prudential Residential Svcs., Court granted Summary Judgment as to the Defendant in each of these cases brought by homeowners against sellers of homes containing synthetic stucco siding (EIFS). 
  • Kicklighter v. First Citizens Bank, Represented bank in fraud lawsuit stemming from the cashing of CDs.  Summary judgment granted on all counts.  Court of Appeals affirmed the summary judgment.
  • Glass-Cam v. SunTrust Bank, et. al., Court granted Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment based on the ratification of Plaintiff’s agents’ conduct. The Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed the summary judgment.

• Publications

  • The Risks & Benefits of Offering Optional Safety Devices
  • Logo Liability: A Truckload of Trouble
  • The Benefit of the Independent Creation Rule
  • Products Liability Perspectives, Co-Editor-in-Chief
  • Products Liability Perspectives, Co-Editor-in-Chief
  • Products Liability Perspectives, Co-Editor-in-Chief
  • Products Liability Perspectives, Co-Editor-in-Chief
  • Co-Editor, ALFA International "Product Liability Perspectives"
  • Truck Accident Litigation
  • Products Liability Perspectives, Co-Editor-in-Chief
  • Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Re-Adopts Controversial HOS Rule
  • Product Claims for Defective Class III Medical Devices: A Thing of the Past, or Stronger Than Ever?
  • Fire Investigations & Litigation
  • Know Your Obligations for Post-Sale Product Safety
  
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• Professional Affiliations and Awards

  • American Bar Association: TIPS, Vice Chair of Trial Techniques Committee
  • ALFA International: Vice Chair, Product Liability Practice Group; Member, Transportation Practice Group Steering Committee; Chair, 2010 International Client Seminar, Palm Springs, CA.
  • Best Lawyers in America: Product Liability Litigation, 2010, 2011, 2012
  • Who's Who in American Lawyers: 2005-2011
  • Outstanding Attorney Coach Award:  2011, State Bar of Georgia Mock Trial Program
  • Defense Research Institute (DRI): Member, Product Liability Committee
  • Georgia Motor Trucking Association: Associate Member
  • Savannah Bar Association: Member, Bar Grievance Committee; 2006 - present
  • U.S. Army: Judge Advocate General's Corps: 1993 - 1999