Timothy S. Groustra

Representative Matters

• Defended a robotics integrator in a wrongful death product liability trial in which a maintenance technician was killed when a material handling robot activated to place a trailer hitch assembly in a fixture in order to be welded. A favorable resolution was obtained after five days of the jury trial in Federal Court in October of 2021. The matter had received national media attention as the “rogue robot” story. An additional two days of trial were required to defend a cross-claim for contractual indemnity, in which the purchaser of the automated robotic welding line sought over $1.5 million in damages, before that claim was amicably resolved on the eve of closing arguments.
• Serves as transportation counsel for local trucking companies
• Tanker truck explosion fatal rapid response assignment; the accident closed I-75 in metro Detroit for four days, requiring partial repavement, and was the subject of national media attention
• 193 vehicle pile-up rapid response assignment which closed both directions of I-94 near Kalamazoo, Michigan, for three days; Mr. Groustra’s client was involved with the sole fatality, prompting regular reports direct to the trucking company’s Board of Directors; a fire broke out as a result of the impacts, causing a container of fireworks to ignite, adding to the national media interest
• Defended a $2 million PIP/workers’ compensation subrogation claim which received national media attention and resulted in an amendment to Michigan’s no-fault act
• Defended a fire suppression company in a $15 million fire property loss claim
• Responded to five rapid response assignments within two months at the end of 2016, all of which were either multiple vehicle or multiple fatal incidents, or both
• Represented a witness, a “John Doe” defendant, in a $6 billion claim against several large hedge funds for allegedly conspiring to devalue a company’s stock in order to benefit from short selling positions
• Represented the third largest city in Michigan in multiple lawsuits involving the insurance coverages provided and retrospectively rated premiums charged
• Prosecuted a fraud and breach of contract matter against the former director of European operations for an auto manufacturer, which also required the deposition of the Chief Financial Officer of one of the largest private equity firms, and caused a United Kingdom court to issue a “world-wide freezing order” of assets

Speaking Engagements

• “Transportation Insurance Claims — From the ISO form, to the Motor Carrier, to the Claims Handling” (Moderator), Transportation Lawyers Association Chicago Regional, 1/18/2024
• “Yellow Trucking Bankruptcy — What Does It Mean for the U.S. Economy?” (Speaker), Transportation Law Podcast, The DMC Report Podcast Series, 8/25/2023
• “Truck Safety and Driving for Growth” (Speaker), Transportation Law Podcast, The DMC Report Podcast Series, 10/24/2022
• “Michigan Trucking Law Update” (Speaker), The Gap Podcast featuring Shaun E. Carr, Logistics Insurance Advisory, 8/23/2022
• “Transportation Attorney Addresses Supply Chain Issues Facing Trucking Industry” (Speaker), Transportation Law Podcast, The DMC Report Podcast Series, 3/9/2022
• “Developing a Crisis Management Plan” (Co-Presenter with Doug Childs of Corrigan Oil and Eric Kreiger of HNI Insurance), BP Annual Conference, Feb. 2016
• “Federal Regulations, Negligent Entrustment/ Hiring Theories, and Piercing/ Alter Ego Theory – The Perfect Storm” (Presenter), Transportation Lawyers Association Annual Conference, May 2014
• “The Evolving Issue of Social Media: How Technology Can Help You to Read Between the Lines – Or Not” (Panelist), TIDA Advanced Seminar, Jan. 2014
• “Cyber Reality in 2014 and Beyond (Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid)” (Co-Panelist with John Merchant, Lead Cyber Specialist for AIG in North America, and Bill Hardin of Navigant Consulting), Transportation Lawyers Association Chicago Regional Conference, Jan. 2014
• “Best Practices for Post-Accident Response Teams and Discussion of In-House Counsel Management of Legal Pitfalls Associated with a Large Loss” (Co-Presenter with Rod Fracassi of Con-way, Inc.; Dorothy Capers of U.S. Foods; and Sandra Hiller of Dart Transit Company), Transportation Lawyers Association Chicago Regional Conference, Jan. 2013

Publications

• “Motor City litigator weighs in on big rig driving technologies,” VehicleServicePros.com, April 2021
• “Michigan’s Massive No-Fault Reform:  What It Means for Commercial Fleets Domiciled Both In and Outside of the State” (Author), The Transportation Lawyer, Feb. 2020
• “The Electronic On-Board Recorder Mandate for Tractor-Trailers and Its Potential Impact on Safety, Claims Handling, and Underwriting” (Co-Author with Jim Rodi, Vice President, Mobile Communications Group of Rand McNally, and Kaitlin Brown), Michigan Defense Quarterly, Oct. 2013
• “The EOBR Mandate and Its Potential Impact on Safety, Claims Handling and Underwriting” (Co-Author with Jim Rodi, Vice President, Mobile Communications Group of Rand McNally, and Kaitlin Brown), The Transportation Lawyer, July 2013
• “Is Natural Gas the Future for Your Fleet? What Fracking and Shale Formations May Mean for the Trucking Industry” (Author), The Transportation Lawyer, Feb. 2014
• “Can Data Analytics Make a Zero Claim Goal a Reality?” (Co-Author with Shimon Kahan and Deborah Metzger-Mulvey), Michigan Defense Quarterly, Vol. 31, No. 3, Jan. 2015
• “Michigan No-Fault Made Easy“ (Co-Author with Albert B. Addis), 1996

Admissions and Licenses

• Arkansas Bar Admission
• Michigan Bar Admission
• United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
• United States District Court for Eastern District of Arkansas
• United States District Court for Eastern District of Michigan
• United States District Court for Western District of Arkansas
• United States District Court for Western District of Michigan

Memberships

• Arkansas Bar Association
• Claims and Litigation Management (CLM) Alliance
• Defense Research Institute
• International Association of Defense Counsel
• Michigan Trucking Association
• Transportation Club of Detroit (President 2023; Executive Board 2018–2023)
• Transportation Lawyers Association
• Trucking Industry Defense Association

Community

• Clark University Alumni Admissions Recruiter (2001–2015)
• Grosse Pointe Youth Nautical Education Foundation (Committee Member 2008–2021)
• The One Hundred Club of Detroit
• Transportation Club of Detroit Scholarship Committee

Education

• University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, J.D. (1993); International Law Journal (Editor)
• Clark University, B.A. (1990), History and Spanish (double major)