Jason M. Casini

Jay serves as national counsel on product liability cases for a major sporting goods retailer and has represented a wide variety of product manufacturers and retailers, including cases involving motor vehicles and accessories, sporting goods and outdoor products, manufacturing and processing equipment, industrial safety equipment and lawn and garden equipment.

He frequently represents clients in high stakes commercial litigation, including cases involving shareholder actions, partnership disputes, insurance coverage, non-compete agreements and misappropriation of trade secrets. In 2017, Jay won a major victory on appeal for a pharmacy benefit manager, in a declaratory judgment action to prohibit class action arbitration. See Catamaran Corp. v. Towncrest Pharmacy, 864 F.3d 966 (8th Cir. 2017).

Jay provides clients with valuable insight on minimizing their litigation exposure, through proactive approaches to safety issues, risk management strategies and early case evaluation.

Whether he is representing major corporations or small business owners, physicians or farmers, Jay is committed to providing his clients with exceptional legal services.

In addition to his civil and commercial litigation practice, Jay serves as Special Counsel to the Animal Rescue League of Iowa, Inc., representing the organization in a variety of matters such as animal abuse and neglect litigation.

Industries Served

• Sporting Goods and Outdoor Products
• Manufacturing and Processing Equipment
• Consumer and Commercial Products
• Health

Notable Work

• National Counsel for Major Sporting Goods Retailer
• Iowa Defense Counsel Association, Product Liability and Commercial Litigation (Co-Chair, 2005-2016)
• Benkovich v. Gorilla Inc. and Cabela’s Inc., 2017 WL 4004452 (D. N.J. 2017)
• Catamaran Corp. v. Towncrest Pharmacy, 864 F.3d 966 (8th Cir. 2017)
• Pharmaceutical Care Mgt. Assoc. v. Gerhart, 852 F.3d 722 (8th Cir. 2016) (co-counsel) 
• In Re Natural Pork Prod. II, LLP, 2015 WL 1282141 (U.S. Bank., S.D. Iowa 2015) 

Contact Jason today or call 515-288-6041 for more information.

Honors & Recognitions

• Selected for inclusion in the Best Lawyers in America as a top-ranked attorney in Product Liability Litigation-Defendants and Litigation-Insurance (2015—2025)
• Selected for inclusion in the Great Plains Super Lawyers in the area of Business Litigation (2017—2024); Employment Litigation: Defense (2016)

Cases Presentations & Publications

Published Cases

• Benkovich v. Gorilla Inc. and Cabela’s Inc., 2017 WL 4004452 (D. N.J. 2017)
• Catamaran Corp. v. Towncrest Pharmacy, 864 F.3d 966 (8th Cir. 2017)
• Pharmaceutical Care Mgt. Assoc. v. Gerhart, 852 F.3d 722 (8th Cir. 2016) (co-counsel) 
• In Re Natural Pork Prod. II, LLP, 2015 WL 1282141 (U.S. Bank., S.D. Iowa 2015) 
• Johnson v. Harley Davidson Motor Co., et al, 2004 Iowa App. LEXIS 344; CCH Prod. Liab. Rep. P 16,922 (Iowa App. 2004)
• Rubes v. Mega Life & Health Ins. Co., 642 N.W.2d 263 (Iowa 2002)
• Innovative Therapeutics v. Taylor, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12778 (S.D. Iowa 2002)
• Kerndt v. Rolling Hills Nat’l Bank, 558 N.W.2d 410 (Iowa 1997)

Selected Publications, Presentations and Teaching Appointments

• Co-Moderator, "I Wish the Real World Would Just Stop Hassling Me—Dealing with Regulators," ALFA International Products Liability and Complex Torts Seminar, Stowe, Vermont, September 2024 
• Co-Presenter, "Complex Commercial Litigation," Iowa Defense Counsel Association 51st Annual Meeting and Seminar, September 2015
• Co-Presenter, “Current Trends in Product Liability Law, Association of Corporate Counsel, Iowa Chapter, Third Annual Corporate Counsel Program, University of Iowa College of Law, October, 9, 2009
• Author (with Matthew D. Jacobson), “Product Liability Law in Iowa in the Post-Wright Era”, Defense Update, Summer 2009
• Co-presenter, “Common Misconceptions in Human Resources in Iowa,” Lorman Education Services, Des Moines, Iowa, March 7, 2006
• Author, “Trade Secrets: Keeping Your Business Your Business,” Iowa Employment Law Letter, November 2004
• Author (with Kevin M. Reynolds), “Confronting the ‘Heeding Presumption’ in Failure to Warn Cases,”For the Defense, Product Liability Issue, 1995