Cooper Ellenberg
Cooper Ellenberg is a civil litigator and trial lawyer who has been successfully prosecuting civil matters across multiple jurisdictions for over 10 years. He has substantial experience litigating complex, catastrophic injury and wrongful death claims resulting from commercial motor vehicle, motor carrier, and transportation-system logistics operations. Cooper is concerned with protecting the rights of individuals, and has specialized in matters concerning public safety, regulatory compliance, and insurance coverage under state and federal law, including the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Regulations. He is considerably experienced in matters involving forensic data analysis from auto, hardware, software, and mobile systems. Cooper earned his Juris Doctor at the University of Alabama School of Law where he was an academic scholarship recipient, and an articles editor of the Law and Psychology Review. Cooper’s free time is spent with his wife and three boys, and he is often coaching his children’s sports teams.
Education and Experience
Bar Admissions and Professional Associations
Publications and Press
Other Notable Cases
Education and Experience
Education
- J.D., 2010, University of Alabama School of Law
- B.A., 2005, Clemson University
Bar Admissions and Professional Associations
Admissions
- Alabama State Bar Association, 2010
- Mississippi State Bar Association, 2014
- NY (in process)
- NACA
- NCLC
Publications and Press
Professional Associations (need to verify which are still current)
- Lie Detection: A changing of the guard in the quest for truth in court, 33 LAW & PSYCHOL. REV. 139 (2009)
- Ethics in Auto Injury Litigation, AUTO INJURY LITIGATION: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE – SEMINAR, National Business Institute, Continuing Legal Education (December 2019)
- Truck Accident Witness Strategies for the Plaintiff and Defense, National Business Institute, Continuing Legal Education (November 2017)
- Who is at Fault? Applying Theories of Liability in Insurance Coverage Litigation, National Business Institute, Continuing Legal Education (November 2017)
- Reincarnated / Chameleon Carriers, Emerging Issues in Non-Compliance, Mississippi College of Law, Continuing Legal Education (July 2017)
- Ethical Considerations, TRUCK ACCIDENT LITIGATION FROM START TO FINISH, National Business Institute, Continuing Legal Education (December 2015)
- Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Insurance Coverage – Advanced Issues, AUTO INJURIES: ADVANCED PLAINTIFF STRATEGIES, National Business Institute, Continuing Legal Education (April 2015)
Other Notable Cases
- Cameron v. Werner Enterprises, Inc., 2:13-cv-00243 (2015) Defeated summary judgment in a contested liability case involving the collision of two tractor-trailers, in part, through qualification of commercial vehicle mechanic as an expert to offer forensic explanation for non-impact of alleged defective condition of the Plaintiff’s vehicle.
- Clay-Brown v. City of Decatur, 12-cv-03988 (N.D. Ala. 2013) The plaintiff, shocked several times by a police taser, survived defendants’ motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim. Defendants argued that tasers, in the context of excessive force by the police, are not legally recognized as deadly and dangerous weapons. Plaintiff successfully argued that use of tasers should not be categorically regarded as non-deadly force where the risk to certain individuals may rise to such a level.
- Settlement: Recovered in excess of 15 million dollars for a young woman who received a traumatic brain injury as a result of a contested-liability wreck with a commercial motor vehicle operating on behalf of one of the country’s largest motor carriers.
- Settlement: Recovered in excess of 4 million dollars for several occupants of a passenger vehicle struck in the side by a bobtail tractor-trailer between shipments for one of the largest logistics companies in the country.
- Settlement: Recovered the insurance policy limit of 2 million dollars for the wrongful death of a bicyclist alleged to have crossed the “fog line” into traffic before being struck by a major food retailer’s box truck. Forensic reconstruction revealed, as plaintiff anticipated, that the bicyclist was likely safely positioned on the shoulder of the highway.