Patrick Cloud
Heyl Royster
Defense

As with many 40 Under Forty recipients, the depth and complexity of the litigation that Heyl Royster partner Patrick Cloud has handled belies his age.

In the firm’s Edwardsville office, where Cloud practices (and where the bulk of the defense work involves asbestos litigation), Cloud takes the lead on many asbestos cases involving large manufacturing clients. In addition, Cloud chairs the firm’s Insurance Coverage and Class Action/Mass Tort Practices, which are composed of teams of attorneys from the firm’s six offices around the state of Illinois.

In asbestos-related products liability and premises liability actions, Cloud has formulated litigation and discovery strategies, supervised day-to-day litigation activities, and deposed numerous plaintiffs, fact witnesses, and experts. He has also prepared and successfully argued briefs, summary judgment motions and forum non conveniens motions.

No stranger to insurance coverage cases, Cloud has prevailed on several through summary judgment. He has also successfully defended breach of contract, bad faith, and Section 155 actions. Cloud has also written extensively on insurance coverage matters for the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education and for publications of the Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel.

Seasoned attorneys recognize Cloud’s aptitude

As with many 40 Under Forty recipients, the depth and complexity of the litigation that Heyl Royster partner PATRICK CLOUD has handled belies his age. In the firm’s Edwardsville office, where Cloud practices (and where the bulk of the defense work involves asbestos litigation), Cloud takes the lead on many asbestos cases involving large manufacturing clients. In addition, Cloud chairs the firm’s Insurance Coverage and Class Action/Mass Tort Practices, which are composed of teams of attorneys from the firm’s six offices around the state of Illinois.

In asbestos-related products liability and premises liability actions, Cloud has formulated litigation and discovery strategies, supervised day-to-day litigation activities, and deposed numerous plaintiffs, fact witnesses, and experts. He has also prepared and successfully argued briefs, summary judgment motions and forum non conveniens motions.

No stranger to insurance coverage cases, Cloud has prevailed on several through summary judgment. He has also successfully defended breach of contract, bad faith, and Section 155 actions. Cloud has also written extensively on insurance coverage matters for the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education and for publications of the Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel.

Seasoned attorneys recognize Cloud’s aptitude for the law. State Farm Vice President and Counsel, Robert “Barney” Shultz, Jr., met Cloud in 2002. At that time, Cloud was a summer associate at Heyl Royster and Shultz was the managing partner of the firm’s fast-growing Edwardsville office. Shultz describes Cloud as an “exceptionally smart and talented lawyer who has proved himself time-and-again as a ‘go to’ lawyer within the firm and with the firm’s clients.” Shultz recalled Cloud’s strong interest in insurance coverage and bad-faith matters. “We were often asked to enter a case on the eve of trial or on the eve of the dispositive motion deadline,” Shultz said. “Patrick consistently outsmarted and outworked the opponents, and always improved the clients’ positions, even under the direst circumstances.”

Shultz added that he turns to Cloud to represent State Farm in complex matters, like class actions. “As the person in charge of litigation for the Corporate Law Department of State Farm, I am very comfortable knowing that Patrick is on our defense team,” he said.

In the class action defense area, Cloud has prepared briefs at both the trial court and appellate court level. One of Cloud’s more significant cases resulted in affirmation of the dismissal of a class action claim brought pursuant to the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act regarding hospital pricing of services provided to uninsured patients.

Cloud, a graduate of the Washington University School of Law, has also handled product liability cases, auto and trucking cases, medical device cases, and construction accident cases. Shultz recalled a challenging product liability wrongful death case where the firm defended the manufacturer of a flammable substance. “Patrick took charge of the case late in the trial court proceedings,” Shultz said, “he developed the summary judgment strategy, drafted the arguments on why the Federal Hazardous Substances Act preempted the tort claims and why the Consumer Product Safety Act was inapplicable, and succeeded in obtaining summary judgment for our client, which was subsequently affirmed by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals.”

State Farm Vice President and Counsel, Robert “Barney” Shultz, Jr., met Cloud in 2002. At that time, Cloud was a summer associate at Heyl Royster and Shultz was the managing partner of the firm’s fast-growing Edwardsville office. Shultz describes Cloud as an “exceptionally smart and talented lawyer who has proved himself time-and-again as a ‘go to’ lawyer within the firm and with the firm’s clients.” Shultz recalled Cloud’s strong interest in insurance coverage and bad-faith matters. “We were often asked to enter a case on the eve of trial or on the eve of the dispositive motion deadline,” Shultz said. “Patrick consistently outsmarted and outworked the opponents, and always improved the clients’ positions, even under the direst circumstances.”

Shultz added that he turns to Cloud to represent State Farm in complex matters, like class actions. “As the person in charge of litigation for the Corporate Law Department of State Farm, I am very comfortable knowing that Patrick is on our defense team,” he said.

In the class action defense area, Cloud has prepared briefs at both the trial court and appellate court level. One of Cloud’s more significant cases resulted in affirmation of the dismissal of a class action claim brought pursuant to the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act regarding hospital pricing of services provided to uninsured patients.

Cloud, a graduate of the Washington University School of Law, has also handled product liability cases, auto and trucking cases, medical device cases, and construction accident cases. Shultz recalled a challenging product liability wrongful death case where the firm defended the manufacturer of a flammable substance. “Patrick took charge of the case late in the trial court proceedings,” Shultz said, “he developed the summary judgment strategy, drafted the arguments on why the Federal Hazardous Substances Act preempted the tort claims and why the Consumer Product Safety Act was inapplicable, and succeeded in obtaining summary judgment for our client, which was subsequently affirmed by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals.”