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CHRISTIAN D. AMBLER
Email: cambler@stonejohnsonlaw.com

ADMISSIONS
Illinois Supreme Court
United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois
United States District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin
United States District Court, Northern District of Alabama
Pro hac vice admissions to practice in the courts of numerous states

EDUCATION
 Ohio Wesleyan University (B.A., 1992); DePaul University College of Law (J.D., 1995); Recipient, American Jurisprudence Award in Legal Writing.
BACKGROUND
 DePaul Law Review, Managing Editor of Lead Articles, 1994-1995. Law Clerk to the Honorable Robert C. Buckley, 1995-1997.
MEMBER
Chicago and American Bar Associations.
PRACTICE AREAS
Member of Environmental Insurance Litigation Group (see group’s Significant Coverage Results); Complex Insurance Coverage Litigation; Construction Litigation; Advertising Injury; Professional Errors & Omissions Liability coverage and defense; Appellate Practice

RECENT LITIGATION VICTORIES
Construction Defect Verdict in Case of Admitted Liability Less than 10% Plaintiffs’ Final Demand
Christian Ambler recently tried a construction defect case in St. Joseph County, Indiana. The plaintiffs’ house was constructed with the furnace and the fireplace venting into the attic and the chimney chase, rather than outside the house. Liability could not be disputed, and the case was tried on damages. The plaintiffs, a family of four, lived in the house for four and a half years before the defect was discovered, along with significant mold growth caused by moisture condensation from the furnace flue. The plaintiffs claimed substantial economic losses, as well as medical, psychological and wage loss damages resulting from their alleged exposure to mold and carbon monoxide. The plaintiffs’ initial demand of $4.9 million was reduced before trial to $1.5 million after the exclusion of one of their five expert witnesses. After a 7-day trial, the jury awarded nothing to the mother or the two children, and $135,000 to the father. The verdict represents a significant victory for the firm’s client and its insurers, since liability and certain damages had to be admitted.

Summary Judgment on all Counts in Fatal Products Liability Toxic Tort Case
Christian Ambler recently obtained summary judgment on all counts in a products liability case in which the plaintiff’s husband allegedly died as a result of exposure to benzene in petroleum products distributed by the firm’s client. The plaintiff asserted claims of strict products liability and negligent failure to warn. The court first found that the firm’s client had sufficiently identified the manufacturers of the products it distributed, thereby entitling it to summary judgment on the strict liability counts under Illinois’ “pass-through” statute. In a separate ruling, the court also found that the firm’s client had no duty under which the plaintiff could recover on the negligence count.

Coverage Attorney Prevails in Declaratory Judgment Action on Advertising Injury Claim
Christian Ambler successfully obtained summary judgment for an insurer in a declaratory judgment action regarding an underlying claim seeking over $8 million. The underlying claim alleged that the insured misappropriated intellectual property and misused marketing material belonging to the claimant. The insured tendered the claim to its carrier under the advertising injury coverage of its general liability policy. Christian filed a declaratory judgment action on behalf of the insurer, and ultimately prevailed on cross-motions for summary judgment. The court awarded summary judgment to the insurer, finding that coverage was precluded under the Knowing Violation and Knowledge of Falsity exclusions to the advertising injury coverage. This decision was successfully protected and affirmed upon further challenge by the insured.