Biography | Anthony M. Goldner

Respecting his clients’ business realities and objectives, Anthony Goldner takes a proactive approach to resolving litigation with maximum cost effectiveness. With a primary focus on defending product liability, toxic tort and general liability matters, Anthony has handled – and successfully disposed of – numerous claims against clients in the manufacturing, medical products, construction, trucking and transportation industries. He also has a strong background in obstetric medical malpractice and other types of medical malpractice cases both in his current practice and his prior work at plaintiffs’ firms.

As the lead attorney in the Chicago office’s toxic tort practice, Anthony has supervised thousands of asbestos, mold, benzene, carbon monoxide and welding rod cases and continues to represent clients in these matters. He has a growing practice in construction and premises liability and currently supervises the Chicago office's defense of a prominent Illinois road construction company in personal injury and property damage claims. Anthony also represents a number of clients in commercial disputes over vendor contracts and other types of business agreements.

Areas of Focus

Toxic Tort
Anthony is responsible for supervising the day-to-day management of the Chicago office’s toxic tort defense practice, which has handled thousands of asbestos, mold, benzene, carbon monoxide and welding rod cases during the past several years. In 2015, Anthony obtained a defense verdict after a month-long trial on behalf of a residential property brokerage alleged to have fraudulently and negligently sold a nearly million-dollar home infested with “toxic” mold. He previously successfully defended a multimillion-dollar mold personal injury case brought by several employees of a prominent Chicago law firm against a premises owner and landlord. Anthony has obtained summary judgment and dismissal of thousands of asbestos cases in Cook and Madison counties in Illinois on behalf of the firm’s appliance, heavy equipment, recreational products, automotive, motorcycle, trucking, general contractor and shipbuilder clients.

Anthony is the author or co-author of several articles and alerts concerning significant developments in Illinois case law that affected asbestos litigation, and has been quoted in legal journals regarding such developments. In addition, he has spoken on emerging issues in asbestos litigation to insurers, insureds and outside counsel. Anthony is the treasurer of FETTI (-Forum for Environmental and Toxic Tort Issues), an organization composed of professionals from insurance, industry and law firms; he also helps to organize and run FETTI’s annual conference.

Product Liability
In the product liability area, Anthony defends U.S., Japanese, Korean and German manufacturers of industrial machinery, medical devices and pharmaceuticals, and construction, aviation and recreational equipment, among other products.

Anthony’s medical products experience includes the defense of manufacturers of spinal hardware, implants, grafts, wheelchairs and syringes, as well as manufacturers of brand and generic pharmaceuticals, in single-plaintiff and mass tort litigation in state and federal courts. In addition, he has tried numerous medical malpractice cases as lead or co-counsel in Illinois and Wisconsin courts.

General Liability
Anthony has extensive experience representing clients in the construction, trucking and transportation industries in general and premises liability cases involving personal injury and wrongful death claims. Throughout his career, Anthony has defended general contractors, project managers and premises owners in construction personal injury claims and has vast experience with a large body of Illinois case law in the construction and premises liability areas.

In the transportation area, Anthony has experience with wrongful death lawsuits arising from rail crossing incidents, including claims brought against national and local passenger rail services as well as municipalities that had oversight of crossing signals or the design of railroad intersections. In addition, Anthony has represented aircraft companies and their subsidiaries in wrongful death product liability cases arising from aviation crashes, and has represented a flight services business in cargo loss and personal injury cases involving accidents at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.

Education

University of Chicago (Ph.D., 2002)
Chicago-Kent College of Law (J.D., 1994)
University of Chicago (M.A., 1986)
University of Wisconsin–Madison (B.A., 1984)

Bar Admissions

Illinois

Court Admissions

U.S. District Court, Central District of Illinois
U.S. District Court, Southern District of Illinois
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin
U.S. District Court, Western District of Wisconsin

Professional Affiliations

Illinois State Bar Association
Forum for Environmental and Toxic Tort Issues

Anthony M. Goldner

Mebuke and Goldner Win Summary Judgment in Cook County Bus Collision Case

Keti Mebuke (Associate-Chicago) and Anthony Goldner (Partner-Chicago) obtained summary judgment in the Circuit Court of Cook County, IL, on behalf of Wilson Elser’s bus company client and its driver. This case arose from a collision between two buses in which the plaintiff was a passenger on our client’s bus at the time of the accident. During the plaintiff’s deposition, she admitted that she did not believe our driver did anything wrong to cause the accident. She later acknowledged that she did not know precisely how the collision occurred.

Relying on these admissions and the absence of other supporting evidence, Keti and Anthony moved for summary judgment, arguing that the plaintiff could not establish either a breach of duty or proximate cause attributable to our driver. In opposition, the plaintiff contended that video footage of the incident allegedly showed our client’s bus “angled out” of its lane, thereby creating a question of fact regarding negligence. The court rejected the plaintiff’s argument and agreed with Wilson Elser’s position. Citing First District authority referenced in our motion, the court held that even if the bus appeared slightly “angled out” of its lane, that fact alone was insufficient to create a triable issue of fact. Based on the lack of evidence supporting negligence or causation, the court granted Keti and Anthony’s motion for summary judgment and dismissed the claims against our clients.

Anthony M. Goldner and Keti Mebuke

Goldner & Prochaska Obtain “Not Guilty” Verdict on Behalf of Uninsured Landlord in Mold Personal Injury Case

Chicago partners Anthony Goldner and Charles Prochaska IV obtained a not guilty verdict following a two-week bench trial in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, on behalf of an uninsured landlord in a mold personal injury case brought by a 47-year-old foreclosure and bankruptcy defense attorney. The complaint, originally filed in 2021 was voluntarily dismissed by the plaintiff prior to the original trial date, was refiled in 2025. The plaintiff alleged there had been at least six leaks lasting up to an hour each time from the ceiling vent in his bathroom, which were not promptly addressed. The plaintiff retained two air quality experts who found minimal to moderate amounts of mold in his apartment, but he complained of chronic headaches, insomnia, cognitive deficiencies, and inflammation in all areas of his body that continue to the present day with little improvement. The claims were supported by several treating physicians who testified that the exposures to mold led to the development of chronic inflammatory response syndrome (CIRS), a permanent condition that could lead to a lower life expectancy. Plaintiff further alleged that the CIRS significantly reduced his income as a practicing attorney and his retained economist expert forecast a past and future loss of income up to $5 million. With a demand of $3.75 million to settle, talks at a mediation and before the first trial date were not successful. At trial, Anthony and Chuck mounted a full defense and lengthy cross-examination of the plaintiff that successfully challenged the plaintiff’s claims. The court distinguished the relative paucity of expertise of the plaintiff’s air quality inspectors and treating physicians with the industrial hygiene and medical experts retained by the defense. The fundamental weakness of the plaintiff’s medical causation case was fatal to his case.

Anthony M. Goldner and Charles J. Prochaska IV