Mitchell D. Diles Associate

Save current page as PDF

Mitch’s practice focuses on defending clients in product liability, environmental, and mass tort litigation.

Before joining McGuireWoods, Mitch clerked for the Honorable Robert J. Humphreys of the Court of Appeals of Virginia.

During law school, Mitch served as a law clerk for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia and a judicial intern for the Honorable David J. Novak of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. He also served as a Burks Scholar, Kirgis Fellow, and the Symposium Editor of the Washington and Lee Law Review.

Experience

  • Served as wildfire counsel for electric utility companies, including assisting with development of comprehensive wildfire mitigation plans and seeking appropriate legislative and regulatory limitations of liability.
  • Representation of a natural gas transmission company in claims concerning the alleged contamination of natural gas.
  • Representation of natural gas transmission companies in land use and eminent domain litigation.
  • Represented of a natural gas transmission company in a breach of contract lawsuit related to the installation and commissioning of compressor stations and resulting damage.
  • Representation of a gas utility company in the defense of class actions and individuals claims after an inadvertent release of natural gas occurred in Massachusetts in connection with work being done on a natural gas distribution system which allegedly resulted in more than 80 homes and businesses being destroyed, 130 structural fires, at least one death, multiple injuries, and the four day evacuation of 8,600 residents.
  • Representation of an electric utility company in bodily injury litigation and insurance recovery following a lithium-ion battery thermal runaway event.
  • Representation of a large oil and natural gas exploration and production company against class and mass action claims alleging that the disposal of water produced during fracking operations caused widespread earthquakes.
  • Representation of one of the largest fully regulated utility companies in connection to single home explosions in various jurisdictions, including Virginia and Kentucky.
  • Representation of an automobile manufacturer against thousands of claims arising from allegedly fraudulent advertising of vehicle environmental features.
  • Representation of a large hospitality company in commercial franchise disputes.
  • Won dismissal of a putative class action complaint on behalf of a provider of rail inspection services following a Class I railroad train derailment which allegedly caused environmental damage, a power outage, the evacuation of hundreds of individuals and the closure of numerous businesses.