Ian K. Edwards is an experienced trial attorney in Klein Thomas Lee & Fresard’s Detroit office. His practice focuses on defending Fortune 500 companies in products liability and class action cases. Mr. Edwards represents clients in state and federal courts throughout the country, and has significant experience working as national coordinating counsel for automotive manufacturers. After graduating from Wayne State University Law School cum laude, Mr. Edwards worked as a litigation associate at a large Michigan-based law firm.
While in law school, Mr. Edwards served as an Editor on the Wayne Law Review, and earned numerous academic honors, including multiple Silver Key Awards. Mr. Edwards additionally served as the Chancellor of the Wayne State Law School moot court program, competed in the American College of Trial Lawyers National Moot Court Competition, and worked as a student attorney for the Wayne Law Criminal Appellate Practice Clinic.
Recent significant trials include:
- Steitz-Cosmano v FCA US LLC, Palm Beach County Circuit Court, West Palm Beach, Florida (2025). Trial counsel for defendant automobile manufacturer in claim that active head restraint was defectively designed and deployment caused spinal injuries. Defense verdict.
- Nuwer v FCA US LLC, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida (2024). Trial counsel for defendant automobile manufacturer in certified class action. Plaintiffs claimed that defendant concealed a material safety defect in active head restraints in over 73,000 vehicles sold in Florida. Defense verdict.
- Costa/Soares v FCA US LLC, U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts (2023). Trial counsel for defendant automobile manufacturer in certified class action. Plaintiffs claimed that defendant concealed a material safety defect in active head restraints in over 93,000 vehicles sold in Massachusetts. Defense verdict.
- FCA US LLC Monostable Electronic Gearshift Litigation (MDL), U.S. District Court for the E.D. of Michigan (2022). Trial counsel for defendant automobile manufacturer in certified multi-state issues class trial. Plaintiffs claimed that defendant concealed a material safety defect in electronic gear shifters in over 500,000 vehicles in 19 states. Defense verdict.
Significant Decisions:
- Solak v. Ford Motor Co., Case No. 23-cv-10064, __ F. Supp. 3d __ (E.D. Mich. 2023) – dismissing Plaintiff’s putative class action complaint in full under the doctrine of prudential mootness
- Nuwer v. FCA US LLC, 343 F.R.D. 638 (S.D. Fla. 2022) – denying certification of a class under New York’s false advertising statute