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Blake N. Shelby
Partner
Indianapolis, IN
Partner
Indianapolis, IN
Blake is a trial lawyer with an electrical engineering degree who concentrates his practice in product liability matters. He serves as national counsel for a seatbelt manufacturer and an elevator/escalator manufacturer and serves as regional counsel for other product manufacturers. He regularly represents clients in high-stakes litigation in state and federal courts throughout the United States and has tried cases to successful defense verdicts in both state and federal courts. Blake has also argued before the Indiana Court of Appeals and has represented clients in appellate matters that have modified Indiana law and extended product liability defenses.
Blake utilizes his engineering background to fully understand how products work, create strategies to defend the products in catastrophic injury litigation, and to explain highly technical issues in an easily understandable manner. Blake’s ability to understand client’s businesses and products has made him a trusted advisor to multiple clients who regularly trust him to handle some of their most significant matters.
When Blake is not practicing law, he enjoys golfing, attending Purdue basketball games, and spending time with his wife and two sons.
Rodriguez v. Schindler Elevator Corporation, et. al. – Obtained a defense verdict from a Lake County, Indiana jury after just 20 minutes of deliberations in an elevator case alleging that an elevator maintenance provider improperly maintained elevator doors.
Brewer v. PACCAR Inc. – Obtained a defense verdict from a Morgan County, Indiana jury in a product liability matter alleging that a glider kit was defectively designed without safety features that would reduce/eliminate the rear blind spot.
Brewer v. PACCAR Inc., 124 N.E.3d 616 (Ind. 2019) – Represented glider kit manufacturer on appeal to the Indiana Supreme Court resulting in extensions of the Indiana Product Liability Act’s application to component part manufacturers and applying the learned intermediary doctrine to design defect claims.
Mireles v. Schindler Elevator Corporation, et. al. – Obtained a defense verdict from a Lake County, Indiana jury in an elevator case alleging that an elevator maintenance provider improperly maintained a freight elevator causing a door to strike the plaintiff.
Kirksey v. Schindler Elevator Corporation, et. al. – Obtained a defense verdict from a jury in federal court in Mobile, Alabama in a product liability case alleging that an escalator was defectively designed and contributed to the death of a minor child.
Johnson v. Delello, et. al. – Obtained a defense verdict from a Hamilton County, Indiana jury in a business dispute where a co-owner and former officer of a company claimed that he was improperly terminated by the other owners of the company.
Kelly v. Schindler Elevator Corporation, et. al. – Obtained a defense verdict from a Marion County, Indiana jury in an elevator case in which a hotel patron claimed she tripped due to an elevator that purportedly did not properly level with the floor.
Tutino v. Rohr-Indy Motors, Inc., 127 N.E.3d 438 (Ind. Ct. App. 2019) – Won summary judgment on behalf of an auto dealer who was alleged to have improperly performed airbag recall work resulting in an airbag not deploying during a collision and successfully upheld the lower court’s ruling on appeal.
Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law, J.D., 2008, magna cum laude
Purdue University, B.S., Electrical Engineering, 2005
The Best Lawyers in America®, Product Liability Litigation – Defendants, 2024
Indiana Super Lawyers® Rising Stars 2013–2018
April 12, 2017 | Press Releases
Frost Brown Todd (FBT) announces the appointment of 11 new members across the firm’s eight-sta...