Chris Ayers is the co-chair of the Firm’s Mass Tort Practice Group and chair of the Consumer Protection Practice Group.
Ayers is a seasoned and highly accomplished trial attorney with substantial experience representing individuals and public entities in state and federal courts across the United States. Ayers has built a reputation relentlessly fighting for clients harmed by corporate wrongdoing and systemic injustice—holding powerful entities accountable when they put profits over people. Ayers’s practice focuses on mass tort, class action, and complex commercial litigation involving defective medical devices and consumer products, dangerous pharmaceutical drugs, environmental contamination and exposure, qui tam/whistleblower, investment fraud, and antitrust.
Ayers is widely recognized for his in-depth knowledge and experience in eDiscovery and preservation of electronically stored information (ESI) and has served as designated ESI counsel for plaintiffs in numerous high-stakes matters.
Lawdragon Honors
Ayers has served on the leadership team in major multidistrict litigations, class actions, and social justice litigation. His recent work includes:
- In the Social Media Adolescent Addiction/Personal Injury Products Liability Litigation (JCCP No. 5255), Chris serves as member of the Plaintiffs Executive Committee and Co-Chair of the E-Discovery Committee. This landmark litigation against major social media companies involves allegations that these platforms were intentionally designed to addict young users despite documented dangers to adolescent mental health. Ayers advocates for victims suffering severe psychological harm linked to social media use and families who have lost children to suicide.
- Ayers represents the Estate of Henrietta Lacks and members of her family in groundbreaking litigation (D.MD) seeking justice against pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for unjustly profiting off Mrs. Lacks’s cells—taken without consent in 1951 and commercialized for decades. For what would have been Henrietta Lacks’ 103rd birthday, Henrietta Lacks’s family secured an historic settlement with the biotechnology company they sued seeking compensation for its use of Mrs. Lacks’s cells.
- Ayers served on the leadership team in the Mercedes Emissions litigation, In re Mercedes-Benz Emissions Litigation (D.NJ), which secured a $800 million settlement on behalf of U.S. owners and lessees. He was charged with leading discovery and successfully secured one of the strongest ESI validation procedures and random sampling protocols to test the defendants’ search methodologies and results.
- More recently, Ayers was appointed to lead the Oliver v. American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (N.D.AL) and Aronstein v. Kenvue Inc. (D.NJ) litigations as Co-Lead Counsel. In Honda, Plaintiffs allege that Honda sold vehicles that they knew had defective and dangerous fuel pumps that could cause cars to stall or stop while driving. In Kenvue, Plaintiffs allege that Band-Aid products contain harmful PFAS “forever chemicals” linked to cancer and other health issues.
Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter.
He has served on leadership teams and played pivotal roles in high profile cases addressing issues at the forefront of consumer protection and social justice. He currently serves on the Plaintiffs Executive Committee and as Co-Chair of the E-Discovery Committee in the Social Media Addiction Litigation, which involves allegations that major platforms were intentionally designed to addict young users despite known risks to adolescent mental health. He represents the Estate of Henrietta Lacks and her family in groundbreaking litigation that resulted in historic settlements and helped reshape accountability standards in the life sciences industry.
Prior to joining Sbaiti & Company, Ayers was a Partner at a prestigious national plaintiffs’ firm, where he honed his skills and successfully litigated complex, high-stakes matters across a broad range of practice areas.
Ayers was a four-year varsity athlete on Brown University’s wrestling team.