Significant Business Disputes

• Defend former president and director of state regulated financial institution against claims for breach of fiduciary duty, unfair competition, and misappropriation of trade secrets. Defeated motion for temporary restraining order at hearing. Achieved judgment defeating all of the plaintiffs’ claims and winning client’s indemnification counterclaim. Resolved criminal investigations conducted by the Federal Reserve Board and Ohio Department of Financial Institutions.
• Defend supermajority owner and sole manager of government contractor that provides translation, linguistic, and technology solutions to the U.S. Government against claims for breaches of fiduciary duty owed to minority members based upon alleged personal use of company resources, freeze-out/squeeze-out, and dilution of voting rights.
• Defend limited liability company in appraisal rights proceeding instituted by minority dissenting members seeking court-ordered payment of fair cash value in lieu of following redemption procedures set forth in the company’s operating agreement.
• Represent company that invented a therapeutic device used to reduce hypertension and improve cardiovascular fitness in multiple suits. Defenses and counterclaims involved numerous contract issues, violations of FDA regulations, disputes over the scope of intellectual property to be assigned as part of stock purchase, lapse of patent rights, breach of fiduciary duty, attorney malpractice, and a shareholder derivative claim.
• Represent and advise Ohio based international landscape contractor. Most significant representation was defense against claims asserted by Fortune 500 international retail conglomerate and property owner for product defect, breach of express and implied warranties, and breach of contract. Largely successful motion practice, which included the extent to which claims for breach of implied warranties are barred by the economic loss doctrine, resulted in resolving the matter for one-tenth of the plaintiff’s alleged damages. Later part of the team that resolved Ohio’s application of the economic loss doctrine before the Ohio Supreme Court.
• Prosecute and defend against claims asserted between internet-based gift retailer and former owner and department heads of acquired subsidiary who started a competitive business. Claims included breach of employment agreement, breach of restrictive covenants, misappropriation of trade secrets, tortious interference, and unfair competition.
• Prosecute and defend against claims asserted in three concurrent lawsuits in Ohio and Virginia state courts between government contractor and subcontractor over mandatory workshare for linguists deployed with U.S. troops worldwide, employee solicitation and hiring restrictions, mandatory contract term renewal, and misappropriation of trade secrets.

Consumer Finance Litigation

• Managed a dedicated team of attorneys working out of three firm offices on a revolving docket of greater than forty cases during the height of the mortgage foreclosure crisis in 2013 through 2015. Used firm experiences representing multiple mortgage servicing companies to develop process efficiencies. This experience includes setting favorable legal precedent in Ohio, conducting a dozen appellate arguments, and advising client of best practices to comply with state law and federal regulations.

• • Carter v. Deutsche Bank Nat’l Trust Co., 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 21398 (6^th Cir.)
  • Bank of Am., N.A. v. Valentine, 2015-Ohio-3733
  • Carter v. Standard Guaranty Ins. Co., 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 98355 (S.D. Ohio 2015)
  • Carter v. Standard Guaranty Ins. Co., 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 66546 (S.D. Ohio 2015)
    
  • Bank of Am., N.A. v. Valentine, 2015-Ohio-1107
  • Buckner v. Washington Mutual Bank, 2014-Ohio-5189
  • JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. v. Koonts, 2014-Ohio-3904
  • JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. v. Allton, 2014-Ohio-3742
  • Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Reaves, 2014-Ohio-3556
  • JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. v. Snedeker, 2014-Ohio-1593
  • Chase Home Finance, LLC v. Lindenmayer, 2014-Ohio-1041
  • JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. v. Fallon, 2014-Ohio-525
  • Citibank, N.A. v. Slorp, 2013-Ohio-5331
  • JPMorgan Chase Bank v. Ackerman, 2013-Ohio-5010
  • Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Elliot, 2013-Ohio-3690, jurisdiction denied at 2014-Ohio-176
  • JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. v. Carroll, 2013-Ohio-5273
  • Chase Home Finance LLC v. Byrd, 2013-Ohio-3217
  • JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. v. Heckler, 2013-Ohio-2388
  • Chase Home Finance LLC v. Byrd, 2013-Ohio-2076

Real Property Tax Litigation

• Represent telecommunications companies, investment REITS, and other business entities before county boards of revision, the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals, trial courts, and courts of appeals successfully challenging the overvaluation of real property throughout Ohio. This experience has netted clients tens-of-millions of dollars in combined tax refunds and future savings.

Reported decisions include:

• • Olentangy Local Schs. Bd. of Educ. v. Del. County Bd. of Revision, 153 Ohio St.3d 241 (2017)
    
  • Olentangy Local Schs. Bd. of Educ. v. Del. County Bd. of Revision, 2015 Ohio Tax LEXIS 2802
  • Olentangy Local Schs. Bd. of Educ. v. Del. County Bd. of Revision, 2014 Ohio Tax LEXIS 4069
    
  • Trilogy Real Estate Holdings, LLC v. Franklin County Bd. of Revision, 2014 Ohio Tax LEXIS 3118
  • Bd. of Educ. of the Olentangy Local Schs. v. Del. County Bd. of Revision, 2014 Ohio Tax LEXIS 2838
  • Groveport LLC v. Franklin County Bd. of Revision, 2014 Ohio Tax LEXIS 1686
  • Algoma Props. LLC v. Del. County Bd. of Revision, 2014 Ohio Tax LEXIS 1819
  • Frontier North, Inc. v. Lorain County Bd. of Revision, 2014 Ohio Tax LEXIS 142
  • MCI Int’l, Inc. v. Franklin County Bd. of Revision, 2013 Ohio Tax LEXIS 7148
  • Wickliffe City School District Bd. of Educ. v. Lake County Bd. of Revision, 2013 Ohio Tax LEXIS 6539
  • Euclid Realty LLC v. Lake County Auditor, 2012-Ohio-5332
  • Revere Local Sch. Dist. Bd. of Educ. v. Summit County Bd. of Revision, 2012 Ohio Tax LEXIS 5440
  • Verizon North, Inc. v. Athens County Bd. of Revision, 2012 Ohio Tax LEXIS 2295
  • Verizon North, Inc. v. Tuscarawas County Bd. of Revision, 2012 Ohio Tax LEXIS 371
  • Verizon North, Inc. v. Medina County Bd. of Revision, 2011 Ohio Tax LEXIS 1872
  • Bd. of Educ. v. Franklin County Bd. of Revision, 2010 Ohio Tax LEXIS 345
  • North Royalton City Sch. Dist. Bd. of Educ. v. Cuyahoga County Bd. of Revision, 2008 Ohio Tax LEXIS 16

 Other Reported Decisions

• Avaya Inc. v. Ohio Department of Commerce, 2021-Ohio-4626
• Cheryl & Co. v. Krueger, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 165264 (S.D. Ohio)
• City of Columbus v. Int’l Ass’n of Firefighters, Local 67, 2020-Ohio-356
  
• Sogg v. Zurz, Director, Ohio Department of Commerce, 2011 Ohio 81
• SEC v. One Equity Corp., 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 71868 (S.D. Ohio)
• Furman v. Codiam, Inc., 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 39084 (S.D. Ohio)
• Williamson v. Recovery Limited Partnership, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 99670 (S.D. Ohio)
• Williamson v. Recovery Limited Partnership, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 99671 (S.D. Ohio)
• Stanley Electric Co., Inc. v. Crawford Equip. and Engineering Co., 249 F.R.D. 267 (S.D. Ohio  2008)
• 1st Choice Auto Brokers, Inc. v. Credit Acceptance Corp., 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5194 (S.D. Ohio)
• Foreman v. Fortis Benefits Ins. Co., 2005 U.S. Dist LEXIS 45313 (S.D. Ohio)
• Miles v. United States, 544 U.S. 1059 (2005)
• United States v. Robinson, 116 Fed. Appx. 646 (6th Cir. 2004)
• Sharp v. Patterson, 73 U.S.P.Q.2D (BNA) 1481 (S.D.N.Y. 2004)