Appellate

Experience

Kentucky Employers Mutual Insurance Co. v. Coleman

Obtained a writ of prohibition from the Kentucky Supreme Court who in a published opinion directed the trial court to dismiss a bad faith action against a workers compensation insurance carrier and ruled that all such claims are subject to the exclusive remedy provision of the workers compensation statute. (Kentucky Employers Mutual Insurance Company v. Coleman, 236 S.W.3d 9 (Ky. 2007).

Knott, et al. v. Boone - Breach of Fiduciary Duties

Represented horse syndicate members in breach of fiduciary duties dispute regarding syndicate manager’s accountings. Court of Appeals ruled that syndicate manager could not rely on the instructions of one partner to apply partnership assets to a non-partnership debt.  

Knott, et al. v. Boone - Breach of Fiduciary Duties / Fees

Represented horse syndicate members in breach of fiduciary duties dispute with syndicate manager. The syndicate manager charged late fees on the member's account that exceeded Kentucky usury law. The late fees were removed as in violation of usury laws and the Court of Appeals further determined that the syndicate manager owed a fiduciary duty to keep accurate accounts.

Kottmyer v. Maas Appellate Briefing

The firm represented Children's Hospital against a §1983 claim based on a report of suspected child endangerment made to County child welfare authorities.  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed dismissal of the complaint.

Mattlin Holdings LLC v. First City Bank, 2010 Ohio 3700 (Ohio App. 10th Dist. 2010)

Dinsmore & Shohl handled the defense on behalf of Defendants, Fifth Third Bank ("Fifth Third") and JP Morgan Chase ("Chase"). This is an important precedent for the banking industry in Ohio in that the appellate court refused to extend the discovery rule to toll the statute of limitations under O.R.C. § 1303.16(G) for a UCC conversion claim against two banks. In particular, the Appellants asserted a UCC conversion claim pursuant to O.R.C. § 1303.60 against both Fifth Third and Chase for the alleged conversion of a check in the amount of $795,486.00. Appellants’ conversion claims, however, were filed over four and one-half years after the alleged conversion by both Fifth Third and Chase. The Appellants argued, among others, that the discovery rule should toll the statute of limitations because Appellants did not discover the alleged conversion until after the statute of limitations had expired and because the Appellants had asserted fraud-based claims against other defendants, but not against Fifth Third or Chase. In response, Firth Third and Chase argued that the discovery rule does toll the statute of limitations and that even in cases where fraud-based claims are asserted, the UCC claims against other defendants cannot be coupled with such fraud-based claims for purposes of tolling the statute of limitations.

The Tenth District Court of Appeals upheld the trial court's dismissal of Fifth Third and Chase and held that the three-year statute of limitations for conversion under Section 1303.16(G) is not tolled by the discovery rule. Both the appellate court and trial court cited to and relied upon the holding of the U.S. District Court from the Northern District of Ohio in Metz v. Unizan Bank, (N.D. Ohio 2006), 416 F. Supp. 2d 568, 579. Both courts also cited to the holding in Loyd v. Huntington Nat'l Bank (N.D. Ohio 2009), 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 51858.

Click HERE to view the Tenth District Court of Appeals decision. 

Osborne v. Town Square Bank - Will distribution

Represented children of deceased in will distribution dispute, where one of our clients was executor of the will. Widow, the deceased's wife by a second marriage, received will bequests before trying to renounce will. The Court of Appeals ruled that the will couldn’t be renounced once the widow received bequests from under the will.

Prime Contractor v. Owner and Project Engineer

Obtained multi-million dollar settlement for Prime Contractor in large, complex action against Owner and Project Engineer for delay, interference, breach of contract, and related claims. The case involved significant electronic and paper discovery, extensive deposition practice, extensive motion practice, multiple experts, complex case management methods, and varied methods of alternative dispute resolution.

Product Liability Litigation

The Kentucky Supreme Court in a unanimous opinion held that the doctrine of equitable estoppel did not bar a product manufacturer’s statute of limitations defense because of the manufacturer’s alleged concealment of product defects from governmental regulatory agencies. The Court also held that the discovery rule would not be extended to cases not involving latent injuries or illnesses, or professional malpractice.

Regional Insurance Company v. Local Manufacturer

I obtained favorable rulings from the trial and appellate courts on the insurer's duty to defend certain underlying intellectual property claims. The underlying claims involved trade dress infringement, patent infringement, and unfair competition. The coverage issue arose because one of our client's insurance policies provided coverage for certain trade dress claims, among other types of advertising injury. I obtained summary judgment on the duty to defend, served as co-counsel in conducting a trial on damages issues, and then was the lead author of the brief that prevailed in the First District Court of Appeals.

Superintendent of Insurance v. Insurance Company

Served as principal outside counsel to the Superintendent of Insurance as statutory liquidator of a failed property and casualty insurance company. Work has mainly consisted of assisting the Liquidator's assets collection efforts and the prosecution of litigation on behalf of the Liquidator against various debtors of the insolvent insurer and parties responsible for the failure of the insurer. The litigation has included suits against the insurer's: directors and officers, insurance liability carrier for the directors and officers, employee theft insurance carrier, parent and affiliated companies, financial auditor, and various of the insurer's agents and high deductible insureds. In addition to assisting the Liquidator in prosecuting claims against others, we have assisted the Liquidator in defending claims against the liquidation estate, including lawsuits and claims filed by the Bankruptcy Trustee of the insurer's parent company, claims filed by another insurance company, and assessments made by the IRS. Also have assisted the Liquidator in running out the affairs of the insurance company, such as terminating the insurance company's pension plan, and in administering the liquidation proceeding, such as developing the statutorily required early distribution plan for state insurance guaranty funds.