A veteran trial attorney (defense and plaintiff) with over 20 years of experience litigating cases, Dave has successfully argued before the Ohio Supreme Court, the Sixth Circuit Federal Court of Appeals and state courts of appeals. Two cases have lead to briefing in the U.S. Supreme Court.
Dave’s focus of litigation is insurance law (including coverage and bad faith cases), products liability, complex tort actions (including workplace, trucking and construction accidents), civil rights, employment discrimination, and government liability. Products and Machine Issues Litigated.
Dave has handled litigation of cases on behalf of large institutional clients such as Westfield Insurance, Nationwide Insurance, Sentry Insurance, AIG/Chartis, Lowe’s, Cintas, as well as numerous smaller clients. In addition to representing a number of counties, townships, and municipalities in litigation, Dave has handled zoning matters and done some general counsel work for the Village of Ashville and Village of New Albany.
In High v. Howard, Dave persuaded the Supreme Court not to recognize consortium claims of children when a parent is significantly injured. Other defense counsel lost this same argument in Supreme Court one year later. In defense of employment cases, Dave has won summary judgments in two race discrimination cases, three hostile work environment cases, an American Disabilities Act case, and a First Amendment case.
Before practicing law, Dave spent five years in political and governmental work in Washington D.C. and Columbus, Ohio, and non-profit work for the American Red Cross.
Dave has given a national trial presentation before the American Trucking Association's Safety Management Council. Dave has also spoken on seminar topics including sexual harassment, county roadway litigation, and workplace accident liability/OSHA. He has been involved in various charity projects, including serving as past chairperson of the Columbus Bar Association's annual Christmas in April home rehabilitation project.
Dave earned his bachelor's degree from Wittenberg University (B.A., 1980) and his law degree from The Ohio State University (J.D., with Honors, 1988).
