John is a competitive, detail-oriented litigator whose practice focuses on business and trade secrets disputes. John also routinely defends companies against consumer fraud and statutory claims, including those brought under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
John brings broad experience across all phases of litigation, from early investigation through trial and appeal. He has successfully tried cases in federal and state courts and before arbitration panels. John also serves as a mentor to first-year attorneys through the firm’s mentoring program.
Before joining Benesch, John served as a judicial extern to Judge Dan Polster of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio and to Judge Timothy McCormack of the Ohio Eighth District Court of Appeals. He also worked as a research assistant for Professors Lewis Katz and Jonathan Adler.
Representative Experience
- Second-chaired the successful defense of a major financial institution in arbitration involving eight-figure breach of contract claims.
- Secured a jury verdict in state court defeating breach of contract and trade secret misappropriation claims, and prevailed on a counterclaim establishing that the plaintiff acted in bad faith, resulting in a full award of attorneys’ fees.
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Second-chaired a federal jury trial on behalf of a corporate client, securing a seven-figure damages award and attorneys’ fees on claims for tortious interference with business relationships, defamation, and violations of the Ohio Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
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Authored and argued a successful motion to dismiss all claims brought by 57 private hospitals and medical centers across five states against a regional pharmaceutical distributor in Minnesota state court.
- Defended one of the nation’s largest home improvement companies in putative nationwide class action alleging a latent defect in the company’s product.
- Obtained summary judgment on behalf of defendant in putative class action brought under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
- Represented a global transport and logistics company in a warehouse dispute, successfully defending the company’s assertion of a warehouseman’s lien against an application for a writ of possession, which led to a favorable settlement shortly thereafter.
