Joe learned to try cases in the earliest stages of his career as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney in Lucas County, Ohio (1978-1981). For the last 40 years his practice has focused on contract litigation, most often involving claims under insurance contracts and acquisition/divestiture agreements. In the insurance context, he represents policyholders seeking recovery for many types of losses, including those arising from environmental, asbestos, and product liabilities. He has represented policyholders in coverage litigation in California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas. His cases frequently involve issues surrounding the transfer of insurance rights in the sale of a business (e.g., Pilkington N. Am., Inc. v. Travelers Cas. & Sur. Co., 112 Ohio St.3d 482, 861 N.E.2d 121 (2006)) and multi-jurisdictional disputes arising out of complicated historical corporate relationships (e.g. Continental Ins. Co. v. Honeywell Int'l, Inc., 406 N.J. Super. 156, 967 A.2d 315 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. 2009)). In 2016, a jury awarded his client compensatory and punitive damages against an insurer for bad-faith claims handling even though there was no underlying coverage for the claim.
Joe also has been trial counsel in a number of significant disputes arising out of acquisition/divestiture agreements. He has presented at major insurance gatherings, including the Risk & Insurance Management Society (RIMS) National Conference, the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Litigation Annual Insurance Coverage Litigation Seminar in Tucson, Arizona, and the Insurance Coverage Litigation Conference of the ABA’s Tort, Trial and Insurance Practice section in Phoenix.
Joe is a member of the bar in Ohio and Florida and is a life fellow of the Ohio State Bar Foundation and the American Bar Foundation. He has been listed in Best Lawyers in America® for more than 20 years.
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