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In This Issue


A Message from Elizabeth Smith, OACTA President


Upcoming OACTA Events


2024 OACTA Annual Meeting


Congratulations to Award Winners


Amicus Updates


Speakers Needed for Upcoming OACTA Seminars


Leadership Spotlight


OACTA Committees


Need CLE Before Year's End?


New OACTA Members


Consider Supporting the OACTA Foundation




President's Message

By: Elizabeth T. Smith

2024 OACTA President


Engagement. And we are off! Well, it is almost the new year—2025—and for me, it feels already like the new year as we continue to plan and implement the plan for OACTA 2025. In some ways I feel as if I am stealing an idea being tossed around quite liberally these days, that is, the concept of “engagement.” But I also feel as if engagement weren’t noticeably missing from many of our lives, it wouldn’t be necessary to continue to champion the idea. Add to it that I feel as if I am “preaching to the choir” (to use another overused expression) because most of you reading this Update are the ones who are engaged. So the challenge for us is how to engage others. I challenge each of the committee chairs and co-chairs to reach out to their members and ask them what they want from OACTA and what would get them engaged? Is it casual get-togethers at a local pub? Is it more coffee chats? I also suggest that each committee member think about inviting someone in his/her firm or another firm to join. Reach out to lawyers that you meet in other cases and get to know them.

 

Engagement. What does the next generation of lawyers want from OACTA? Now is the opportunity for all of you 40 and younger to tell us what do you want from OACTA? What can we do better. Stay tuned to join a Coffee Chat on January 10 at 8:30am to tell me your ideas. I really don’t want to start talking to myself! People “will” talk about me!

Read More

Mark Your Calendar


 OACTA Coffee Chat

"What do the next generation of lawyers want from OACTA?"

Via Zoom

January 10, 2025

Click Here to Register!


OACTA Insurance Coverage Seminar

Grange Insurance

Columbus, OH

April 11, 2025

2024 OACTA Annual Meeting

Thank you to all the Exhibitors and Sponsors who helped make the 2024 OACTA Annual Meeting a success!




The new OACTA officers for 2025 were installed at the Annual Meeting.

Left to right: Paul McCartney, Immediate Past President; Elizabeth Smith, President; Daniel Richards, Vice President; Michael Neltner, Treasurer; Nicole Mitchell, Secretary

Click here to view more Annual Meeting Photos

OACTA Awards and Scholarships

The 2024 OACTA Hilary S. Taylor Inclusion & Equity Scholarship recipients were recognized.


The recipients of the scholarship were: William Gronefeld (University of Cincinnati College of Law), Thomas Lipker (Case Western Reserve University School of Law), and Kylie Titer (Capital University Law School)

From Left to Right: Kylie Titer (Capital University Law School), William Gronefeld (University of Cincinnati College of Law), and Thomas Lipker (Case Western Reserve University School of Law)

Benjamin C. Sassé

Frank Seth Hurd Member of the Year Award

Kurt D. Anderson Distinguished Contributions to the Community Award

D. Arthur Rabourn

Respected Advocate Award

During the OACTA Annual Business Meeting & Legal Excellence Award Luncheon on Thursday, November 14, the following awards were presented to recognize attorneys for their service to OACTA, the profession and the community: 


Excellence in Advocacy Award:

Neil F. Freund, Esq.


Lifetime Achievement Award:

Thomas P. Erven, Esq.

Young & Alexander Co., L.P.A.


Respected Advocate Award:

D. Arthur Rabourn, Esq.

D. Arthur Rabourn LLC


Distinguished Contributions to the Community Award:

Kurt D. Anderson, Esq.

Collins Roche Utley & Garner, LLC


Outstanding Young Lawyer Award:

Elisabeth C. Arko, Esq.

Tucker Ellis LLP


Frank Seth Hurd Member of the Year Award:

Benjamin C. Sassé, Esq.

Tucker Ellis LLP


OACTA Committee Chair of the Year Award:

David W. Peck, Esq.


OACTA congratulates these award recipients for their outstanding contributions, as well as their contributions to the legal profession!



View the Complete List of Awards and Past Recipients

Amicus Curiae Update

by Ben Sassé

Amicus Curiae Committee Co-Chair


With the holiday season in full swing, now is a good time to review OACTA’s 2024 efforts to influence the law by filing amicus briefs. Those efforts depend on the hard work of members who write briefs for a small stipend. OACTA filed briefs in five Ohio Supreme Court appeals this year, prevailing in one while several remain pending. Below, we summarize the win and list the pending appeals.


As to the win, OACTA prevailed in Ackman v. Mercy Health W. Hospital, LLC, 2024-Ohio-3159, which asked whether Gliozzo v. Univ. Urologists of Cleveland, Inc., 2007-Ohio-3762, should be overruled. Recall that Gliozzo found active participation does not waive an insufficiency-of-service-of-process defense. Ackman involved the same scenario: the failure to serve a doctor who actively participated in a case. The doctor and his employer preserved an insufficiency-of-service-of-process defense but waited for over two years before asking for a ruling on this defense. The trial court then granted summary judgment under Gliozzo, as the lack of service meant the medical claims were time-barred. The First District Court of Appeals affirmed, but a concurring opinion urged the Ohio Supreme Court to reconsider Gliozzo and adopt a more expansive approach to waiver followed in federal court. The Court accepted review in Ackman but rejected that approach and reaffirmed Gliozzo. Agreeing with OACTA member and author Thomas Spyker’s amicus brief, the Court held that Civil Rule 12(H) “provides the only methods of waiving services defenses” an answer preserved. 2024-Ohio-3159, ¶ 17.


As for appeals still pending, OACTA submitted amicus briefs in these pending appeals:

  • Eddy v. Farmers Prop. Cas. Ins. Co., S.Ct. Case No. 2024-0623 (Court accepted review over whether Boone v. Vanliner Ins. Co., 91 Ohio St.3d 209 (2001), applies to attorney-client privileged communications or work product generated during litigation between the insurer and its insured) (OACTA member Tim Fitzgerald wrote OACTA’s amicus briefs).
  • Camara v. Gill Dairy, LLC, S.Ct. No. 2024-0064 (whether an employee must show the employer made a deliberate decision not to replace a missing safety guard to establish a rebuttable presumption of intent to injure under R.C. 2745.01(C)) (OACTA Past President Kurt Anderson authored OACTA’s amicus brief; oral argument is scheduled for March 12, 2025).
  • Lewis v. MedCentral Health Sys., S.Ct. No. 2024-0451 (whether R.C. 2323.451(D) allows a plaintiff to amend a complaint to join parties previously named as John Doe defendants but not served under Civ.R. 15(D)) (OACTA Board Member Tony Brown, along with Richard Milligan and Thomas Himmelspach, wrote OACTA’s amicus brief; oral argument is scheduled for March 13, 2025).



In closing, on behalf of the Amicus Committee, I thank the authors who allowed OACTA’s voice to be heard in these important cases. Information on other cases OACTA participated in as amicus curiae appears on OACTA’s website, which includes a webpage with copies of recent amicus briefs and an Amicus Database with information on older cases. Finally, please call or email if you have or learn of an Ohio Supreme Court case presenting an important issue of law.

Seeking Speakers for OACTA

OACTA is seeking speakers for the 2025 Insurance Coverage Seminar and the 2025 Litigation and Trial Skills Workshop.


To suggest a speaker or presentation for the Insurance Coverage Seminar, please contact Stu Harris.


To suggest a speaker or presentation for the Litigation and Trial Skills Workshop, please contact David Orlandini.

Leadership Spotlight

Our committees are the backbone of OACTA, and the leaders of those committees are driving forces.” OACTA’s Officers and Board of Trustees decided to recognize our leaders in the Update. We are proud to shine our first spotlight on Attorney Karen Ross. Karen leads OACTA’s Mentorship Program and has the following message to all OACTA Members.


The mission of the OACTA Mentorship Program is to help participants navigate the legal field and life as a lawyer, while building relationships within OACTA. We aim to aid participants in their personal and professional growth. The Program offers a variety of options for participation: 1) traditional Mentor-Mentee matches; 2) quarterly virtual “Lunch and Learn” sessions for new/young lawyers; and 3) circulation of articles/materials addressing general practice tips and/or professional hygiene to guide participants and promote peer discussions. We recognize being a lawyer is challenging and offer a non-judgmental support system. Please join us as we work to ensure that OACTA’s new/young lawyers can grow and thrive.”


Karen is Counsel with Tucker Ellis, LLP, in its Cleveland office. There, she serves as national and local counsel in asbestos, talc, silica, coal mine dust, and other exposure-related litigation in Ohio and throughout the United States. She has extensive experience defending product liability matters with a heightened expertise in industrial and consumer machinery and equipment. She also defends health care facilities. 


Before joining Tucker Ellis, Karen was an assistant prosecuting attorney with Cuyahoga County and served as a staff attorney for the Ninth District Court of Appeals. Karen also volunteers as a mock trial coach for John Hay High School in Cleveland and is an executive Board Member for St. Vincent-St. Mary High School.


Karen Ross, thank you for your dedicated service to OACTA, your other volunteer work and the high service you provide to your clients!  

Learn More About OACTA Committes

Click on the names of the committees below to download their current roster.


OACTA Substantive Law Committees:

Click Here to Update your Committee Interest
Need CLE Before the End of the Year?

Did you miss any of the OACTA Lunch & Learn webinars? No problem! You can view OACTA Lunch

& Learn webinars on-demand for self-study CLE credit!


Available Lunch & Learn Webinars On-Demand

  • Diagnosis v Causation: The Biomechanical Engineer’s Role in Low-Speed Collision Casessponsored by Explico
  • Assessing Closed Head Injury Claims in Low-Speed Rear End Collisionssponsored by Explico
  • Heavy Vehicle Collision Investigation and Reconstructionsponsored by Explico
  • Tire Analysis - Beyond "Round and Black"sponsored by ESi
  • The Ethics of AIsponsored by Lexitas
  • Low-Speed Rear-End Collisions and Disc Herniation Causationsponsored by Explico

View the OACTA On-Demand CLE Library

New OACTA Members since October

Please welcome our new OACTA members!


Jack Kluznik, Weston Hurd LLP


Royce Link, Celina Insurance Group


Beth Sebaugh, Weston Hurd LLP

Consider Supporting the OACTA Foundation

As the year comes to a close, please consider donating to the OACTA Foundation. The Foundation funds projects consistent with the mission of OACTA, such as the annual Hilary S. Taylor Inclusion and Equity Scholarship Program and the National Foundation for Judicial Excellence (NFJE). The OACTA Foundation is incorporated in Ohio as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization under the Internal Revenue Service. Contributions made to The OACTA Foundation are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. 


Please consider contributing to The OACTA Foundation. CLICK HERE to make a contribution. Your support is appreciated!

 

View the 2023 OACTA Foundation Annual Report

OACTA requests that authors who republish articles that were originally published in an OACTA publication, reflect that the article first appeared in the OACTA publication.
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