Appellate/Appeals
Our attorneys have extensive experience and skills to handle any challenge in federal or state appellate courts in a wide variety of substantive legal matters.
Overview:
We have represented clients in the Supreme Court of the United States, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court of Ohio, and the various state appellate courts throughout Ohio. Our attorneys have appeared in over 200 cases in the Ohio Supreme Court and over 60 cases in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals—encompassing both civil and criminal appeals. And our practice includes former law clerks who served at the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, the Tenth District Court of Appeals, and the Fourth District Court of Appeals.
Whether you need counsel to challenge or defend a trial court decision, we help you to understand the appellate process, craft effective appellate briefs, and present persuasive arguments to the courts. Our firm has handled a wide range of appellate issues, including statutory construction, contract interpretation, contempt, constitutional questions, patent infringement, and the rules of evidence and civil procedure. Our team successfully defended a
$20 million verdict in the Fifth District, and our team also successfully challenged a trial court decision regarding advancement of fees for corporate directors.
Our team also has won numerous awards relating to their work as appellate advocates, including Columbus CEO Magazine, Best Lawyers in Columbus, Litigation-Commercial Appellate Law, 2022-2023; Best Lawyer, Appellate Advocacy, 2022-2024; and the Ohio Attorney General’s Excellence in Writing Award. Additionally, our team is working with LexisNexis to write a Sixth Circuit Appellate Treatise and Practice Guide, which will be published in 2025.
Services:
Our appellate practice includes matters for which we were trial counsel as well as matters in which we have been retained specifically as appellate counsel. Some of the services we can provide include the following:
- Consulting on federal and state appellate practice and procedures
- Working with trial counsel to ensure adequate preservation of issues for review
- Challenging or defending preliminary injunctions
- Developing effective written and oral arguments
- Drafting memoranda in support of or opposing jurisdiction in the Ohio Supreme Court
- Drafting petitions for a writ of certiorari in the United States Supreme Court
- Pursuing and defending extraordinary writ cases, such as mandamus, prohibition, and procedendo
Recent Highlights:
Epcon Communities Franchising, L.L.C. v. Wilcox Dev. Group., L.L.C., 2024-Ohio-4989 (Ohio)—In this appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court, successfully sought the Court’s review of the dismissal of Epcon’s complaint. The case involves the application of Ohio’s contribution statute to alleged Fair Housing Act violations. The trial court improperly granted defendant’s motion to dismiss, finding that the Fair Housing Act preempted Epcon’s claims. Epcon appealed, and the Ohio Supreme Court agreed with Epcon that the trial court should not have dismissed Epcon’s complaint based on preemption, so the Court reversed and remanded the case.
Moyer v. Government Employees Insurance Co., 114 F.4th 563 (6th Cir. 2024) successful in overturning the grant of GEICO’s motion to dismiss in this class action litigation involving unpaid ERISA benefits to captive insurance agents. The Sixth Circuit held that the district court improperly considered questionable plan documents at the motion to dismiss stage.
Ridge Corp. v. Kirk NationLease Co., Case No. 2024-1138, 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS 19089 (Fed. Cir.) successfully overturned a preliminary injunction order that was improperly issued by the district court. The case involves a patent dispute and whether the plaintiff had statutory standing to bring its claim. The Federal Circuit held that the plaintiff did not have standing and also urged the district court to reconsider the merits of its infringement analysis.
Austin v. Mid-Ohio Pipeline Servs., L.L.C., 2023-Ohio-1958 (5th Dist.)—Gage Gosnell successfully defended a $20 million verdict awarded to Arnold & Clifford’s client. The case involved matters of contract interpretation and admission of evidence. Not only did we win in the Fifth District, but we successfully opposed defendants’ attempt to obtain review by the Ohio Supreme Court.
Ashland Global Holdings Inc. v. SuperAsh Remainderman Ltd. P’ship, 2023-Ohio-3556 (10th Dist.)—Mike Dillard was successful in getting the Tenth District to affirm a judgment in favor of their client. In this case, the trial court had invoked an equitable remedy to relieve a tenant from consequences for failure to timely submit a notice of renewal for its lease. Counsel effectively demonstrated that the landlord would not be prejudiced by the equitable relief and that the failure to submit the notice was an honest mistake.
Carrick v. Deadman, 2023-Ohio-4295 (10th Dist.)—Damien Kitte successfully defended the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of their client. The case involved an alleged breach of trust, which was filed outside of the applicable statute of limitations.
Schmitt v. Schmitt, 2022-Ohio-1685 (10th Dist.) won a victory, which impacts many Ohio companies and their directors. A director of an Ohio corporation convinced the Tenth District that Ohio’s mandatory advancement statute (R.C. 1701.13(E)(5)(a)) applies regardless of the capacity in which the director is sued. The court of appeals’ unanimous decision reversed the trial court’s denial of the director’s request for the advancement of attorney fees and expenses.
Columbus v. Inland Products, 2021-Ohio-3497—Arnold & Clifford successfully argued for the overturning of a contempt citation issued by the trial court. In overturning the contempt ruling, the Tenth District held that the trial court had abused its discretion because it unreasonably interpreted a prior order.