MARK serves as co-chair of the firm’s Litigation group. He litigates and tries complex business disputes, concentrating on corporate, business tort, real estate and public law litigation. His in-depth focus includes consultant and accountant liability litigation, contract disputes, Uniform Commercial Code issues, trade secrets and non-competition covenants. Mark also works with clients to resolve zoning and other issues involving local and state governments. He has particular expertise in alternative dispute resolution, including acting as a neutral in appropriate cases.
Mark regularly appears in state and federal courts in Ohio (including more than 20 appearances in the Ohio Supreme Court) and throughout the country on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants. His recent experience includes:
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Winning one of the largest business-case jury verdicts in Ohio in a lawsuit for fraud by a developer in relocating a major tenant to an unsuitable site.
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Obtaining a multi-million dollar settlement for an industrial corporation damaged by the failure of a new enterprise computer system to perform as promised.
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Recovering more than $30 million for the liquidation estate of a large Ohio insurance company, including $10 million from the company’s auditors, nearly $9 million from its corporate attorneys, and more than $4 million from former officers and directors.
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Winning the first case in the Ohio Supreme Court establishing the right of Ohio municipalities to charge impact fees to developers to pay for infrastructure necessitated by new development.
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Establishing, by an Ohio Supreme Court ruling, the proper statute of limitations for claims brought against utilities by customers.
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Settling a claim by a large public university for millions of dollars, paid by the supplier of faulty computer software to the university.
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Negotiating multi-million dollar settlements from the former auditors and from former officers and directors of a defunct surety bond company outside of Ohio.
Mark is a member of the Federal Court Panel for ADR Procedures and was previously a member of the Civil Justice Reform Act Advisory Group. He has been honored consistently with inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America, Who’s Who in America, Leading Lawyers by Cleveland’s Inside Business magazine, Ohio Super Lawyers and by Chambers USA. Clients told Chambers that he “is a litigator who isn’t afraid to face down the toughest opponent and gets the job done.”
Mark serves as chairman of The Sculpture Center, and member of the executive committee of the Cleveland Chapter of the American Constitution Society. He is a member of the Ohio, Cleveland Metropolitan and Federal Bar Associations and the Cuyahoga County Law Directors Association.
From 1974 to 1975 Mark served as a clerk for Chief Judge Frank J. Battisti in U.S. District Court. He was an associate with Baker & Hostetler from 1975 to 1979 and served as chief trial counsel for the City of Cleveland from 1979 to 1981. Mark began his tenure with Calfee in 1981, becoming a partner in 1983.