Stites & Harbison, PLLC

         
As co-chair of the firm's Torts & Insurance Practice Group, John's national and regional litigation practice focuses on defending complex product liability lawsuits, but his trial experience also includes admiralty claims, construction and insurance disputes, intellectual property, and a variety of personal injury matters. He has tried cases to jury verdicts in eight states and has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America^® since 1995. He is listed in the Kentucky Super Lawyers magazine and was listed as one of the Top 50 Lawyers in Kentucky in 2007 and 2010, and was named a "Litigation Star" in 2008 and 2009 by Benchmark: Litigation Magazine. John also supplies risk management advice to manufacturers facing significant product liability risks, and he maintains an active appellate practice.

John's special interest is the application of Daubert criteria to expert witness testimony.  Reported decisions on this topic include Morehouse v. Louisville Ladder, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21766 (June 28, 2004); Reynolds v. Freightliner, 2006 U.S. Dist. 97244 (June 21, 2006); Hayes v. MTD Products, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 66109 (Sept. 6, 2007); and Walker v. Louisville Ladder, 2009 U.S. Dist. 9917 (Feb. 9, 2009).

Recent Assignments

• In the past four years, lead counsel in jury trials in Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Florida, and North Carolina involving product liability, wrongful death, and breach of contract
• As appellate counsel for a steel products manufacturer, obtained ruling overturning a $5.9 million compensatory and punitive damage verdict arising from alleged metallurgical defects in an agricultural implement
• Lead appellate lawyer for Interactive Gaming Council's successful petition for a writ of prohibition halting state effort to shut down internet access to gaming sites

Recent Speaking Engagements and Publications

• "Expert Reports," a chapter in Expert Witnesses, American Bar Association, Section of Litigation (due October 2010)
• "Witnesses," Kentucky Civil Practice at Trial, University of Kentucky, 2008
• "The Fifth Element: Adding to the Daubert Criteria," Product Liability Law & Strategy, v. 26, no. 6, December 2007
• "Don't Take That Expert's Deposition," Insurance Coverage Law Bulletin, v. 3, no. 12, Jan. 2005
• "Defending Complex Product Liability Lawsuits," Defense Trial Counsel of West Virginia, Morgantown, W.Va., June 2002

Before Stites & Harbison

John's first career was teaching high school and college students in history, English literature, and rhetoric.  He later spent seven years in an environmental regulatory agency before going into private practice.

More Than Stites & Harbison

A long-time supporter of the arts, John served from 2006 to 2010 on the board of directors and executive committee of Actors Theatre of Louisville.  He was previously a member of the board of directors of the American Lung Association of Kentucky and served as board president in 1994-96.  John also served as trustee of St. Francis School in Goshen and on the board of the Louisville Audubon Society.

Besides Stites & Harbison

John and his wife, Phyllis, live on a working farm outside of Louisville, raise and board horses, and clean a lot of stalls.