On April 14, 2004, FI&C won a precedent-setting decision from the Ohio Supreme Court in favor of its client WBNS TV, Inc. ("WBNS"), prohibiting public records custodians, including courts and judges, from creating new exceptions to the Ohio Public Records Act.  Columbus television station WBNS, represented by FI&C attorneys Charlie Faruki, Brad Anderson, and Karl Neudorfer, argued to the Supreme Court for reversal of the decision of the Preble County Probate Court to seal the court records of settlement proceedings arising out of the death of Brittanie N. Cecil, who was fatally injured after being struck by a puck while attending a Columbus Blue Jackets hockey game.  When a public records request by WBNS was rejected by the Probate Court's closure order, FI&C filed an original action in the Ohio Supreme Court on WBNS's behalf.  FI&C argued that the court records at issue are subject to public access notwithstanding the privacy concerns raised by the parties to the underlying proceedings, and the Ohio Supreme Court agreed.  In a 6-1 decision, the Supreme Court adopted FI&C's arguments that the Probate Court had exceeded the bounds of its authority.  The Ohio Supreme Court stated that it had "not authorized courts or other records custodians to create new exceptions to [the Ohio Public Records Act] based on a balancing of interests or generalized privacy concerns," and thus required the release of all of the records that WBNS sought.  The decision reaffirms that Ohio court records are public documents, and it confirms the principle that exceptions to the Ohio Public Records Act are limited to those enacted by the General Assembly.  State ex rel. WBNS TV, Inc. v. Dues, 101 Ohio St. 3d 406, 2004-Ohio-1497 (Apr. 14, 2004).

On April 30, 2004, FI&C obtained the dismissal of a purported nationwide class action only ten months after the case was filed against one of its clients, a worldwide leader in the information technology aggregation industry, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana (New Orleans).  The case, filed in July, 2003, alleged violations of the Drivers' Privacy Protection Act, 18 U.S.C. § § 2721, et seq. and the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. § § 1681 et seq.  FI&C's Charlie Faruki, Jeff Cox and Ron Raether successfully defended against the case, achieving a dismissal on the merits as to the DPPA claims in a January, 2004 decision reported at 302 F. Supp. 2d (2004) -- Russell v. Reed Elsevier, Inc., and a voluntary dismissal by Plaintiffs of the FCRA claims -- obtained shortly following FI&C's April, 2004 filing of its motion for summary judgment on all of Plaintiffs' FCRA claims.  The case was disposed of prior to any discovery or Plaintiffs' filing of a motion for class certification.

Paul Horstman, Melinda Burton and Karl Neudorfer successfully defended The Dayton Power and Light Company ("DP&L") in a wrongful termination of employment action filed against it by a former employee of one of DP&L's power generating stations.  On April 7, 2004, Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge A.J. Wagner granted DP&L's motion for summary judgment on all claims in the complaint, which included negligent retention and supervision, ratification of intentional tort, constructive discharge and wrongful discharge in violation of public policy.  The Court agreed with the position that the Ohio public policy favoring workplace safety did not require an employer to guarantee a safe work environment.

FI&C welcomed its three 2004 summer associates on May 17.  Rebecca Owen (The Ohio State University College of Law), Robert Gurry (University of Dayton School of Law) and Adam Sadlowski (Case Western Reserve University Law School) will be with FI&C for approximately twelve weeks of training and career practice development.

Marty Foos and Jeff Ireland were presenters at the National Business Institute's recent seminar addressing "Keys to Successful Pretrial Preparation in Ohio."  Marty was a member of the faculty for the April 29, 2004 seminar in Cincinnati, while Jeff spoke at the April 30, 2004 session in Dayton.  The seminar covered topics including case management and organization, discovery techniques and strategy, working with expert witnesses, ethical considerations, settlement negotiations, and planning and preparing for trial.