On a motion by FI&C in an action brought as a mass tort class action, the Common Pleas Court of Montgomery County, Ohio, threw out claims based on a number of theories seeking recovery for alleged damages arising out of an explosion in 2003 at the plant of a client of our firm. The court dismissed or struck claims for negligence based on a duty to warn or instruct and based on res ipsa loquitur; claims for intentional infliction of emotional distress; claims for negligent infliction of emotional distress based on observing damage to Plaintiffs' properties; claims for trespass; claims for battery; and Plaintiffs' attempts to state separate claims for diminution of property value and for punitive damages, as those are types of damages rather than separate claims for relief. The court addressed the merits of these claims prior to dealing with class certification issues. This case is but one of the class actions which the firm is handling.

FI&C is busy with its 2004 Fall Recruiting Campaign, with on-campus visits scheduled at Notre Dame, Michigan, Ohio State, Washington University (St. Louis), University of Dayton, and Washington & Lee. In addition, the firm is receiving résumés from the University of Cincinnati, the University of Virginia, and Indiana University. FI&C is actively recruiting the class of 2005 for associate candidates and the class of 2006 for summer associate candidates. If we are not scheduled to interview at your school, and you would like to be considered for an interview with the firm, please forward your résumé and a copy of your transcript to Jeff Cox, partner in charge of recruiting at jcox@ficlaw.com, or mail a copy to Jeff at 500 Courthouse Plaza, S.W., Dayton, Ohio 45402. FI&C is interested in a diverse attorney population and prefers candidates with law review or judicial clerkship experience or both, and candidates at or near the top 15% of their law school classes. If you are interested in a career in complex litigation with a national practice but based in a smaller city, please contact us!

Bob Bartlett will be one of the featured presenters at the Ohio State Bar Association's October 15 Law and Media Conference. Bob is a co-chair of the 2004 conference and is the current Chairman of the Ohio State Bar Association's Media Law Committee. A Fellow of The American College of Trial Lawyers, Bob has long represented print and electronic media interests including the Dayton Daily News, WHIO-TV and Cox Publishing Inc. Bob will be speaking on the topic of "getting ready to report the news," discussing how to minimize legal risks through pre-publication and pre-broadcast review.

As reported in the July 2004 newsletter, FI&C achieved two important wins on behalf of its client, The Iams Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Procter & Gamble Company, in Lanham Act litigation with a competitor. In the false advertising litigation, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio ruled favorably on Iams' motions to exclude the competitor's expert economist on Daubert grounds. That ruling was challenged by Iams' opponent on a motion for reconsideration, but the Court refused the arguments and reiterated its prior rulings excluding the expert and barring Iams' opponent from obtaining any monetary damages.

Julie Zink has joined the adjunct faculty at the University of Dayton School of Law for the Fall 2004 semester, teaching a Legal Professions course focused on legal writing and oral advocacy. Julie is in her sixth year of practice, with a focus on intellectual property litigation. Tom Kraemer is also associated with UDSL this fall, once again advising the law school's Intellectual Property Mock Trial Team; he has been an adjunct faculty member for several years teaching in both the Legal Professions program as well as an intellectual property trial practice course.