Ronald D. Holman, II

Ron is a business litigator and partner at Taft who defends complex litigation and class actions, including matters involving commercial disputes, unfair and deceptive consumer sales practices, trade secrets, fraud, violations of statutory law, employment law, and workers’ compensation issues.

As lead counsel, Ron provides customized legal services to his national, state, and local clients. In his class action work, Ron develops and executes successful defense strategies that are tailored to the needs of clients and their in-house counsel. Because of his track record, corporate clients have retained Ron to protect their interests in class actions involving hundreds of millions of dollars of potential exposure. He also has significant experience in a wide range of other commercial controversies, including those generating significant media exposure or threatening long-term reputational harm.

Ron’s passion for solving clients’ problems makes him an invaluable business partner. He views each engagement with an eye toward achieving the client’s business objectives expeditiously and cost-effectively. Ron also serves as a trusted advisor to his clients in evaluating and minimizing risk, and views successful client representation as a business partnership.

Ron has represented clients before state and federal courts, Ohio appellate courts, the Supreme Court of Ohio, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, among other courts.

Outside of his practice, Ron has been appointed by the Chief Judge of the Northern District of Ohio to the federal court’s Civil Justice Reform Act Advisory Group and Magistrate Selection Panel. Ron served on the transition committees for City of Cleveland Mayors Jane Campbell and Frank Jackson. He also has served as board chair for numerous nonprofit agencies. Ron served on the board of directors for a financial institution for 10 years. For more than a decade, he appeared as a legal analyst and commentator on News Channel 5 – WEWS-TV (the Cleveland ABC news affiliate).

• Obtained summary judgment of all class claims in a consumer class action (challenging discount advertising) for one of the nation’s largest retailers.
• Successfully defended state turnpike commission in $800 million dispute challenging the federal and state constitutionality of toll increases, leading to a dismissal of all state and federal claims.
• Obtained the dismissal of all class claims in a consumer class action challenging a national TV retailer’s “Buy One Get One Free” advertising, including those involving violation of a consumer protection statute, fraud, and unjust enrichment.
• Secured dismissals of three separate class actions challenging workers’ compensation practices of state agency, all of which were affirmed by the Supreme Court of Ohio.
• Successfully settled a class action representing one of the nation’s leading providers of eye care services, after obtaining dismissals of multiple claims (including those for class relief).
• Obtained a favorable resolution of a class action involving allegations of fraud and statutory violations for a Fortune 200 company.
• Successfully resolved a class action seeking hundreds of millions of dollars that involved breach of contract, fraud, and unjust enrichment claims for a national industry leader.
• Successfully petitioned the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse District Court’s ruling on proper standard to apply in calculating damages for purposes of removal under the Class Action Fairness Act.
• Procured the dismissal of 15 claims for one of the nation’s largest gaming enterprises in a suit alleging claims for breach of contract, libel, slander, and constitutional violations.
• Obtained summary judgment for a national life sciences client and its top executives in a gender and age discrimination dispute, which was affirmed on appeal.
• Demanded and secured voluntary dismissal (with prejudice) of an employment action after taking Plaintiff’s deposition.
• Procured the voluntary dismissal (with prejudice) of one of the world’s largest food and beverage companies and all Defendants in a premises liability action after deposing Plaintiff.
• Secured a dismissal of a collective action and class action under the Fair Labor Standards Act for one of the nation’s largest luxury vehicle dealerships.
• Obtained summary judgment of all claims (including age, race, and national origin discrimination, and retaliation) in favor of a university, which the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed.
• Represented a national healthcare consulting company in successfully negotiating a $3.5 million settlement that resolved a class action based on alleged statutory violations and fraud in federal court.

Speeches

• Participated in a roundtable discussion sponsored by the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County on the Gibson’s Bakery/Oberlin College trial, Oct. 2023.
• Served as a panelist at the American Bar Association’s 2020 Virtual Class Action National Institute, Oct. 2020.
• Served as a panelist at a national conference of First Amendment and media lawyers sponsored by Media Law Resource Center, Oct. 2020.

Publications

• Quoted, “Large law firms offer benefit of number of attorneys,” Cleveland Jewish News Legal Affairs Section, April 16, 2021.
• Author, “The Class Action Wave: Many COVID-19 Related Filings Likely on the Horizon,” Taft Law Bulletin, May 14, 2020.