Final Judgment Ends Two-Year Intellectual Property Federal Action In Favor of Cincinnati Attorney and Proctor & Gamble
February 2, 2009
All 21 Claims Dismissed or Granted Summary Judgment
Cincinnati, OH – The Honorable John D. Holschuh, Judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, recently entered Final Judgment in favor of defendants Theodore P. Cummings and Procter & Gamble ending a two-year-old Federal action initiated by Plaintiff Keith Whittle. Whittle had sued Cummings, a Cincinnati resident, attorney and former P&G employee along with his wife, Traci Cummings, and P&G. Judge Holschuh previously dismissed or granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants on 20 of the 21 original claims in the case and granted judgment in favor of Traci Cummings on all claims.
Over the past two years, Whittle had been sanctioned three times by the Court, including an attorney’s fees award, for filing a frivolous action. The Final Judgment was entered after Whittle dismissed the last of his 21 claims on December 10th in exchange for the Cummings’ waiver of their claims against Whittle for malicious prosecution and attorneys fees.
“My wife and I remained confident throughout the course of this lengthy and arbitrary lawsuit, said Cummings. “We are pleased the Court was able to see through Mr. Whittle's unfounded allegations for what they were -- frivolous, sanctionable and untrue. The Taft law firm, as headed up by my attorney Kevin Kirsch and his team, including Ryan Bednarczuk, were all that you could ask lawyers to be and worked diligently to get every claim dropped. I cannot think of a better firm or a better litigator who could have so successfully handled and managed this case.”
According to Kirsch, head of Taft’s Intellectual Property Litigation Practice, “Taft is pleased to have had the opportunity to successfully represent the Cummings in this matter. This action was brought without any reasonable pre-filing analysis. The court sanctioned Mr. Whittle multiple times during the lawsuit, including for filing a frivolous action. The Taft litigation team is grateful we could play a role in restoring Mr. Cummings’ professional reputation.”
About Taft
At Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP, delivering outstanding legal performance to help clients succeed is what drives and motivates its more than 400 attorneys and legal professionals every day. Taft has offices in Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus and Dayton, Ohio; Indianapolis, Indiana; Northern Kentucky; Phoenix, Arizona; and Beijing, China. The firm practices across a wide range of industries, in virtually every area of law, including: Business and Finance, Litigation, Labor and Employment, Intellectual Property, Bankruptcy, Restructuring and Creditors' Rights, Environmental, Health and Life Sciences; Personal Services; Real Estate and Tax law. With a proven track record of experience since 1885, Taft offers breadth and depth of legal expertise coupled with a trusted business perspective, helping its clients, big and small, regionally, nationally and internationally, in reaching their goals.
Cincinnati, OH – The Honorable John D. Holschuh, Judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, recently entered Final Judgment in favor of defendants Theodore P. Cummings and Procter & Gamble ending a two-year-old Federal action initiated by Plaintiff Keith Whittle. Whittle had sued Cummings, a Cincinnati resident, attorney and former P&G employee along with his wife, Traci Cummings, and P&G. Judge Holschuh previously dismissed or granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants on 20 of the 21 original claims in the case and granted judgment in favor of Traci Cummings on all claims.
Over the past two years, Whittle had been sanctioned three times by the Court, including an attorney’s fees award, for filing a frivolous action. The Final Judgment was entered after Whittle dismissed the last of his 21 claims on December 10th in exchange for the Cummings’ waiver of their claims against Whittle for malicious prosecution and attorneys fees.
“My wife and I remained confident throughout the course of this lengthy and arbitrary lawsuit, said Cummings. “We are pleased the Court was able to see through Mr. Whittle's unfounded allegations for what they were -- frivolous, sanctionable and untrue. The Taft law firm, as headed up by my attorney Kevin Kirsch and his team, including Ryan Bednarczuk, were all that you could ask lawyers to be and worked diligently to get every claim dropped. I cannot think of a better firm or a better litigator who could have so successfully handled and managed this case.”
According to Kirsch, head of Taft’s Intellectual Property Litigation Practice, “Taft is pleased to have had the opportunity to successfully represent the Cummings in this matter. This action was brought without any reasonable pre-filing analysis. The court sanctioned Mr. Whittle multiple times during the lawsuit, including for filing a frivolous action. The Taft litigation team is grateful we could play a role in restoring Mr. Cummings’ professional reputation.”
About Taft
At Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP, delivering outstanding legal performance to help clients succeed is what drives and motivates its more than 400 attorneys and legal professionals every day. Taft has offices in Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus and Dayton, Ohio; Indianapolis, Indiana; Northern Kentucky; Phoenix, Arizona; and Beijing, China. The firm practices across a wide range of industries, in virtually every area of law, including: Business and Finance, Litigation, Labor and Employment, Intellectual Property, Bankruptcy, Restructuring and Creditors' Rights, Environmental, Health and Life Sciences; Personal Services; Real Estate and Tax law. With a proven track record of experience since 1885, Taft offers breadth and depth of legal expertise coupled with a trusted business perspective, helping its clients, big and small, regionally, nationally and internationally, in reaching their goals.
