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 considerable trial experience 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, most recently in "bet the company litigation."  He was also named Best Lawyers' 2012 Louisville Product Liability Litigation-Defendants Lawyer of the Year.  Kentucky Super Lawyers magazine listed him as one of the Top 50 Lawyers in Kentucky in 2007, 2010 and 2011, and he was named a "Litigation Star" in 2008 and 2009 by Benchmark: Litigation Magazine. In October 2011, John received a Distinguished Alumnus award from the Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville.

One of John's special interests 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).  John also maintains an active appellate practice.

Recent Assignments

• In the past five 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

• "Litigation Prevention: Using Litigation Experience to Help Reduce Product Risks," 4th Annual Product Safety & Liability Conference, Washington, D.C., October 2011
• "Kentucky Supreme Court Adopts the Economic Loss Doctrine," co-author with Cassidy Ruschell Rosenthal, Stites & Harbison, PLLC, Client Alert, July 5, 2011
• "Warnings & Instructions From A to Z," 3d Annual Product Safety & Liability Conference, Washington, D.C., October 2010
• "How to Survive a Daubert Challenge," AICPA National Conference on Forensic Accounting, Boston, Mass., September 2010
• "Daubert and Rule 702: Effectively Presenting and Challenging Experts in Federal Court," ALM Webinar, January 2010
• "Expert Reports," a chapter in Litigators on Experts, American Bar Association, Section of Litigation, 2010
• "Establishing Diversity in Medical Device Litigation," Product Liability Law & Strategy, v. 29, no. 2, August 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.