Related Information
Education
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University of Kentucky College of Law
J.D. 1971
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Loyola University
A.B., Honors Program, 1968
Admissions
U.S. Supreme Court
Kentucky
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky
Service Areas
- Antitrust, Consumer Protection & Attorney General Defense
- Appellate Advocacy
- Civil Litigation
- Class Action, Mass Action & Multi-District Litigation
- Equine Practice
- Insurance Coverage, Bad Faith and Regulatory Litigation
- Pharmaceuticals, Medical Devices, and Healthcare Litigation
- Product Liability
- Professional Liability (Non-Medical Professionals)
- Torts & Insurance Practice
- Toxic Tort & Environmental Defense
- Trial Practice
Industry Experience
- Industrial / Manufacturing Facilities
- Pharmaceutical / Medical Devices
- Religious Institutions
Memberships
- American College of Trial Lawyers, Fellow; Regent for Region IX; State Chair (2000-01 and 2009-13)
- American Board of Trial Advocates, Advocate President, Kentucky Chapter, 2000-01
- Kentucky Bar Association
- Fayette County Bar Association
John Famularo has been an active trial lawyer for more than 30 years. He successfully argued the boundary dispute case of Ohio v. Kentucky before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1973, and has successfully secured verdicts in more than 100 cases in a wide range of products. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and Regent of the ACTL Board representing Region IX, which consists of Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee and Michigan. He is the co-chair of the firm’s Torts & Insurance Practice Service Group, and his practice is primarily in defense of pharmaceutical companies, product liability matters, class action defense and complex litigation. He has served as Chief Judge of the 22nd Judicial District in Lexington and is General Counsel for Roman Catholic Diocese of Lexington. He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America® (1993-2013) in Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants and was named Best Lawyers' 2012 Lexington Personal Injury Litigation-Defendants Lawyer of the Year. He is also listed in Kentucky Super Lawyers magazine, where he has been listed among the Top 50 Lawyers in the state.
Recent Assignments
- Lead counsel in the defense of the OxyContin litigation in Kentucky for the Purdue Company resulting in Summary Judgment in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky
- Successfully obtained dismissal of the sexual abuse cases against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lexington, including the clarification by the Kentucky Supreme Court on the press's right to publish under First Amendment arguments, materials stricken from a Complaint
- Successfully defended Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company in a major product case and established Kentucky's adoption of both Daubert and Kumho Tire on appeal to the Supreme Court of Kentucky
Before Stites & Harbison
John served as an Assistant Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, first assistant prosecutor for the 22nd Judicial Circuit and Chief Judge of the 22nd Judicial District sitting in Lexington, Kentucky.
More than Stites & Harbison
Civic and community involvement has included Big Brothers/Big Sisters Board of Directors, the Board of Governors of Kentucky Bar Association, and President of the School Boards for Christ the King Parochial School and Lexington Catholic High School.
Besides Stites & Harbison
John enjoys Kentucky basketball, thoroughbred horse racing, fishing, hunting, golf and travel.