November 7, 2024–Best Lawyers® recognizes CRUG in its 15th edition of “Best Law Firms” List for 2025. CRUG is honored to be named and we thank our peers, clients and team of attorneys and legal staff who work hard every day to make us notable in the field.
Beginning October 22, 2024, amendments to R.C. 2305.15 become effective precluding any “out of state” or other tolling of the medical, legal, or other statutes of repose.
Also effective October 22, 2024, new R.C. 2307.241 becomes effective expressly permitting vicarious liability lawsuits directly against the employer or principle, and not requiring the “primarily liable agent” to be joined, except in cases of medical, dental, optometric, chiropractic, or legal professional liability. This codifies a long-standing Ohio rule created by the courts, recognizing that hospital and law firms cannot be held independently liable because only individual doctors and lawyers are licensed to practice medicine or law.
These changes were implemented specifically to overrule the Ohio Supreme Court’s decision in Elliott v. Duranni, 2022-Ohio-4190, which applied “out of state” tolling to the medical statute of repose.
September 12, 2024–The Eighth District Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment granted to CRUG’s client, a remodeling subcontractor, finding that a subcontractor’s contractual duty of good workmanship extends only to the property owner that hired him, and not to subsequent home purchasers. Jason Wood, et al. v. MAK Property Investments, 2024-Ohio-4485 (8th Dist.). The CRUG lawyers were Kurt Anderson and Patrick Roche (L,R).
September 16, 2024–CRUG attorneys Kurt Anderson and Pat Roche (L,R) won summary judgment for a construction contractor client. Judge Melissa Kobasher of the Lorain County Court of Common Pleas granted summary judgment to CRUG’s client, finding that an LLC owner that hired the contractor could not file a new lawsuit in his personal name on the same contract on which the contractor had previously sued and received a judgment against the LLC. Brian Robinson v. Richard Shank, Lorain County Common Pleas 23CV208966.
8 attorneys from CRUG were selected and included in the 31st publication of the 2025 edition of Best Lawyers in America® which recognizes attorneys who have demonstrated outstanding professional excellence in their careers. Lists are compiled based on an exhaustive peer review evaluation.
Named as a first-time honoree by Best Lawyers in America® is Eric K. Grinnell (Personal Injury Litigation – Defense).
Eric Grinnell and David Lester of CRUG’s Cleveland office recently won summary judgment in a coverage case arising out of an auto accident. The driver was previously convicted of aggravated assault as a result of the accident. Despite the fact that the driver argued his actions were unintentional, the trial court granted summary judgment to the insurer on the basis that the prior criminal conviction established intent to harm as a matter of law. Therefore, coverage was barred by the driver’s policy.
Beverly Adams and Kurt Anderson recently won summary judgment for their client in a complex landlord-tenant slip-and-fall claim in Geauga County Court of Common Pleas. The court dismissed the lawsuit ruling that 1) the lack of a handrail was an open-and-obvious hazard, 2) the handrail requirements in the building code in effect at the time of the fall did not apply where the former tenant’s lease pre-dated the adoption of the code, 3) where the former tenant agreed he was carrying items and only reached for a handrail after missing a step, it was speculative whether any handrail would have prevented the fall, and 4) any claim for injuries was barred by the tenant’s failure to assert it as a counterclaim in the landlord’s action for eviction and recovery of damages for rent and property damage.
CRUG celebrates 9 years of success serving clients we care about,
the communities we live and work in,
the amazing team of professionals we work alongside,
all while building a business we are truly proud of.
Here’s to 9 years and many more!
On December 28, 2023, David Lester of CRUG’s Cleveland office won a victory for CRUG’s client, the Coshocton County Memorial Hospital in the Supreme Court of Ohio, that Ohio’s four-year statute of repose for “medical claims”, set forth in R.C. 2305.113(C), applies to wrongful-death claims. In Everhart v. Coshocton County Mem. Hosp., 2023-Ohio-4670, the supreme court resolved a split in Ohio law by holding that the “broad definition of ‘medical claim’ that applies to the statute of repose clearly and unambiguously includes wrongful-death claims based on medical care, and nothing in Ohio’s statutory wrongful-death chapter negates their inclusion.” The decision can be found here: https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/rod/docs/pdf/0/2023/2023-Ohio-4670.pdf
