Stephen J. Butler

Practices

• Business Litigation
• Competition, Antitrust & White-Collar Crime
• Intellectual Property

Professional Experience

Steve assists clients in resolving business disputes involving issues such as breach of contract, business tort and unfair competition claims, disputes over corporate control, misappropriation of trade secrets, and infringement of intellectual property rights. He also advises clients regularly on antitrust and distribution matters. Steve has handled business cases in federal and state courts throughout the country.

Steve is admitted to the Supreme Court of Ohio, the United States District Court Southern District of Ohio, the United States Courts of Appeal for the Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, Ninth and Eleventh Circuits, and the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals.

Education

• University of Cincinnati College of Law, J.D., 1977, Order of the Coif; University of Cincinnati Law Review, Editor-in-Chief, 1976-1977
• St. Joseph's College, B.A., 1974, magna cum laude

• Business Disputes
• Defense of manufacturer in False Claims Act litigation in Louisiana seeking $250 million in damages for alleged product substitution on federally funded project.
• Obtained injunction in federal court in Florida, which was affirmed by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, enforcing a non-compete agreement on behalf of manufacturer against a terminated distributor.
• Designed and conducted internal investigation for manufacturer which suspected that its regional plants in Massachusetts and North Carolina had provided nonconforming products under government contracts, and then implemented a procedure to resolve the matter without litigation by disclosing the results of the investigation to the government agency.
• Defense of landfill operators in environmental citizens’ suit alleging federal statutory and state common law claims.
• Representation of commercial property owner in indemnification claim against seller of business for environmental remediation costs.
• Assisted in representation of manufacturing companies in Superfund contribution claims.
• Defense of manufacturer of stormwater detention system in 400 unit condominium project in New Jersey in litigation over collapse of the system by the developer against the manufacturer, the engineer and the contractor.
• Defense of manufacturer of large corrugated steel tunnel in litigation over collapse of the structure at a coal mine.
• Multiple representations of manufacturer of oil country tubular goods in litigation involving offshore and down-hole failures in wells and transmission lines.
• Defense of contractor in criminal investigation, government enforcement action, and civil class action in Indiana arising out of discharge of chemicals into a river.
• Obtained $10 million arbitration award for damages suffered by purchaser of a business arising from seller's breach of representation that it had operated the business in compliance with the law.
• Representation of steel manufacturer in claim against supplier of scrap metal for delivering scrap containing radioactive material that contaminated the manufacturer's plant.
• Defense of purchaser of business in claims by seller for breach of contract and fiduciary duties in connection with determination of the earn-out portion of the purchase price.
• Representation of purchaser in breach of warranty and constructive fraud litigation against manufacturer of equipment for heat-treating steel.
• Defense of officer of savings bank against criminal fraud charges.  
  
  
• Intellectual Property
• Represented inventor of technology in litigation with equity investors over control of the corporation.
• Defense of company accused of stealing trade secrets after hiring a chemist employed by a competitor in FBI investigation and related civil litigation in Ohio.
• Defense of physician in litigation in California for copyright infringement based on materials presented at medical seminar.
• Representation of Australian manufacturer of consumer products in design patent infringement case.
• Representation of digital printer manufacturer in patent infringement case.
• Obtained injunction and retraction order on behalf of national catalog company in Lanham Act false advertising case against a competitor.
• Representation of chemical manufacturer in action to enjoin a competitor's misappropriation of product formula.
• Defense of manufacturer of storm water treatment device in patent infringement litigation.
• Defense of manufacturer of products used in concrete construction in patent infringement litigation.
• Defense of patent owner in litigation alleging misappropriation of ideas and seeking change of inventorship and damages.
• Representation of accused infringer in Federal Circuit appeal of case involving packaging system.
• Representation of national operator of grocery and related stores in declaratory judgment and infringement litigation involving fuel rewards systems.
• Representation of owner of patent covering process for preparing pressure sensitive adhesive in declaratory judgment litigation asserting claims of invalidity and inequitable conduct.
• Representation of manufacturer of surgical instruments in litigation against former employee who obtained patents on devices in violation of his inventions agreement.
• Representation of nutraceutical manufacturer in false patent marking litigation.
• Representation of manufacturer of industrial machinery in patent infringement litigation.
• Defense of supplier of hardware and software systems for networked inventory management against claims for copyright infringement and misappropriation of trade secrets.
  
  
• Antitrust
• Defense of manufacturer in litigation in Ohio by a distributor alleging price discrimination.
• Defense of soft drink bottler in grand jury price fixing investigation in Kentucky that was terminated without indictment.
• Defense of company in civil investigation by Attorney General of Missouri into alleged monopolistic practices.
• Representation of individual charged with criminal antitrust violations in investigation of market allocation in the packaged ice industry.
• Representation of manufacturer of ready-mix concrete in claim against plant owner for unlawful tying arrangement.

• Seminar presentation on antitrust and contracting issues in purchase and sale transactions
• Seminar presentation and publication of materials entitled "Distribution Conflicts in Cyberspace," dealing with antitrust issues involved in doing business on the Internet.
• Presentation of training programs to clients' sales employees on antitrust compliance.

• Recognized in the directory of The Best Lawyers in America, 2007-2012
• Selected for inclusion in Super Lawyers by Ohio Super Lawyer magazine