John Latchney

OVERVIEW

Mr. Latchney joined the firm in 2021 as a partner in the Municipal Liability, Employment/Discrimination, and Insurance Coverage groups.

Since 1994, Mr. Latchney has successfully defended and represented cities, villages, townships, school districts, developmental disabilities boards, county health departments, conservancy districts, metro parks, and agricultural societies, in the areas of public employment, employment discrimination, civil rights & constitutional law, police misconduct, school law, zoning & land use, eminent domain, insurance defense, personal injury, and public records law.

REPRESENTATIVE CASES

Jury Trials

  • Lead trial counsel in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio involving the presentation of First Amendment retaliation and Procedural Due Process claims, where the jury found in favor the city on First Amendment retaliation claim and in favor of the plaintiff on the Procedural Due Process claim, but awarded $0 in damages against a $200,000 pretrial settlement offer
  • Trial counsel in a common pleas court action asserting disability and age discrimination brought by a police officer against a village where the jury rendered a defense verdict on all claims
  • Trial counsel in a state court case involving gender discrimination and retaliation failure to promote action where the jury rendered a defense verdict in favor of the township on the gender discrimination claim and only $1,500 to plaintiff on her retaliation claim
  • Lead trial counsel in a hostile environment sexual harassment, gender discrimination and retaliation case in common pleas court where the jury rendered a defense verdict on all claims in favor of the township, police chief, sergeant, and patrol officer defendants
  • Trial counsel in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio in a sex discrimination case where the jury found in favor of the plaintiff, but awarded only $1.00 in nominal damages and where the district court denied plaintiff’s motion for attorney’s fees [55 F. Supp.2d 758 (1999)], which was subsequently affirmed on appeal by the United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals

Appellate Successes

  • Obtained affirmance from the United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in favor of an educational service center and four administrators in Domingo v. Kowalski, 810 F.3d 403 (6th Cir. 2016), where the court of appeals in a case of first impression found that the alleged abuse by a special education teacher did not “shock the conscience” for purposes of substantive due process claims brought by the parents of three special education students
  • Obtained reversal by the Ohio Supreme Court in favor of a village in Lee v. Cardington, 142 Ohio St.3d 488 (2014), in a wrongful discharge whistleblower case where the Fifth District Court of Appeals had unanimously reversed summary judgment in favor of the village at the trial court level
  • Successfully argued in Coles v. Erie Metroparks 448 F.3d 853 (6th Cir. 2006), that Ohio had a “reasonable, certain, and adequate procedure” for takings claimants to pursue in Ohio state courts, which effectively overruled prior adverse precedent in Kruse v. Chagrin Falls, 74 F.3d 694 (6th Cir. 1996)

Away from work, Mr. Latchney enjoys spending time with his wife, and serves as a parent volunteer for his two young sons who are involved in soccer, baseball, and swimming.

Professional Info

COURT + BAR ASSOCIATIONS

    • Ohio Supreme Court (1990)
    • United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals (1997)
    • U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio (1991)
    • U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio (2003)
    • Ohio State Bar Association
    • Lorain County Bar Association

EDUCATION

    • Cleveland Marshall College of Law (J.D. 1990)
    • University of Dayton (B.A. 1985)

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