KATHLEEN M. MINAHAN

AREAS OF PRACTICE

• Civil Rights & Government Liability
• Employment & Labor Law
• General Liability

Ms. Minahan is an experienced civil litigator who has devoted her practice to representing public and private entities in commercial and employment litigation, both at the trial court level and on appeal. Ms. Minahan has defended employers and supervisors against claims of race, sex, gender, religion, age and disability discrimination, harassment and retaliation under state and federal laws, including claims for constitutional violations asserted against public employers and police officers. Minahan’s practice also encompasses high-stakes commercial contract disputes and torts implicating professional malpractice and fiduciary obligations.

REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE

• Chenevey v. Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority, et al., 2013-Ohio-1902, 992 N.E.2d 461 (8th Dist.) (affirming dismissal of police officer’s state-law discrimination claims for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Officer’s discrimination claims were preempted by R.C. 4117.10(A) because they could not be adjudicated without interpreting the collective bargaining agreement, a job reserved exclusively to arbitrators).
• Pierced company veil to hold members personally liable for $850,000 judgment against bankrupt LLC
• Defended company and employees from transgender discrimination and retaliation claims, resulting in favorable settlement upheld by the 6th Circuit after employee challenge
• Lead litigator in $2.5 million breach of limestone requirements contract resulting in substantial settlement to Cleveland shipping company

PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

• Advisory Group of the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio
• Court of Nisi Prius (inducted 2007)

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• V.P., Chief Administrative Officer, General Counsel & Secretary to LESCO, Inc., a publicly-traded manufacturer and distributor of turf care products to the professional green industry
• Deputy General Counsel Litigation to the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority
• Certified in the National Incident Management System

BAR ADMISSIONS

• Ohio
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit

EDUCATION

• J.D., Case Western Reserve University School of Law
• B.A., Ohio Wesleyan University
  • summa cum laude