Kevin is a talented and experienced commercial litigator whose practice is focused on financial services litigation and complex business and real estate disputes. Kevin’s breadth of experience, which includes positive results in state and federal trial and appellate courts, administrative proceedings, and alternative dispute resolution, provides clients with practical, creative, and cost-effective options to resolve disputes.
Prior to joining Matasar Jacobs, Kevin practiced in the Cleveland office of a national law firm focused on consumer financial services, representing financial institutions, lenders, loan servicers, and retailers in a wide range of real estate and financial services disputes. His representative experience includes:
- Defending indirect auto finance company in class action related to statutory repossession notices. Result: Negotiation of favorable class settlement approved by court. Gateway Financial Solutions v. Harrell, Cuyahoga C.C.P. Case No. CV-16-863111.
- Defending home improvement retailer and cabinet manufacturer in litigation involving breach of contract and Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act claims. Result: Dismissal on summary judgment; negotiation of favorable settlement to secure dismissal of appeal. Flasher v. Home Depot, Cuyahoga C.C.P. Case No. CV-16-859902; 8th Dist. Case No. CA-17-105610
Previously, Kevin was a litigation associate in Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease’s Columbus office, where he was recognized by Columbus CEO as a top business lawyer in 2016.
In addition to his commercial litigation work, Kevin’s experience also includes significant pro bono and volunteer immigration work, which has included successful T-visa applications for victims of human trafficking in Ohio and work on a number of successful asylum applications, including a university professor from Ethiopia who was threatened and detained by the Ethiopian government due to his research and critiques of the government’s land use and development policies.
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
CAFA Does Not Trump Valid Forum Selection Clause, CAFA Law Blog, February 16, 2017
Class Certification as a Prerequisite for CAFA Jurisdiction, Note, Minnesota Law Review, 96 Minn. L. Rev. 1151 (2012)
Ruiz: What the Court Decided, and What Comes Next, Minnesota Bar Association, Consumer Litigation Section Newsletter, Fall 2013
EDUCATION
University of Minnesota Law School, J.D., magna cum laude (2012); Managing Editor, Minnesota Law Review
University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, B.S. Urban Studies (2002)
ADMISSIONS
State Bar of Minnesota
State Bar of Ohio
U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio
