Anne P. Keeton

PROFILE
PRACTICE
ACHIEVEMENTS

Biography

Anne enjoys a diverse civil litigation and appellate practice focusing on personal injury defense, product liability defense, fire and arson claims, defense of mental health organizations, employment discrimination, and insurance coverage issues. She also advises several school districts on various education law matters.

Anne thrives on the challenges of defense litigation. Her trial experience includes the defense of a national corporation on remand of a multi-million-dollar punitive damage award, and the successful defense of a young woman sued on a six-figure claim by an insurance company after a fire broke out at her apartment complex, as well as other personal injury litigation. In addition to her success in the courtroom, Anne has extensive experience briefing dispositive motions, achieving favorable decisions in numerous cases, among them a multi-million-dollar products liability suit. Anne has also conducted successful appeals and oral arguments in the Ohio Supreme Court, and Ohio’s First, Second, Third, and Twelfth District Courts of Appeals as well as the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.

Anne was named as an Ohio Rising Star Super Lawyer by Law & Politics magazine in 2005, 2010, 2011 and 2012. The award is peer nominated, and only 2.5% of lawyers in the State of Ohio are named. Anne is an active member of the Ohio State and Dayton Bar Associations, as well as the Ohio Association of Civil Trial Attorneys and Defense Research Institute. She serves on the Executive Committee for the Carl D. Kessler Inn of Court in Dayton and acts as its Programming Chair. Anne also co-chairs the Dayton Bar Association’s Solo/Small Practice Committee.

Community commitment is important to Anne. She is a member of the Associate Board for the Dayton Art Institute, planning the Art Institute’s annual Oktoberfest and Art Ball fundraisers, and she volunteers for Hospice of Dayton on its Style Show Committee. She also serves as a Deacon at Central Christian Church in Kettering and co-chairs its Christian Family Life Ministry. Anne volunteers with Habitat for Humanity and is a Friend of the Dayton Metro Library.

When not serving her clients, Anne revels in time spent with her husband, Mark, and their two sons, not to mention the family’s Airedale Terrier. The Keetons are avid UK and UVA fans, and make regular treks to Virginia and Kentucky to visit family and friends.

Education

J.D., University of Kentucky (2003)
B.A., University of Virginia (2000)

Bar Admissions

Supreme Court of Ohio
Supreme Court of the United States
US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
United States District Court Southern District of Ohio

Memberships

Dayton Bar Association
– Solo/Small Practice Committee, co-chair
Carl D. Kessler Inn of Court
– Executive Committee Member
– Programming Committee Chair
Ohio State Bar Association
Ohio Council of School Board Attorneys
Ohio Association of Civil Trial Attorneys
Defense Research Institute

Community Involvement

Dayton Art Institute, Associate Board
Hopsice of Dayton, Style Show Committee
Central Christian Church, Deacon and Christian Family Life Ministry, Co-Chair

Primary Practice Areas

Insurance
Education Law
Employment & Labor
Business Litigation

Representative Experience

Insurance – Personal Injury

Dickens v. Bloomingdale (Apr. 2, 2010), Mont. Cty. Case No. 2009-CV-407. Defended driver against personal injury suit where plaintiff doctor claimed herniated disc from auto accident, resulting in an excellent verdict for the client.

Insurance – General Liability and Casualty

Schrolucke v. Auglaize Farmers Cooperative, Auglaize County Case No. 05-CV-0103. Obtained summary judgment on behalf of Auglaize Farmers Cooperative on an employer intentional tort claim arising from a grain dust explosion.

Insurance – Fire & Arson

Auto-Owners Mutual Insurance Company, et al. v. Lori B. McGohan, et al. (April 28, 2008), Mont. Cty. Case No. 2005-CV-9214. Unanimous defense verdict in subrogation trial against young woman accused of causing apartment building fire.
The Lofts at Graydon Place Unit Owners Assoc. v. Showe Management Corp. dba Metropole Apts., Hamilton Cty. Case No. A0804053. Represented Fenton Rigging & Contracting, Inc. on alleged roof file claim at upscale downtown Cincinnati apartment building. Handled claim from pre-suit fire investigation, through contested liability litigation, to successful settlement.

Product Liability

Asbury v. EZ Lock, Inc. (2007), Mont. Cty. Case No. 05-CV-530. Multi-million dollar products liability case in which a successful Daubert challenge excluded the plaintiff’s primary expert and resulted in summary judgment for the defendant.
Coffey v. AK Steel Corp., et al.,Butler County No. CV 2008 05 2371. Defended BR Retreading, Inc. in complex negligence and products liability suit involving tire explosion, with claims voluntarily dismissed following settlement by all other defendants.

Community Mental Health Organization Defense

Green v. Logan County, Ohio, et al., U.S. District Court, S.D. Ohio No. 2:07-CV-778. Attained judgment on the pleadings on negligence and Section 1983 claims for a mental health organization and licensed social worker arising out of a brutal murder by a juvenile sex offender. Plaintiff’s request for leave to amend was denied due to its futility.

Employment & Labor

Ginwright v. Dayton Board of Edn., et al. U.S. District Court, S.D. Ohio No. 3:08-CV-298. Obtained grant of summary judgment on disability discrimination and breach of contract claims.

Education Law

Mad River Loc. Sch. Dist. Bd. of Edn. v. Athletic Design/Build Grp., Ltd., et al.,Montgomery County No. 08-CV-00417; Prosecuted breach of contract claim arising out of faulty track construction to successful settlement.

Business Litigation

John Blust, et al. v. Lamar Advertising Company (June 13, 2008), Mont. Cty. Case No. 01-CV-2035. Defended a national corporation in a week-long jury trial on remand of complex punitive damages claim resulting in a seven figure reduction in the amount of the damages award.

Appellate

Lovett v. Tyree, First Appellate Dist. No. C-050266. Successful appeal upholding summary judgment in slip and fall case.
Uhl v. Thomas, Twelfth Appellate Dist. No. CA2008-06-131, 2009-Ohio-196. Defended summary judgment to success in the Court of Appeals in premises liability case involving barn roof collapse.