Thad M. Barnes

Thad M. Barnes

Commercial Litigation

4.0 (1 reviews)
Louisville, Kentucky
32+ years experience
Stites & Harbison PLLC
Updated:

Contact Information

400 West Market Street, Suite 1800, Louisville, KY 40202-3352
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Bio

Thad Barnes is an experienced trial attorney with approximately 40 bench and jury trials to his credit. Mr. Barnes' practice is focused on intellectual property litigation, complex commercial litigation, and health care litigation. Mr. Barnes has extensive experience in patent litigation, trade secret cases, product liability matters and works extensively with flavor and fragrance manufacturers. He is listed in Benchmark Litigation as a Litigation Star in the Intellectual Property practice area. Mr. Barnes also handles complex electronic discovery issues and advises clients on privacy, information security issues, and social media issues and works with clients to implement defensible approaches to the presentation, collection and production of electronically stored information (ESI) for litigation, government requests and investigations.Recent AssignmentsSuccessfully represented flavor manufacturer in New Jersey federal court in a products liability litigation against a supplier of adulterated productsRepresented a UK protective case manufacturer against patent infringement claims filed by OtterBox at the United States International Trade Commission, In the Matter of Certain Protective Cases for Electronic Devices and Components Thereof, Investigation No. 337-TA-955 filed by OtterBox. Obtained complete dismissal of the investigation. See "Victory for Tech21 as OtterBox ends patent dispute with protective case rival," MOBILE NEWS (September 15, 2015).After a five week jury trial in New Jersey federal court, obtained a unanimous defense verdict in favor of fragrance company Mane USA, Inc. dismissing claims that the company conspired with a perfumer to misappropriate over 600 trade secret fragrance formulas from a competitor–Swiss fragrance giant Givaudan Fragrances Corp. Givaudan had claimed $80 million in damages. Before trial, Mane obtained partial summary judgment from the Court dismissing the majority of the claims in a decision that received national attention as an important case regarding potential trade secret liability for subsequent employers. See Givaudan Fragrances Corp. v. Krivda, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 153437 (D.N.J. Civil Action No. 3:08-cv-04409, Oct. 25, 2013), reported in Failure to Provide Specific Information On Alleged Misappropriations Fatal to Claims, Bloomberg, BNA Patent, Trademark & Copyright Journal (October 29, 2013).Lead counsel in obtaining $40 million settlement for global flavor manufacturer V. Mane Fils (www.mane.com) against a competitor for claims of patent infringement, false advertising, and tortious interference. See: NEW YORK TIMES, IFF and Mane Announce Settlement of Mane's Lawsuit Concerning Monomenthyl Succinate (December 29, 2011) V. Mane Fils S.A. v. Int'l Flavors & Fragrances, Inc., 249 F.R.D. 152 (D.N.J. 2008), reported in NEW JERSEY LAW JOURNAL, Use of Attorneys' Letters To Woo Business Held To Waive Privilege (March 5, 2008) V. Mane Fils S.A. v. Int'l Flavors & Fragrances, Inc., 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 38637 (D.N.J. Apr. 8, 2011) V. Dist. LEXIS 49578 (D.N.J. June 23, 2008) V. Dist. LEXIS 63619 (D.N.J. Aug. 19, 2008) V. Mane Fils S.A. v. Int'l Flavors & Fragrances, Inc., 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 82540 (D.N.J. Oct. 15, 2008) V. Mane Fils S.A. LEXIS 56462 (D.N.J. July 1, 2009) V. Mane Fils S.A. LEXIS 45645 (D.N.J. May 6, 2010)Lead counsel in successful international arbitration trial involving pro audio music speaker manufacturer and foreign distributor for 40 countriesSuccessfully defended a second request hospital merger challenge by Federal Trade CommissionCo-counsel in multi-million dollar environmental remediation and allocation dispute involving international corporations. Westlake Vinyls, Inc. v. Goodrich Corp., 518 F.Supp 2d 902 (W.D. Ky. 2007) and Westlake Vinyls, Inc. v. Goodrich Corp., 518 F.Supp. 2d 918 (W.D. Ky. 2007)Developed numerous document retention/ESI policies for large U.S. corporationsLitigated a trademark infringement action involving two U.S. restaurant corporationsSuccessfully defended a complex business case involving a dispute over the sale of power generating equipment. The case involved over 150 witnesses, 2 million paper documents and in excess of three terabytes of electronic data.Represented a technology company in a complex business case involving breach of contract claimsSuccessfully defended several hospitals in medical malpractice casesSuccessfully defended a manufacturer in an anti-trust case. The case involved an assessment of several terabytes of electronic information by a team of Stites lawyersMore Than Stites & HarbisonPreviously, Mr. Barnes was Vice President and General Counsel of Triangle Seafood Inc. where he handled the company's litigation, federal compliance work, and general corporate affairs. Thad and his wife, Laura, stay busy attending the sporting events for their five children.Community InvolvementSt. Agnes Church, MemberPi Kappa Alpha, Board of DirectorsRecent News, Articles & Speaking EngagementsCommanding the Courtroom, University of Kentucky College of Law, Lexington, Ky., November 2, 2018, with Matthew W. Breetz3rd Circ. Won't Revive $80M Fragrance Secrets Rowby Dan Packel, Law360.com, February 12, 2016 Thad Barnes is an experienced trial attorney with approximately 40 bench and jury trials to his credit. Mr. Barnes' practice is focused on intellectual property litigation, complex commercial litigation, and health care litigation. Mr. Barnes also handles complex electronic discovery issues and advises clients on privacy, information security issues, and social media issues and works with clients to implement defensible approaches to the presentation, collection and production of electronically stored information (ESI) for litigation, government requests and investigations. Recent Assignments Represented a UK protective case manufacturer against patent infringement claims filed by OtterBox at the United States International Trade Commission, In the Matter of Certain Protective Cases for Electronic Devices and Components Thereof, Investigation No. 337-TA-955 filed by OtterBox. Obtained complete dismissal of the investigation. See "Victory for Tech21 as OtterBox ends patent dispute with protective case rival," MOBILE NEWS (September 15, 2015). After a five week jury trial in New Jersey federal court, obtained a unanimous defense verdict in favor of fragrance company Mane USA, Inc. dismissing claims that the company conspired with a perfumer to misappropriate over 600 trade secret fragrance formulas from a competitor–Swiss fragrance giant Givaudan Fragrances Corp. Givaudan had claimed $80 million in damages. Krivda, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 153437 (D.N.J. Civil Action No. 3:08-cv-04409, Oct. 25, 2013), reported in Failure to Provide Specific Information On Alleged Misappropriations Fatal to Claims, Bloomberg, BNA Patent, Trademark & Copyright Journal (October 29, 2013). Goodrich Corp., 518 F.Supp 2d 902 (W.D. Ky. 2007) and Westlake Vinyls, Inc. v. Goodrich Corp., 518 F.Supp. 2d 918 (W.D. Ky. 2007) Developed numerous document retention/ESI policies for large U.S. corporations Litigated a trademark infringement action involving two U.S. Thad and his wife, Laura, stay busy attending the sporting events for their five children. Community Involvement Recent News, Articles & Speaking Engagements

Practice Areas

Commercial Litigation

Awards & Recognition

  • Recognized: Commercial Litigation
  • Practice Area: Arbitration
  • Practice Area: Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships)
  • Practice Area: Litigation - Antitrust
  • Practice Area: Litigation - Intellectual Property
  • Practice Area: Mass Tort Litigation
  • Practice Area: Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Defendants
  • Practice Area: Mediation
  • Practice Area: Patent Law
  • Practice Area: Product Liability Litigation
  • Practice Area: Product Liability Litigation - Defendants
  • Practice Area: Trademark Law
  • Kentucky Super Lawyers
  • Benchmark Litigation magazine, Litigation Star

Recognized in Best Lawyers since 2013

Education

  • University of Louisville, J.D., graduated 1993
  • University of Kentucky, BA, graduated 1990

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Reviews

G

Gary Harris

2 weeks ago

Expert guidance through a complex partnership dispute

Our company faced a significant and contentious dispute with a former business partner, involving both contractual disagreements and intellectual property concerns. We turned to Thad Barnes at Stites & Harbison based on his long-standing recognition in business organizations and commercial litigation. His 32 years of experience, particularly his deep background in complex commercial and IP litigation, were immediately evident. He guided us through arbitration with a strategic, steady hand, and his extensive trial experience gave us immense confidence in our position. The outcome was highly favorable. While his expertise is top-tier, communication during the process could occasionally lag by a day or two. Overall, we felt exceptionally well-represented by a true expert in the field.

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