MARK litigates and tries complex business disputes, concentrating on corporate, business tort, utilities and public law litigation. His in-depth focus includes consultant and accountant liability litigation, contract disputes, Uniform Commercial Code issues, trade secrets and non-competition covenants. Mark also works with clients to resolve zoning and other issues involving local and state governments.
Mark regularly appears in state and federal courts in Ohio and throughout the country on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants. His recent experience includes:
- Winning one of the largest business-case jury verdicts in Ohio in a lawsuit for fraud by a developer in relocating a major tenant to an unsuitable site.
- Obtaining a multi-million dollar settlement for an industrial corporation damaged by the failure of a new enterprise computer system to perform as promised.
- Recovering more than $30 million for the liquidation estate of a large Ohio insurance company, including $10 million from the company’s auditors, nearly $9 million from its corporate attorneys, and more than $4 million from former officers and directors.
- Winning the first case in the Ohio Supreme Court establishing the right of Ohio municipalities to charge impact fees to developers to pay for infrastructure necessitated by new development.
- Establishing, by an Ohio Supreme Court ruling, the proper statute of limitations for claims brought against utilities by customers.
- Settling a claim by a large public university for millions of dollars, paid by the supplier of faulty computer software to the university.
- Negotiating multi-million dollar settlements from the former auditors and from former officers and directors of a defunct surety bond company outside of Ohio.
Mark is a member of the Federal Court Panel for ADR Procedures and was previously a member of the Civil Justice Reform Act Advisory Group. He has been honored consistently with inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America, Who’s Who in America, Leading Lawyers by Cleveland’s Inside Business magazine, and by Chambers USA. Clients told Chambers that he “is a litigator who isn’t afraid to face down the toughest opponent and gets the job done.”
Mark served as chairman of The Sculpture Center, and is currently member of the executive committee of the Cleveland Chapter of the American Constitution Society. He is a member of the Cleveland Metropolitan and Federal Bar Associations and the Cuyahoga County Law Directors Association, and is a member of the Pro Bono Committee of Northeast Ohio Legal Aid.
From 1974 to 1975 Mark served as a clerk for Chief Judge Frank J. Battisti in U.S. District Court. He was an associate with Baker & Hostetler from 1975 to 1979 and served as chief trial counsel for the City of Cleveland from 1979 to 1981. Mark began his tenure with Calfee Halter & Griswold LLP in 1981, becoming a partner in 1983, and joined Thacker Martinsek LPA in 2012.
Education
- Harvard Law School, J.D., cum laude, 1974
- Wesleyan University, B.A., magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, 1971
Admissions
- State of Ohio
- U.S. District Courts (Northern and Southern Districts of Ohio, Eastern and Western Districts of Michigan)
- U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Federal, Sixth and Eighth Circuits
- U.S. Supreme Court
Professionals
Of Counsel
Principal Practices
- General Litigation
- Business, Corporate and Commercial Litigation
- Public Law Litigation
- Business Claims Litigation
Education
- Harvard Law School, J.D., cum laude, 1974
- Wesleyan University, B.A., magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, 1971
Admissions
- State of Ohio
- U.S. District Courts (Northern and Southern Districts of Ohio, Eastern and Western Districts of Michigan)
- U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Federal, Sixth and Eighth Circuits
- U.S. Supreme Court
Thacker Robinson Zinz LPA
(216) 456-3848