Brad S. Keeton is a Member in Stoll Keenon Ogden’s Louisville office and chairs the firm’s Antitrust, Trade Regulation & Franchise Practice. He has been with the firm since 2007 and contributes to several practice groups, focusing on complex commercial litigation, antitrust litigation, antitrust risk and compliance counseling, appellate work, and regulatory compliance in the fields of healthcare, hemp, international trade, and tobacco.
Brad represents clients in a variety of industries, including agriculture, automotive, construction, energy, equine, healthcare, hemp, insurance, manufacturing, mortgage loan servicing, and tobacco. While he regularly represents clients based in Kentucky, a substantial portion of his practice is dedicated to representing national and international businesses in matters around the county.
For example, Brad represents several national mortgage servicers in litigation matters around the country; acts as primary outside regulatory and trade compliance counsel for an international agricultural operation; acts as primary outside regulatory compliance counsel for several Subsequent Participating Manufacturers to the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement; and acts as national products liability counsel for a large Italian manufacturing group.
Active in the community, Brad lends his expertise to several nonprofit and professional organizations, and was selected to serve on the Fund for the Arts 2019 NeXtGen Board, which oversees the NeXt program to support emerging leaders in the Arts. Brad is the immediate-past Board President of Commonwealth Theatre Center and also serves on the Junior League of Louisville Community Advisory Board.
Antitrust, Trade Regulation & Franchise: Brad provides effective and actionable representation for corporate clients in a range of matters on local and national levels. Among the services he offers include antitrust litigation and compliance counseling and dealer termination and franchise litigation.
In the regulatory compliance realm, Brad advises several Subsequent Participating Manufacturers on compliance with the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement and related regulations, frequently coordinating with the National Association of Attorneys General and representatives of the Settling States.
He also regularly advises companies in the agricultural and medical device industries on compliance with the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act and Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations and frequently interacts with the United States Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Controls.
Representative matters include successfully representing an automobile manufacturer against claims of breach of franchise agreement, bad faith, breach of contract, fraud, and deceptive practices brought by a former franchised dealer.
The claims involved complex issues relating to the manufacturer’s allocation and distribution policies for new automobiles to franchised dealers, as well as claims involving oral promises of a new dealership. After achieving summary judgment in the client’s favor resolving all claims except the breach of franchise agreement claim, the jury found in the client’s favor after a federal jury trial.
Appellate: Brad regularly represents both appellants and appellees, helping clients navigate post-trial motions and other intricacies associated with challenging a court decision. He has handled appeals before the Kentucky Supreme Court, Kentucky Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Courts of Appeal for the 3rd, 6th, and 7th Circuits.
Recent representative matters include successfully prosecuting an appeal to the Kentucky Supreme Court on behalf of a residential homeowners association after an adverse ruling at the trial court.
It its decision reversing the Kentucky Court of Appeals, the Kentucky Supreme Court recognized for the first time that the principle of a defeasible easement exists in Kentucky, thereby stripping the subdivision’s developer of an easement it purportedly retained after the subdivision was completed.
Business Litigation: A determined problem solver who has been recognized as a top talent in the litigation community, Brad helps clients tactically manage disputes from the point of initial investigations to trial. He has successfully represented local, national, and international businesses in complex commercial litigation matters in courts around the country.
Representative matters include successfully defending two subdevelopers and their principals against claims they violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act by allegedly misappropriating the proceeds from industrial revenue bonds issued to fund the construction of a large, urban, mixed-use development and successfully defending a national mortgage servicer against claims that it violated the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act and the Kentucky Consumer Protection Act.
Mineral & Environmental Law: Brad has been a part of several SKO teams involved in performing complex due diligence and preparing transaction documents related to oil and natural gas properties.
Representative transactions include the acquisition of more than 1.46 million acres of producing oil and gas properties in the eastern United States, several joint ventures with aggregate payments exceeding $4 billion, and an IPO for midstream gathering services.
Tort, Trial & Insurance Services: Insurance litigation is another specialty area where Brad has an impressive track record. One significant case he has handled involved his defense of a life insurance company against claims that it violated a structured settlement and annuity agreement related to the resolution of a prior personal injury action.
EDUCATION :
- Washington University St. Louis 2007, J.D.
- Centre College 2003, B.A.
ADMISSIONS :
- United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit
- Kentucky
- Pennsylvania
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Kentucky
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of Indiana
- U.S. District Court, Western District of Kentucky
- U.S. District Court, Western District of Pennsylvania
Affiliations :
- Louisville Bar Association, (Leadership Academy Graduate, 2012)
- Kentucky Bar Association
- American Bar Association
- Commonwealth Theatre Center, Board of Directors, 2012-Present (Chair 2015-2018)
- Junior League of Louisville, Community Advisory Board, 2016-Present
- Fund for the Arts, NeXtGen Board, 2018-Present
- Fund for the Arts, Board of Directors, (ex officio), 2015 – 2018
- Leadership Louisville Center, Ignite Louisville Program for Emerging Leaders, 2014 – 2015
- Louis D. Brandeis American Inn of Court, Associate Member, 2009-2011
Cost
Rate : $$$