John Barnoski

John C. Barnoski’s practice focuses on trial and litigation matters that involve complex business disputes between companies and individuals. John has tried and litigated numerous cases that involved claims related to non-competition, non-solicitation, and licensing agreements; breach of fiduciary duty claims against officers and directors of public and private companies; internal disputes between shareholders and partners; “business divorces” between shareholders or members of closely-held companies; claims and disputes arising out of failed real estate transactions or relationships; and, Will contests and claims arising out of the administration of estates.

John’s clients cover a wide range of industries, including the health care, financial, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, real estate and insurance industries. John has successfully prosecuted or defended over 25 injunction proceedings in federal and state courts in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

He also has a significant arbitration practice, having tried several cases before the American Arbitration Association, JAMS, and other alternative dispute resolution panels, and he has participated in multiple mediations involving claims in excess of $1.0 million, which mediations either resulted in the payment of substantial sums to his clients, or in the resolution of all claims against his clients, thereby avoiding the cost of litigation.

John also serves as a trusted advisor to clients outside of the courtroom and the litigation process. He routinely counsels officers, directors, and shareholders on issues related to corporate governance, internal controls, and risk management strategies to reduce exposure to litigation.

He has assisted clients to qualify as Field Marketing Organizations with major health care providers, having developed and drafted compliance programs for the clients and negotiated the agency agreements with the health care providers.

John has also negotiated various, multi-million dollar stock buy-outs on behalf of minority shareholders and members, and has advised partnerships and limited liability companies on issues related to the dissolution, “winding up,” and restructuring of shareholder/member relationships.

John also counsels clients in the medical cannabis industry. In particular, he has first-hand experience with representing clients in connection with the financing and operation of an alternate treatment center under New Jersey’s Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act; he is a member of the Firm’s Cannabis Industry Team; and he is now advising clients in connection with the procurement of licenses under Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Act.

Admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, John is a member of the American, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Philadelphia Bar Associations. He has been named a Pennsylvania Rising Star by Law & Politics.

John received his Bachelor of Arts from Franklin & Marshall College in 1994. While at F&M, John was a member of the Men’s 1990-1991 basketball team, which reached the Division III National Championship and was eventually inducted into F&M’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013. John went on to earn his law degree, cum laude, from Seton Hall University School of Law in 1997, where he was a managing editor of the Constitutional Law Journal.

EXPERIENCE :

• Successful trial defense of former officer of publicly-held company against claims seeking $20 million in damages for the officer’s alleged violation of a non-compete agreement.
• Successful trial defense, on behalf of executor of estate, of claims by beneficiary that executor fraudulently purchased or unduly influenced Decedent to transfer, shares of certain family-owned corporations.
• Successful trial prosecution, on behalf of national accounting firm, of breach of contract claims against former client, which included the successful defense of various malpractice counterclaims by former client.
• Successful representation of national health care system in action to enforce non-compete agreements against former employees who joined the system’s main competitor.
• Successful representation of a coal company in negotiations with County Tax Claim Bureau, which led to the return of tax parcels that had been seized approximately 20 years before for unpaid taxes, as well as the return of substantial royalties that had accumulated on the parcels.
• Obtained summary judgment on behalf of national mortgage company on claims of breach of contract, fraud, tortious interference with prospective economic advantage, and the New Jersey Fraudulent Transfer Act.
• Invoked a rarely used AAA Rule of Procedure to obtain complete dismissal of a breach of contract claim that asserted damages in excess of $35.0 million for failure to pay royalties under a License Agreement.

EDUCATION :

• Seton Hall University School of Law, J.D., cum laude, 1997
• Franklin and Marshall College, B.A., 1994

BAR ADMISSIONS : New Jersey; Pennsylvania

COURT ADMISSIONS :

• Pennsylvania Supreme Court
• Supreme Court of New Jersey
• U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Pennsylvania
• U.S. District Court — Middle District of Pennsylvania
• U.S. District Court — New Jersey

AFFILIATIONS :

• American Bar Association
• New Jersey State Bar Association
• Pennsylvania Bar Association
• Philadelphia Bar Association