Current Employment Position(s)

senior litigator

Lawyer Overview

Jeffrey D. Horst is K&H's senior litigator. Based on peer recommendations, Jeff was selected by Georgia Trend magazine as one of Georgia's most effective lawyers. Only 34 lawyers were designated as "Elite Lawyers" for business litigation out of 37,000 Georgia lawyers. Jeff also has been selected by Atlanta Magazine/ Georgia Law & Politics as one of the top business litigators in Georgia. These awards represent an exceptional achievement for a lawyer from a small firm in Atlanta.

Jeff has handled a wide variety of business related disputes in the areas of accountant liability, business torts, contracts, corporate governance, covenants not to compete, employment, franchise, intellectual property, officer and director liability, securities litigation, shareholder disputes, and trade secrets.

Jeff has tried cases in Alabama, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, and Texas, which have lasted from 2 days to 7 months. Jeff has been involved in a number of high profile matters that have been written about in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Tampa Tribune, Raleigh News & Observer, National Law Journal, and Fulton County Daily Report, and the Atlanta Business Chronicle. In 1999-2000, Jeff served as one of the principal trial counsel for the defense in Avnet v. Wyle. Avnet was seeking over $300 million in damages, and the case was tried for five months in Tampa, Florida. The jury reached a defense verdict which the National Law Journal selected as one of the top 10 defense verdicts for 2000.

Jeff is particularly well known for his corporate governance and trade secrets experience. Jeff has won three cases of first impression in the Georgia Supreme Court in these areas. Grace Bros., Ltd. v. Farley Industries, Inc., 264 Ga. 817, 450 S.E.2d 814 (1994) (corporate governance case); Avnet v. Wyle Laboratories, 263 Ga. 615, 437 S.E.2d 302 (1993) (trade secrets case); and Service Corp. Int'l. v. H.M. Patterson & Son, Inc., 263 Ga. 412, 434 S.E.2d 455 (1993) (corporate governance case).

In 2005, Jeff won a significant victory in the Georgia Court of Appeals defending multimillion dollar corporate governance claims. Ledford et al. v. Smith et al., 274 Ga. App. 714, 618 S.E. 2d 627 (2005). Many of Jeff's clients are referred to him by other attorneys because of his creative approach, trial experience, and successful track record in handling complex, cutting edge legal issues.

Representative Cases:

Avnet v. Wyle Laboratories, 263 Ga. 615, 437 S.E.2d 302 (Supreme Court of Georgia 1993)
(Litigated in both Georgia and Florida, this case involved the defense of Wyle Laboratories who was accused of raiding a competitor's employees and misappropriating trade secrets. Wyle won a defense verdict after a 5 month jury trial in Tampa, Florida, which the National Law Journal selected as one of the top 10 defense verdicts in the country in 2000.)

TUG Liquidation, LLC v. Atwood, et al.(U.S.D.C., M.D.N.C. 2003)
(Prosecution of corporate governance and business tort claims seeking $27+ million by software company and its largest creditor against officers and directors).

Price v. Ernst & Young, LLP, et al. (Fulton County Superior Court 2003)
(Prosecution of $16+ million suit alleging accounting malpractice and business torts).

Centre Equities, Inc. v. Legacy
(Successful defense of former officer on breach of fiduciary duty and business tort claims after 3-week jury trial in Alabama state court).

Grace Bros., Ltd. v. Farley Industries, Inc., 264 Ga. 817, 450 S.E.2d 814 (Supreme Court of Georgia 1994)
(Successful defense of officers and directors of a publicly traded company against shareholder claims).

Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Elizabethtown, Inc., et al. v. The Coca-Cola Company (U.S.D.C., Delaware)
(Representation of Coca-Cola bottlers against The Coca-Cola Company in a contract dispute spawning 16 published decisions, two 7 month bench trials in federal court in Delaware, and a multi-million dollar judgment by the trial court).

Atlantic Investment Management, LLC v. Coglianese (U.S.D.C., N.D. Ga. 2002-2003)
(Successful defense of accountant against accounting malpractice and tort claims brought by futures trading firm).

Evans Technology v. High Path Group, LLC, et al. (Fulton County Superior Court 2003) (Preliminary injunction obtained against former employees and competitor on trade secrets and fiduciary duty grounds).

Leisure Time Technologies v. Johnson, et al. (U.S.D.C., N.D. Ga. 2003)
(Successful dismissal of officer in breach of fiduciary duty claim by bankruptcy trustee).

Service Corp. Int'l. v. H.M. Patterson & Son, Inc., 263 Ga. 412, 434 S.E. 2d 455 (Supreme Court of Georgia 1993)
(Defense of board of directors against claims by major shareholder).

Wiederhold v. Wheeler, 2004 WL 434220 (Ga.App.)
(Shareholder dispute resulting in contested settlement agreement enforced by trial court and affirmed by court of appeals.)

Weprin v. J. Chandler Peterson, et al., 736 F. Supp. 1131 (N.D. Ga. 1988) (Plaintiffs’ verdict obtained in securities fraud case).

Areas of Practice

• Accountant Liability
• Appellate Practice
• Trial Practice
• Business Torts
• Contracts
• Corporate Governance
• Covenants Not to Compete
• Employment
• Franchise
• Intellectual Property
• Officer and Director Liability
• Securities Litigation
• Shareholder Disputes
• Trade Secrets Litigation

Representative Cases

• Avnet v. Wyle Laboratories, 263 Ga. 615, 437 S.E.2d 302 (Supreme Court of Georgia 1993)
• Ledford et al. v. Smith et al.., 274 Ga. App. 714, 618 S.E. 2d 627 (2005)
• TUG Liquidation, LLC v. Atwood, et al. , (U.S.D.C., M.D.N.C. 2003)
• Price v. Ernst & Young, LLP, et al. , (Fulton County Superior Court 2003)
• Centre Equities, Inc. v. Legacy
• Grace Bros., Ltd. v. Farley Industries, Inc., 264 Ga. 817, 450 S.E.2d 814 (Supreme Court of Georgia 1994)
• Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Elizabethtown, Inc., et al. v. The Coca-Cola Company , (U.S.D.C., Delaware)
• Atlantic Investment Management, LLC v. Coglianese , (U.S.D.C., N.D. Ga. 2003)
• Evans Technology v. High Path Group, LLC, et al. , (Fulton County Superior Court 2003)
• Leisure Time Technologies v. Johnson, et al. , (U.S.D.C., N.D. Ga. 2003)
• Service Corp. Int'l. v. H.M. Patterson & Son, Inc., 263 Ga. 412, 434 S.E. 2d 455 (Supreme Court of Georgia 1993)
• Wiederhold v. Wheeler, WL 434220 (Ga.App. 2004)
• Weprin v. J. Chandler Peterson, et al., 736 F. Supp. 1131 (N.D. Ga. 1988)

West Practice Categories

Business & Commercial Law, Contracts, Franchising, Business Organizations, Corporate Governance, Directors' & Officers' Liability, Shareholders' Rights, Employment Law -- Employee, Employment Contracts -- Employee, Employment Law -- Employer, Intellectual Property Law, Trade Secrets, Litigation & Appeals, Other Professionals Malpractice, Securities Law

Bar Admissions

• Ohio, 1983
• Georgia, 1985
• U.S. District Court Northern District of Ohio, 1983
• U.S. District Court Northern District of Georgia, 1985
• U.S. Court of Appeals 3rd Circuit, 1985
• U.S. Court of Appeals 11th Circuit, 1989
• U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit

Professional Associations and Memberships

• Atlanta Bar Association (Member)
• Atlanta Bar Association, Litigation Section, 2001 - 2002 (Chair, Courts Committee)
• Atlanta Bar Association, Sole Practitioners/Small Firm Section, 2002 - 2003 (Chair, Judicial Poll Committee)
• Lawyers Club of Atlanta (Member, Rules, Practice and Judiciary Committee)
• Lawyers Club of Atlanta (Member, Membership Committee)
• Bond Community Federal Credit Union (Member, Board of Directors)
• Druid Hills Civic Associaiton (Member, Board of Directors)

Classes and Seminars

• Faculty, Emory Trial Techniques Program, 1993 - Present
• Lecturer, Trial Practice, 1997 - 2001
• Lecturer, Georgia Trade Secrets Law, 1996 - 2002

Past Employment Positions

• Bondurant, Mixson & Elmore, Partner, 1992 - 1995

Education

• The Ohio State University College of Law, Columbus, Ohio, 1983
  J.D.
  Honors: Recipient, Rebecca Topper Memorial Award, 1983
  Honors: Ohio State Moot Court Distinguished Acheivement Awards, (1981-1983)
  
  Law Journal: Ohio State Law Journal, 1982 - 1983
• Miami University, 1979
  B.Ph.

Published Works

• "The Application of Title VII to Law Firm Partnership Decisions", 44 Ohio State Law Journal 840, 1983
• "Recent Georgia Supreme Court Decision Impacts Corporate Officers and Directors" (Co-Author), Legal Trends, February, 1995
• "Georgia Supreme Court Decision on Advancing Litigation Expenses to Corporate Directors Stirs Controversy", Legal Trends, February, 1995
• "The 10 Biggest Mistakes Physicians Make Regarding Intellectual Property", (Co-Author With David Sirna), 2005

Address

One Atlantic Center
1201 West Peachtree Street, NorthWest
Suite 3250
Atlanta, GA 30309

Phones

(404) 888-9594

Faxes

(404) 888-9577

Emails

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Websites

http://www.khlawfirm.com