Robert Y. Gwin

Retired

rgwin@gsblegal.com
502-618-5700

Robert Y. Gwin is a very seasoned trial lawyer who has represented Fortune 500 companies as well as regional and local businesses, banks, medical providers and insurance companies in litigation involving a variety of claims including negligence, products liability, medical malpractice, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, trucking litigation, insurance coverage and “bad faith”, franchise disputes and employment practices. Mr. Gwin has successfully tried cases before juries and judges in both federal and state courts in various U.S. jurisdictions. He has developed unique experience in various forms of alternative dispute resolution. He participated in Kentucky’s first summary jury trial and has participated in and written about other alternatives to traditional judicial methods of dispute resolution. Mr. Gwin is AV® rated by Martindale-Hubbell. Mr. Gwin also has significant experience in entertainment law. His clients include record labels, artists, song writers and a variety of others in the entertainment industry.

Representative Cases

• Obtained defense verdict in Louisville, KY for publicly traded convenience store franchiser in encroachment/breach of contract claim by franchisees.
• Obtained defense verdict in Memphis, TN for tobacco company in case alleging multiple deaths from cigarette smoking.
• Obtained defense verdict in Louisville, KY for purchasing cooperative in sex discrimination claim brought by multiple female employees.
• Obtained multi-million dollar settlement during trial in federal court in Paducah, KY for Wisconsin barge line in suit for demurrage and property damage.
• Obtained defense verdict in Louisville, KY for bank in fraud/breach of contract case.
• Successfully defended publicly traded convenience store chain in trial involving claims resulting from gasoline spill.
• Successfully defended long term care providers and acute care facilities in a variety of medical negligence claims.

Presentations & Publications

Mr. Gwin’s work has resulted in significant published legal precedents.

He has published articles on various litigation-related topics, and is a contributing author to a book on Surrogate Juries. He has been an instructor at trial skills seminars and participated in trial demonstrations concerning various litigation-related topics.

• Author: “Summary Jury Trial: An Explanation and Analysis”, Kentucky Bench & Bar
  • Winter 1987-1988, reprinted in Surrogate Juries, Abbot, Walter F., 1990
• Co-Author: “Recognizing and Minimizing Franchiser Liability,”
  • Convenience Store News, October/November 1992
• Speaker: “Trying an Employment Case to a Jury,”
  • SMU Multi-State Labor and Employment Law Seminar, May 11-14, 1994
• Co-Author: “How to Stay Out of Court,”
  • Business Bulletin, August 1997
• Co-Author: “Jury Selection from Outside the Box,”
  • For the Defense, March 2001
• Speaker: “The Law of Franchising,”
  • Greater Louisville Small Business Development Center Franchise Showcase, October 17, 2001
• Speaker: “Litigation Forecast: Flying Under the Radar and Weathering the Storm,”
  • NFPA’s Food Claims and Litigation Conference, February 2004
• Speaker: “How to Stop Discovery Abuses and Safeguarding Against the Fishing Expedition,”
  • 2005 Food Claims and Litigation Conference, February 16, 2005
• Co-Editor: Business Torts Litigation
  • (2d ed. D.A. Soleley R.Y. Gwin, A.E. Georgehead 2005)
• Speaker: “Top Ten Most Important Legal Issues for the Food Industry in the 21st Century,”
  • FPA’s Food Claims and Litigation Conference, February 9, 2006
• Author: “Kentucky Supreme Court Narrows Availability of Arbitration in Long Term Care Cases”
  • The Long-Term Care Risk Legal Forum, September 2012

Education

• Indiana University, Bloomington BA, 1978 With distinction – double major
• University of Kentucky JD, 1981 With distinction, Order of the Coif

Practice Areas

• Long Term Care and Medical Malpractice
• Trucking and Commercial Transportation
• Franchise and Distribution
• Fiduciary Litigation
• Fire and Explosion
• Business/Commercial
• Insurance Coverage, Fraud and Bad Faith
• Employment
• Personal Injury and Tort Defense
• Product Liability Litigation
• Food and Restaurant Litigation
• Music and Entertainment

Bar & Professional Memberships

• Defense Research Institute
• Kentucky Bar Association
• Louisville Bar Association