Rand L. McClellan

Partner

Columbus
T +1.614.462.4782
F +1.614.462.2616

Overview

Rand McClellan is an experienced litigator focused on complex matters and class action defense. He advises and defends clients on a variety of issues, with an emphasis on insurance and construction law matters. Rand also has significant experience with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), consumer protection laws, product liability, creditors’ rights and business loan litigation.

Rand is a former editor and a contributor to BakerHostetler’s Class Action Lawsuit Defense blog and provides insight on class action issues at speaking engagements.

Select Experience

Class Actions
  • Successfully moved to strike class allegations after minimal discovery. Case was voluntarily dismissed shortly thereafter. Smith v. Cash America Int’l.
Commercial Litigation
  • Obtained complete jury verdict for a motorcycle manufacturer regarding alleged breaches of contract and consumer protection statutes. Hillard v. Big Dog Motorcycles.
Financial Services/Creditors’ Rights
  • Represented lender in connection with borrower’s default on a commercial real estate loan. Quickly extracted property from a proceeding in which numerous parties and lienholders alleged fraud in the transfer of the property, persuaded the court to appoint a receiver, obtained judgment, foreclosed on the property, sold the property at a sheriff’s sale and obtained a significant monetary recovery for the client. Woodward Constr., Inc. v. FOR 1031 Summit Woods I, et al.
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Experience

Class Actions
  • Successfully moved to strike class allegations after minimal discovery. Case was voluntarily dismissed shortly thereafter. Smith v. Cash America Int’l.
  • Obtained summary judgment on all claims asserted in a putative class action against one of the largest property and casualty insurers in Ohio and persuaded the Ohio Supreme Court to affirm summary judgment on appeal. Laboy v. Grange Mut. Cas. Co.
  • As co-counsel, persuaded the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit that a class certification order against one of the nation’s largest insurers was an abuse of discretion, obtaining full reversal of the order. Kartman v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co.
Commercial Litigation
  • Obtained complete jury verdict for a motorcycle manufacturer regarding alleged breaches of contract and consumer protection statutes. Hillard v. Big Dog Motorcycles.
  • Obtained dismissal of an action alleging that a cutting-edge automobile manufacturer was selling its battery-powered automobiles in violation of the Ohio Motor Vehicle Code. Ohio Auto. Dealers Assoc. v Ohio Dep’t of Public Safety, et al.
Financial Services/Creditors’ Rights
  • Represented lender in connection with borrower’s default on a commercial real estate loan. Quickly extracted property from a proceeding in which numerous parties and lienholders alleged fraud in the transfer of the property, persuaded the court to appoint a receiver, obtained judgment, foreclosed on the property, sold the property at a sheriff’s sale and obtained a significant monetary recovery for the client. Woodward Constr., Inc. v. FOR 1031 Summit Woods I, et al.
  • Represented aviation authority and oversaw a complex eviction and liquidation of a large aviation tenant from several buildings and hangars via Ohio’s receivership statutes, over the objections of the tenant’s creditors, while obtaining significant monetary recovery for the client through the receivership. Columbus Regional Airport Auth. v. Snow Aviation Int’l, Inc., et al.
Energy
  • Accident investigation for land-based drilling companies.
  • Litigation counsel for Ohio electric cooperatives.

Recognitions and Memberships

Recognitions

  • Ohio Super Lawyers "Rising Star" (2014 to 2015)

Memberships

  • American Bar Association 
  • Ohio State Bar Association
  • Columbus Bar Association
    • Attorney Admissions Committee (2014 to present)

Community

  • Upper Arlington High School Football Association: Treasurer (2022 to present)
  • Upper Arlington Youth Football: Coach (2017 to 2022)
  • Rose Garden Charities (Reboot): Board Member (2016 to 2021)
  • Children’s Hunger Alliance: Central Ohio Regional Advisory Board (2018 to 2022)
  • Children’s Hunger Alliance: Taste to Remember Steering Committee (2016 to 2018)
  • Upper Arlington Leadership Academy (2010)
  • Hispanic National Bar Association, Region X: Mentor (2015)

Military Service

  • United States Marine Corps (1997 to 2001)
    • Infantry Officer, First Battalion, Sixth Marines; Intelligence Collections Officer, Second Marine Division, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina

Admissions

  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio
  • U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of New York
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit
  • Ohio, 2005

Education

  • J.D., The Ohio State University Michael E. Moritz College of Law, 2005; Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution, Associate Editor
  • B.A., Colgate University, 1997, cum laude, with additional honors in History

Blog

In The Blogs

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Class Action Lawsuit Defense
Supreme Court Holds Unaccepted Offers for Full Relief Do Not Moot Class Actions
By Rand L. McClellan
January 21, 2016
Relying on “basic principles of contract law,” the Supreme Court on Wednesday held that an unaccepted settlement offer and offer of judgment under Rule 68 are “legal nullit[ies]” that have no effect on whether a live controversy remains...
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Class Action Lawsuit Defense
JCPenney Advertising Class Settlement Calls for $50 Million Payment for a California-Only Class
By Rand L. McClellan
November 12, 2015
Retailers have been under siege, particularly in California, by putative class actions involving allegations of “false or misleading” advertising practices. Generally, the crux of the allegations is that retailers are inducing customers to...
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Class Action Lawsuit Defense
Third Circuit Allows Putative TCPA Class Action to Proceed, Citing FCC Ruling,
By Rand L. McClellan
October 28, 2015
On October 23, 2015, the Third Circuit vacated a summary judgment decision in Yahoo, Inc.’s favor based on a recent Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) order that expanded the definition of an “autodialer” under the Telephone...
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Class Action Lawsuit Defense
Class Certification of California Price Advertisement Case Gives Cause for Concern
By Rand L. McClellan
June 30, 2015
Spann v. JCPenney and People of California v. Overstock.com By Rodger L. Eckelberry, Rand L. McClellan, and Jacqueline K. Matthews June 30, 2015 A recent class certification decision in California involving challenges to a retailer’s price...
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Class Action Lawsuit Defense
Judge Posner Identifies Some Warning Signs Of An Unfair Class Settlement
By Rand L. McClellan
June 11, 2014
On June 2, 2014, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit rejected a class action settlement in Eubank v. Pella Corp., Nos. 13-2091, -2133, 2136, -2162, 2202 (7th Cir., June 2, 2014) that the Court labeled “inequitable –...
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