Greg Brunton is Managing Partner of GRSM’s Ohio offices, Chair of the Energy Infrastructure Practice Group, and Co-Chair of the firm’s Energy Practice Group.

Greg is an accomplished litigator and trial attorney who focuses his practice on large exposure and high-risk matters in the areas of complex commercial business disputes, energy, eminent domain and land use, as well as professional liability defense. 

As Chair of the Firm’s Energy Infrastructure Group, Greg has dedicated a substantial portion of his career to the representation of midstream energy companies in all aspects of their projects.  Greg’s experience as lead counsel for major infrastructure projects allows him to provide clients with an in depth knowledge of the unique and time sensitive issues surrounding such projects, ranging from proving the project’s public necessity and right to eminent domain, injunctive relief obtaining survey access and immediate possession, easement acquisition, environmental and regulatory issues, and litigating large risk just compensation matters.

As Co-Chair of the firm’s Energy Practice Group, Greg’s practice has focused on the myriad of legal issues arising from the Utica and Point Pleasant shale development.  He has been a trusted resource for many clients, from publicly traded corporations to individuals and agribusinesses, regarding all issues related to the shale plays, including oil gas leasing, Dormant Mineral Act litigation, title disputes, mineral claims, and royalty rights.  He has also handled matters related to solar power and is knowledgeable regarding emerging technologies such as carbon capture and hydrogen fuel.

Greg has also litigated commercial disputes with bet the company ramifications.  Such matters include the defense of class actions, shareholder disputes, large risk contractual liability claims, trade secret and covenant not to compete cases, and commercial lease disputes.

Greg also dedicates a substantial portion of his practice focusing on the defense of professional liability litigation involving Officers and Directors, attorneys, accountants, brokers and architects and engineers.  Some of his more notable successes in this area include a defense jury verdict on behalf of a major law firm involving the handling of a class action lawsuit, successfully defending an intellectual property law firm at the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, defending a creditor rights law firm in a class action, and successfully litigating shareholder disputes.

Greg has argued cases in the Ohio Supreme Court, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington D.C., the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and state appellate courts throughout Ohio.

Admissions

• Ohio
• Texas
• U.S. District Court, Southern and Northern Districts of Ohio
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
• Federal Circuit Court of Appeals

Memberships

• State Bar of Ohio
• Columbus Bar Association
• Ohio Association of Civil Trial Attorneys
• Energy Mineral Law Foundation (EMLF), Member
• DRI

Representative Matters

• Lead counsel for multiple midstream pipeline projects traversing thousands of miles in multiple states; handled matters related to injunctive relief, immediate possession, easement acquisition and negotiation, refinement domain, large risk just compensation matters and assisted in negotiations with FERC.
• Successfully defended 8 figure eminent domain just compensation matter involving residential development excluding opposing party’s expert witness resulting in nominal award.
• Successfully defended eight figure mineral claim dispute resulting in zero award.
• Successfully negotiated and litigated tens of millions of dollars of oil gas mineral leases and royalty claims in the Utica Shale and Point Pleasant Formation.
• Successfully defended accounting agency in eight figure negligence claim.
• Successfully defended trade secret and covenant not to compete matter involving highly technical aerospace and engineering issues.
• Successfully defended through trial just compensation and multiple property damage claims from a group of landowners against pipeline company.
• Successfully tried to defense verdict matters on behalf of attorneys in the defense of professional negligence claims.
• Successfully handled high profile zoning dispute involving publicly traded corporation involving dispute over right to construct retail store.
• Rockies Express Pipeline LLC v. Murray Energy Corp., 734 F.3d 424 (2013)
• Sunoco Pipeline L.P. V. Teter Trust 2016-Ohio-7073
• Kinder Morgan Cochin LLC v. Simonson 2016-Ohio-4647
• Ohio River Pipe Line, LLC v. Gutheil (2001), 144 Ohio App. 3d 694
• Brakefire, Inc. v. Overbeck, (Clermont County, 2007), 144 Ohio Misc.2d 35.

Publications

• Author: The Disappearing Duty to Read, published in Professional Liability Underwriting Society Journal, July 2003 and Professional Insurance Agents, February 2003.