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Barry W. Ashe
Areas of Emphasis:
• Admiralty and Maritime
• Appellate Practice
• Commercial Litigation
• Products Liability
Mr. Ashe joined Stone Pigman in 1985 and is a member of the firm. His practice is concentrated in products liability, class action/complex and commercial litigation. He is a member of the firm's Management Committee and also chairs the firm's appellate practice group and Recruiting Committee. He was admitted to the Louisiana bar in 1984.
Representative Matters
Represented shareholders in corporate disputes involving claims for excess executive compensation and breach of duty.
Defended pharmaceutical manufacturer against product liability claims raised in scores of lawsuits and against class action claims.
Defended city against claims by statewide retirement funds for statutory contributions.
Represented railroad in establishing that Louisiana sales and use tax on diesel fuel was discriminatory and prohibited by federal law. Kansas City Southern Railway Co. v. Bridges, 2007 WL 977552 (W.D. La. Mar. 30, 2007).
Represented church, pastor and trustees against their director-and-officer liability insurer in establishing insurance coverage for claims made against them by church members and others. Crescent City Baptist Church v. Church Mutual Insurance Co., 2006 WL 3290468 (E.D. La. Nov. 9, 2006).
Defended chemical manufacturer against class action claims, including argument before United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in an appeal establishing groundbreaking law for the removal of class actions brought in Louisiana. Grant v. Chevron Phillips Chemical Co., 309 F.3d 864 (5th Cir. 2002).
Defended manufacturer of wood products against class action claims, including successful removal of Louisiana class action to federal court. Miller v. Home Depot, U.S.A., Inc., 199 F. Supp. 2d 502 (W.D. La. 2001).
Defended tire manufacturer against class action claims, including successful removal to federal court. Rusck v. Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. (E.D. La.).
Defended manufacturer against environmental property damage claims. State of Louisiana v. W.R. Grace & Co.-Conn.
Defended school board in significant Establishment Clause case nearly landing in the United States Supreme Court. Freiler v. Tangipahoa Parish Board of Education, 185 F.3d 337 (5th Cir. 1999), aff'd en banc, 201 F.3d 602 (2000) (8-7 vote), cert denied, 530 U.S. 1251 (2000) (three justices dissenting from denial of certiorari).
Represented estate of corporate executive killed in collision, establishing new law regarding a shipowner's limitation of liability in maritime claims in the Fifth Circuit. In re Tidewater, 249 F.3d 342 (5th Cir. 2001).
Represented partnership in multimillion dollar recovery on claims arising from a lease. Newport Ltd. v. Sears & Roebuck Co., 1995 WL 626188 (E.D. La. 1995).
Represented a bank in fidelity bond claim resulting in multimillion dollar recovery for intentional acts of defalcating bank officer. First National Bank of Louisville v. Lustig, 96 F.2d 1554 (5th Cir. 1995).
Represented FDIC in action against Gus Mijalis and other bank officers and directors, resulting in multimillion dollar recovery. FDIC v. Mijalis, 15 F.2d 1314 (5th Cir. 1994).
Education
Mr. Ashe graduated magna cum laude in 1984 from the Tulane University School of Law, where he was selected to the Order of the Coif and served as Senior Managing Editor of the Tulane Law Review, 1983-84, and member of the Board of Editors, 1982-83. Mr. Ashe received his undergraduate degree, summa cum laude, from Tulane University in 1978, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and Omicron Delta Kappa and was recipient of the Pi Sigma Alpha Award for distinction in political science. Professional and Civic Activities
After law school, Mr. Ashe served as law clerk to the Honorable Carolyn Dineen King, Circuit Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, 1984-85. He served on the Lawyers Advisory Committee, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, 2001-2007, and is a Fellow of the Louisiana Bar Foundation, serving on its Education Committee. Mr. Ashe is a member of the Maritime Law Association of the United States, the Federal Bar Association (New Orleans chapter board member, 2003-present; secretary, 2007-08), the Bar Association of the Federal Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the American, Louisiana State (past officer of the Antitrust and Trade Regulation Section) and New Orleans Bar Associations, the IADC, the DRI, and the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel.
Before law school, Mr. Ashe served as a surface warfare-qualified line officer in the United States Navy, achieving the rank of lieutenant, in stints as acting executive officer, engineering officer and deck officer of a minesweeper.
His civic involvement includes active membership of First Baptist Church of New Orleans, where he serves as president of the trustees, deacon (chair, 2000), and Sunday School teacher (1987-90, 1992-present), and has served on various committees including personnel (chair, 2002-03), nominating (chair, 1999-2001) and pastor search (1993-96). He has served on the board of the Christian Health Ministries Foundation. Publications
Mr. Ashe is the author of The Fifth Circuit's War Against Religion in the Public Square, 47 LOYOLA LAW REVIEW 973 (2000); Incidental Demands in LOUISIANA CIVIL PRETRIAL PROCEDURE (American Inns of Court Series) (1998); Comment, Disciplining Maritime Pilots: A Review of State and Federal Pilotage Regulation, 58 TULANE LAW REVIEW 1460 (1984); and Note, Admiralty – Determining LHWCA Coverage Seaward of the Water's Edge, 57 TULANE LAW REVIEW 682 (1983). Teaching Positions
Mr. Ashe has taught commercial litigation and constitutional law at the Loyola University School of Law as an adjunct professor.
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