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Matthew P. Cook

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Biography

Matthew P. Cook joined Kerrick Bachert, P.S.C. as a litigation partner in August of 2017. Matt has practiced law in Bowling Green since 1998. He practiced with Cole & Moore, P.S.C. (and its predecessor firm) from 1998 to 2017. Matt primarily handles insurance defense matters for our clients. In addition, he works on a variety of transactional and litigation matters ranging from general civil litigation to commercial and business litigation, employment law, professional malpractice, and insurance coverage disputes. Matt also advises governmental entities and businesses on matters involving contract drafting and compliance issues.

Matt received an A.B., with honors, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1994. He obtained a J.D., cum laude, from the University of Louisville, Brandeis School of Law in 1998. He was admitted to the Kentucky Bar in 1998 and is also admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and the United States District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Kentucky. Matt has an "AV Preeminent" peer review rating in Martindale-Hubbell and was the recipient of the Kentucky Bar Association's Outstanding Young Lawyer Award in 2012.

Matt is a member of the Board of Governors of the Kentucky Bar Association, a Life Member of the Sixth Circuit Judicial Conference, and a Life Fellow of the Kentucky Bar Foundation. He served as President of the Bowling Green-Warren County Bar Association in 2010. Prior to his tenure as President, he served the local Bar Association as Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary, and Director. The Bowling Green-Warren County Bar Association presented Matt with the 2013 Gwyneth B. Davis Outstanding Public Service Award. He is also a member of the Louisville, Kentucky, Federal, and American Bar Associations. Matt served as the Second Supreme Court District representative on the Kentucky Continuing Legal Education Commission by appointment of the Chief Justice of Kentucky from 2011-2016. He was recently nominated for and accepted membership as a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. Matt has also served as a member of the Kentucky Bar Association's Budget and Finance Committee and as the CLE Program Chair for the 2017 KBA Annual Convention.

Matt is the co-author of a chapter on "Closing Arguments" in Kentucky Civil Practice at Trial, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Editions, University of Kentucky Continuing Legal Education Series. He is a graduate of Leadership Bowling Green; a member of the Broadway United Methodist Church; and a member of the Site-Based Decision Making Council of W.R. McNeill Elementary School in Bowling Green. In his spare time, Matt has volunteered as a mentor at T.C. Cherry Elementary School; as an instructor for Junior Achievement of South Central Kentucky at various schools; as a coach of Western Kentucky University's Mock Trial Team; as a Cub Scout Leader; and as a coach of his children's sports teams.

Matt and his wife, Melanie, the Vice-President of Labor and Employment Law and Assistant General Counsel with Dollar General Corporation, have two children, Andrew and Layne.

Education

  • Louis D. Brandeis School of Law, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky
    • J.D. - 1998
    • Honors: cum laude
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
    • B.A. - 1994
    • Honors: With Honors
    • Honors: University of North Carolina Bowling Green Area Alumni Club, Founder and President
    • Major: Political Science

Pro-Bono Activities

  • Sixth Circuit Judicial Conference, Life Member
  • Kentucky Bar Foundation, Life Member
  • Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce, Leadership Bowling Green Graduate
  • Western Kentucky University Mock Trial Team, Volunteer Coach
  • Junior Achievement, Volunteer Instructor
  • Broadway United Methodist Church, Member
  • Site-Based Decision Making Council of W.R. McNeill Elementary School in Bowling Green
  • T.C. Cherry Elementary School, Volunteer

Published Works

  • Chapter, "Closing Arguments" (Co-Author), Kentucky Civil Practice at Trial, 2nd Ed., University of Kentucky Continuing Legal Education Series

Professional Associations

  • Louisville Bar Association, Member
  • Bowling Green-Warren County Bar Association, Member-Board of Directors
  • Kentucky Bar Association, Member
  • American Bar Association, Member
  • Federal Bar Association, Member
  • Kentucky Bar Association, Board of Governors, Member
  • Bowling Green-Warren County Bar Association, President, 2010 to 2010
  • Bowling Green-Warren County Bar Association, Vice-President
  • Bowling Green-Warren County Bar Association, Treasurer
  • Bowling Green-Warren County Bar Association, Secretary
  • Bowling Green-Warren County Bar Association, Director
  • Kentucky Bar Association, Budget and Finance Committee, Member
  • KBA Annual Convention, CLE Program Chair, 2017 to 2017

Current Employment Position

  • Director

Practice Areas

  • Insurance Defense
  • Employment Law
  • Medical Malpractice

Bar Admissions

  • Kentucky, 1998
  • U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit, 1999
  • U.S. District Court Eastern District of Kentucky, 2000
  • U.S. District Court Western District of Kentucky, 1999
  • U.S. Supreme Court, 2001

Honors

  • AV Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
  • Kentucky Bar Association’s Outstanding Young Lawyer Award, 2012
  • Gwyneth B. Davis Outstanding Public Service Award, Bowling Green-Warren County Bar Association, 2013

Representative Cases

  • James v. Meow Media, Inc., 300 F.3d 683 (6th Cir. 2002), cert. denied, 537 U.S. 1159 (2003)
  • Estill Co. Bd. of Educ. v. Zurich Ins. Co., 84 Fed. Appx. 516 (6th Cir. 2003)
  • Williams v. Tyco Elec. Corp., 161 Fed. Appx. 526 (6th Cir. 2006)
  • Travelers Indem. Co. v. Bowling Green Prof. Assocs., PLC, 495 F.3d 266 (6th Cir. 2007)
  • Hackworth v. Guyan Heavy Equip., Inc., 613 F.Supp.2d 908 (E.D. Ky. 2009)
  • Evanston Ins. Co. v. Housing Authority of Somerset, 658 Fed. Appx. 799 (6th Cir. 2016)
  • Black v. Dixie Cons. Prods. LLC, 835 F.3d 579 (6th Cir. 2016), cert. denied, 137 S.Ct. 2294 (2017)
  • Farmland Mut. Ins. Co. v. Johnson, 36 S.W.3d 368 (Ky. 2000)
  • Western Kentucky Coca-Cola Bottling Co., Inc. v. Revenue Cabinet, 80 S.W.3d 787 (Ky. App. 2001)
  • Lafleur v. Shoney’s, Inc., 83 S.W.3d 474 (Ky. 2002)
  • Deerfield Ins. Co. v. Warren Co. Fiscal Court ex rel. City-County Planning Comm’n, 88 S.W.3d 867 (Ky. App. 2002)
  • MGA Ins. Co. v. Glass, 131 S.W.3d 775 (Ky. App. 2004)
  • Olfice, Inc. v. Wilkey, 173 S.W.3d 226 (Ky. 2005)
  • Warren Co. Citizens for Managed Growth, Inc. v. Board of Comm’rs of City of Bowling Green, 207 S.W.3d 7 (Ky. App. 2006)
  • Emberton v. GMRI, Inc., 299 S.W.3d 565 (Ky. 2009)
  • McDonald’s Corp. v. Ogborn, 309 S.W.3d 274 (Ky. App. 2009)
  • Western Kentucky Coca-Cola Bottling Co., Inc. v. Runyon, 410 S.W.3d 113 (Ky. 2013)
  • Fraser v. Miller, 427 S.W.3d 182 (Ky. 2014)
  • Carter v. Paschall Truck Lines, Inc., 388 F.Supp.3d 883 (W.D.Ky. 2019)
  • Offutt v Warren County Regional Jail, 109 Fed. Appx. (6th Cir. 2004)
  • Estes v. Cincinnati Ins. Co., 542 F.Supp.3d 585 (E.D. Ky. 2021), aff’d by 23 F.4th 695 (6th Cir. 2022)