Clay practices within Butler Snow's Tort, Transportation, & Specialized Litigation Group. Clay concentrates his practice in personal injury litigation, primarily in the areas of product liability, medical malpractice, and transportation litigation.
Overview
Clay practices within Butler Snow's Tort, Transportation, & Specialized Litigation Group. Clay concentrates his practice in personal injury litigation, primarily in the areas of product liability, medical malpractice, and transportation litigation.
Practice Areas
Experience
- Mr. Gunn's experience includes defending automobile manufacturers in catastrophic injury and wrongful death litigation. Mr. Gunn has defended claims involving handling and stability systems, electronic stability control, occupant restraint systems, and vehicle crashworthiness, in addition to various manufacturing defect claims. He also represents consumer appliance manufacturers in personal injury and property damage litigation, as well as trucking companies in negligence and personal injury cases.
- Clay's medical malpractice experience is focused on defending physicians and nursing homes in personal injury and wrongful death matters. He has handled multiple nursing home cases through trial. Mr. Gunn has counseled and represented nursing homes and physicians in disputes involving quality assurance and peer review privileges. In addition, he has defended wine manufacturers in dram shop liability cases and insurance carriers in bad faith claims. Mr. Gunn also represents construction companies and has experience in construction litigation involving large government contracts.
- Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Gunn served as a law clerk to the Honorable Daniel P. Jordan III, United States District Court Judge for the Southern District of Mississippi.
- Representative Matters
- Handy v. Madison County Nursing Home, 192 So. 3d 1005 (Miss. 2016) (summary judgment upheld on appeal by Mississippi Supreme Court)
- Cleveland Nursing and Rehabilitation, LLC v.Gully, 206 So. 3d 516 (Miss. 2016)
- Melvin v. Cleveland Nursing and Rehabilitation, LLC, 159 So. 3d 623 (Miss. Ct. App. 2015) (defense verdict upheld on appeal).
- Scirocco v. Ford Motor Co., 641 Fed. Appx. 414 (5th. Cir. 2016) (summary judgment affirmed by Fifth Circuit).
- Obtained a defense verdict for an automobile manufacturer in a manufacturing defect case involving injuries sustained by a law enforcement official.
- Successfully defended a nursing home at trial in a wrongful death action involving a stage IV pressure ulcer.
- Obtained a defense verdict for automobile manufacturer in two-week trial involving the deaths of minor children.
- Successfully defended a nursing home at trial in a personal injury action involving claims spanning a three year period.
- Obtained a directed verdict for an administrative services company at trial in a wrongful death action related to nursing home care.
- Strait v. McPhail, 145 So. 3d 664 (Miss. 2014) (summary judgment for insurer upheld on appeal).
Distinctions
- Martindale-Hubbell®
- AV®-Preeminent™ – Peer Review Rated
- Super Lawyers®
- Mid-South Rising Star, Personal Injury – Products: Defense
- Best Lawyers in America®
- Commercial Litigation, 2021-2025
- Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants, 2022-2025
- Product Liability Litigation – Defendants, 2023-2025
Bar Admissions
- Mississippi, 2008
- Tennessee, 2020
- U.S. Court of Appeals
- 6th Circuit
Education
- University of Alabama School of Law, J.D., summa cum laude, 2008
- Order of the Coif
- Senior Notes Editor, Alabama Law Review
- University of Alabama, B.A., cum laude, 2005
- Clerkship, Honorable Daniel P. Jordan III, United States District Court Judge, Southern District of Mississippi, 2008
Associations
- American Bar Association
- Mississippi Bar Association
- Young Lawyers Division
- Mississippi Bar Leadership Forum
- Defense Research Institute (DRI)
- American Health Lawyers' Association
- Capital Area Bar Association
- Federal Bar Association
- Tennessee Bar Association
Civic Involvement
- Mississippi Kidney Foundation, Board Member