Commercial Litigation

The country’s leading companies trust Butler Snow’s Commercial Litigation team to provide insight into complex legal issues and to handle their litigation matters with the kind of creativity and innovation that delivers maximum success at minimal inconvenience and cost.

Our Commercial Litigation trial teams are composed of experienced courtroom advocates. Our robust presentations, rapport with juries, and single-minded focus on achieving the best results for our clients is behind our strong success record.

Our commercial litigation practice is led by some of the firm’s most experienced trial lawyers who have gained regional and national reputations for successfully handling complex commercial litigation, class actions and mass tort matters. Our resources also include members of our Appellate & Written Advocacy group who assist with motion practice, briefing and appellate work. For maximum efficiency, these attorneys work with our trial teams throughout the litigation process, so they are fully prepared if an appeal is required. We also have a strong White Collar, Compliance and Government Investigations practice, which includes numerous former federal prosecutors, including three former U.S. Attorneys and a former state prosecutor. Because of our extensive government-related experience, there are few firms capable of matching our ability to address major government investigations.

Our experience encompasses a wide range of commercial disputes, including business and shareholder disputes, real estate and oil and gas litigation, insurance claims and coverage, director and officer liability and failed financial institution litigation, breach of contract, breach of warranty, consumer protection, unfair competition, UCC and sales litigation, administrative bid protests, RICO, securities and bankruptcy cases, as well as related class actions.

We have been lead class or mass action counsel for a wide array of clients across a broad range of industries. Representative types of antitrust and franchising cases include, class actions, complex distribution issues, civil and criminal price fixing cases and monopolization and attempted monopolization disputes.

In today’s legal and regulatory environment, bet-the-company litigation often threatens a company’s very existence. Butler Snow’s litigators are widely recognized for our ability to rapidly form an integrated team of attorneys to efficiently and astutely address such litigation, even when those issues involve multiple jurisdictions across the nation. Our high success rate stems from our deep understanding of every aspect of our client’s business model and strategic goals, coupled with unmatched high-stakes litigation experience.

Our commercial litigators recognize that businesses generally need to stay out of court and often need to conclude matters quickly, so we stay focused on our clients’ business goals. When litigation is avoidable, we work with our clients to negotiate or engage in alternative dispute resolution to reach an expeditious and effective solution that moves their broader business goals forward.

Our Commercial Litigation Group blog, BizLitNews, contains up-to-date information and analysis, from thought leaders in our group, on current issues that are of interest to our clients and professionals involved in business and commercial litigation.

• Successfully defended a payment processing company in a $16.8 million avoidance action.
• Assisted in the defense of significant mass tort litigation for several Fortune 250 companies, tried multi-million-dollar disputes for three of the largest hospital systems in Tennessee, and successfully defended multiple healthcare liability cases to verdict.
• Represented a major payment processing company in appellate litigation resulting in seminal decision on attorney-client and work-product privileges.
• Successfully pursued a jury trial to $1.5 million verdict piercing corporate veil and imposing judgment debt on sole shareholder.
• Successfully represented an automotive dealer against a manufacturer concerning the manufacturer’s efforts to reduce size of dealer network.
• Obtained a defense verdict on behalf of an international transportation company in a multi-million-dollar claim related to aircraft maintenance.
• Represented health care clinics in defense of an investigation by the DOJ following the filing of a False Claims Action against the clinics resulting in no criminal charges being brought and a reduced settlement of the False Claims Action.
• Beginning in late 1998 and continuing until late spring of 2006, Butler Snow defended one of the leading providers of consumer credit and a number of its affiliates, as well as current and former personnel in approximately 98 consumer finance “flipping and packing” suits or arbitration proceedings, collectively involving approximately 3400 plaintiffs/claimants. The suits, filed across numerous counties in Mississippi and Western Tennessee, asserted sales practices-type claims involving the sale of credit insurance and refinancing of consumer loans.
• Lead defense counsel in a nationwide consumer fraud class action against an auto service company with centers located in every state. Plaintiffs alleged that the service centers intentionally and fraudulently priced and marketed repairs. We successfully obtained summary judgment prior to trial.
• Lead defense counsel in a nationwide class action consumer fraud case against a multi-level marketing company. Plaintiffs alleged that the defendant operated a pyramid scheme designed to defraud its members. After discovery, the court entered summary judgment on behalf of the defendants.
• Successfully defended a trial court’s grant of a temporary injunction against foreclosure proceedings in connection with Parallax Enterprises and its affiliates’ joint venture and agreement to develop two natural gas liquefaction facilities in Louisiana. The case brought a majority appellate en banc decision from the Fourteenth Court of Appeals in Houston, finding that Parallax Enterprises and its affiliates had established a probable right to relief and harm associated with the opposing company’s efforts to conduct a non-judicial foreclosure on LLC interests held by one client in another.