Trey is a partner at Starnes Davis Florie and is a member of the firm's recruiting committee. Practice Trey's practice is devoted to civil litigation with a primary focus on complex commercial litigation, environmental law, constitutional law, professional liability and appellate advocacy. Trey has represented national and regional companies including Drummond Company, Inc., CNA Financial Corp., and Hart & Cooley, Inc., as well as several governmental entities throughout the State of Alabama. Highlights * Recently represented four limited liability companies as the plaintiffs in a breach of contract action arising out of the sale of three industrial facilities in Mississippi. Due to a contractual jury waiver clause, the case was tried to a bench verdict granting specific performance and consequential damages in favor of the plaintiffs for a total judgment worth more than $2.5 million. * Obtained complete summary judgment on a breach of contract counterclaim brought against an Alabama-based coal company wherein over one hundred million dollars in damages were sought. * Obtained full summary judgment and affirmance by the Alabama Supreme Court in favor of a municipality in a suit by private businesses alleging several million dollars in flood losses arising out of the flooding of a natural creek allegedly due to the municipality's improper maintenance of the creek. * Obtained full summary judgment in a suit alleging employment discrimination by a state university against a professor. * After taking over a case involving private business owners being sued by Blue Cross/Blue Shield which had already been lost at trial by another firm, obtained a reversal of the judgment from the Alabama Supreme Court. * Successfully defended private property owners' challenge of a municipal land-use planning decision to Jefferson County Circuit Court, the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals, and ultimately the Alabama Supreme Court. * Currently defending clients in actions involving the False Claims Act, wrongful death under common law as well as the Alien Tort Statute and the Torture Victims Protection Act, breach of contract, as well as mass-action toxic tort claims. Honors And Awards Trey was selected to participate in the Alabama Bar's Leadership Forum program as a member of the 2012 class. Trey has been named a Rising Star for the state of Alabama by the 2011 edition of Alabama Super Lawyers® magazine. He currently serves as the Executive Editor of the Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Law Journal of the American Bar Association. In addition, Trey has been appointed to the following positions in the Tort & Insurance Practice Section of the American Bar Association: Vice-Chair of the Products, Consumer and General Liability Committee and Vice-Chair of the Public Relations Committee. As a student at the University of Alabama School of Law, Trey was selected and served as an Editor for the Alabama Law Review. Reported Cases St. Clair County Home Builders Ass'n v. City of Pell City, 61 So. 3d 992 (Ala. 2010) Jiann Min Chang v. Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University, 355 F. App'x 250 (11th Cir. 2009) Bill Salter Advertising, Inc. v. City of Atmore, 2008 WL 793776 (S.D. Ala. Mar. 19, 2008) Royal Automotive, Inc. v. City of Vestavia Hills, 995 So. 2d 154 (Ala. 2008) United Land Corp. v. Drummond Co., Inc., 990 So. 2d 858 (Ala. 2008) Wright Therapy Equipment, LLC v. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama, 991 So. 2d 701 (Ala. 2008) Speeches And Publications * H. Thomas Wells, III, Patricia A. Sexton, Alison P. Lungstrum, and Ashley Hawkinson, "Recent Developments in Products, General Liability, and Consumer Law," Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Law Journal, Vol. 45:2, Pages 517-542 (Winter 2010). * H. Thomas Wells, III, "Wyeth v. Levine, A Summary: Foreshadowing an End to the Doctrine of Implied Pre-Emption?", ABA Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section Committee News: Products, General Liability, and Consumer Law Committee (Spring 2009). * Patricia A. Sexton, Kimela R. West, Lynn G. Trevino-Legler, H. Thomas Wells III, and Franklin H. Turner III, "Recent Developments in Products, General, and Consumer Liability Law", Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Law Journal, Vol. 44:2, Pages 653-678 (Winter 2009). * Whose Ditch is it Anyway? An Analysis of Municipal Flood Liability, CLE Speech at the Alabama Association of Municipal Attorneys Midyear Law Conference, October 13, 2007. * H. Thomas Wells III, "I Saw the Light! Electronic Billboards and Sign Regulation", Birmingham Bar Association Bulletin, Vol. 28, Issue 2 (Summer 2007). Related News 1/19/2012, Starnes Announces Six New Partners 4/29/2011, Twenty Starnes Attorneys Listed in Alabama Super Lawyers 4/23/2009, Trey Wells Co-Writes Article Published in Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Law Journal 6/20/2008, Supreme Court of Alabama Affirms Summary Judgment in Favor of Vestavia. |