Distinctions · AV-rated, Martindale-Hubbell · Adjunct Professor, Legal Analysis and Writing, Mississippi College School of Law · President's Special Award for Outstanding Service to Children, Young Lawyers Division, Mississippi Bar, 1998 Associations · American Bar Association · Defense Research Institute
- Appellate Advocacy Committee
- Vice Chair, Publications Subcommittee, 2010
- Chair, CLE Planning Subcommittee, 2008-10 · Capital Area Bar Association
- Director, 2008
- Chair, Community Services Committee · Jackson Young Lawyers · Mississippi Bar Association
- Child Advocacy Committee
- Young Lawyers Division
-- Director, 1997-99 Legal Experience · Double Quick, Inc. v. Lymas, 50 S. 3d 292 (Miss 2010) (reversing $4.2 million judgement (reduced to $1.7 million upon application of statutory cap) and rendering judgement in favor of Double Quick, holding that patron failed to show proximate causation and thus did not establish a premises liability claim against the store). · Ellis v. Gresham Services Stations, Inc., 2011 WL 294414 (Miss. Ct. App., Feb. 1, 2011) (affirming summary judgement in favor of Double Quick based on a finding that no genuine issue of material fact existed as to Double Quick's actual or contructive knowledge of an "atmosphere of violence" on the store's premises). · Borne v. Dunlop Tire Corp., Inc., So.3d 565, 2009 WL 1856676 (Miss. Ct. App. June 30, 2009) (summary judgment for Dunlop affirmed based on plaintiff's lack of tire identification). · Townsend v. Doosan Infracore American Corp., 3 So.3d 150 (Miss. Ct. App. 2009). (affirming trial courts exclusion of plaintiff's causation expert for lack of proper methodology under Daubert/McLemore standards and affirming summary judgment). · Upchurch Plumbing, Inc. v. Greenwood Utilities Com'n, 964 So.2d 1100 (Miss. 2007) ($2.6 million judgment, including attorney fees, affirmed). · American Home Products Corp. v. Sumlin, 942 So. 2d 766 (Miss. 2006), (reversal and remand for pharmaceutical manufacturer based on improper venue). · City of Jackson v. Presley, 942 So. 2d 777 (Miss. 2006), (reversal and remand for City of Jackson based on trial court's sua sponte entering an unrequested default judgment on liability against the City). · Park on Lakeland Drive, Inc. v. Spence, 941 So. 2d 203 (Miss. 2006), (reversal and remand for skating park and park manager based on improper joinder of park manager and improper venue). · State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Murriel, 904 So. 2d 112 (Miss. 2004), (reversal and remand for State Farm based on improper joinder of in-state body shops and dismissal of four out-of-state body shops based on forum non conveniens). · Midsouth Rail Corp. v. Citizens Bank & Trust Co., Inc., 697 So. 2d 451 (Miss. 1997), (representing Mississippi Bankers' Association as amicus curiae, holding statute imposing environmental liability on any person creating, or responsible for creating, necessity for clean-up action does not impose liability on lenders). · FMC Corp., Inc. v. Helton, 202 S.W.3d 490 (Ark. 2005), (reversal and remand on jury verdict against FMC in case brought by farmers for losses allegedly suffered by off-label use of insecticide manufactured by FMC, finding trial court abused its discretion by severing cross-claims that distributor and FMC brought against flying services; FMCs due process rights were violated by the admission of evidence of off-label use of insecticide in another state, as jury could have used the evidence to assess punitive damages; farmers were not entitled to damages for mental anguish; farmers did not have an outrage claim; and trial court abused its discretion by awarding farmers all of their attorney fees, not just those connected with their ADTPA claim). · Harris v. International Truck and Engine Corp., 912 So. 2d 1101 (Miss. Ct. App. 2005), (affirming summary judgment for ITEC based on finding that the manufacturer did not provide an inadequate warning in the owner's manual regarding the serious consequences of improperly replacing the axle bearing; the alleged inadequate warning in vehicle's owner's manual was not the proximate cause of driver's injuries; and the plaintiff-driver was not entitled to a rebuttable presumption that if proper warnings had been provided by the manufacturer the warnings would have been read and heeded). · Austin v. Will-Burt Co., 361 F.3d 862 (5th Cir. 2004), (affirming summary judgment for manufacturer of news van's telescoping mast in product liability action, finding telescoping mast was not defective for failing to contain adequate warnings or instructions when it left the control of the manufacturer; the alleged failure of manufacturer to adequately warn of dangers associated with mast was not the proximate cause of worker's death; manufacturer of telescoping mast had no post-sale duty to warn of dangers associated with mast; and mast was not defectively designed). Papers, Presentations & Publications · "Appeals Court Rejects Certification for Injunction Relief in Class Action," Counsel's Advisory (Washington Legal Foundation), May 6, 2011. · "Preserving Summary Judgment Based on the Exclusion of Expert Testimony," The MDLA Quarterly (Fall 2009). · "Daubert Admissibility Standards and Summary Judgement," Certworthy (Summer 2008). · Speaker, Fifth Circuit Update, "Annual Federal Practice and Procedure," (June 2009). · "A Guide to Legal Analysis," For the Defense (February 2006). · Mark Hermann's The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law, For the Defense (August 2006). (Book Review) · George Copen's Expectations: Teaching Writing from the Reader's Perspective, Certworthy (Spring 2005). (Book Review) |