Clients in the financial services, health care, and manufacturing industries facing materially significant, "bet-the-company" situations rely on Carol Owen to provide strategic advice and to implement the steps necessary to address the issues involved. From the first notice to the final resolution of a dispute, Carol delivers focused, detailed attention. Her tenacious and determined spirit drives her caring and full-service approach to serving the client's needs.
Healthcare companies, manufacturers, financial services providers, and waste management companies are among the clients who have benefited from Carol's experience handling complex litigation. With extensive first- and second-chair experience in federal and state court cases, Carol has successfully defended clients in environmental, securities fraud, contract, tort, trade secret, and employment disputes.
Clients benefit from Carol's boundless drive, passionate advocacy, and hands-on leadership. She assembles talented teams that understand the client's objective and leads by example, tirelessly anticipating and responding to the questions that arise in a high-stakes, high-risk situation. Her reputation speaks for itself through several landmark and precedent-setting cases, including two Medicaid class actions that defined the course of TennCare, Tennessee's managed healthcare program.
Carol is AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell and has been named "Best of the Bar" by the Nashville Business Journal.
Experience
Reported cases:
· International Forest Products Corp., et al. v. West, et al., No. 3:11-cv-120, M.D. Tenn. - Lead counsel to individual and corporate defendants in fraud, misrepresentation, and breach of contract case seeking $2.7 million in damages; case settled, December 2011 (Decisions on motions to dismiss at 2011 WL 4056036 (Aug. 6, 2011) and 2011 WL 4063035 (Sept. 13, 2011))
· Cooper Container Corp. v. West, et al., No. 2011-cv-71, Circuit Court for the State of Tennessee, 15th Judicial District - Lead counsel to individual and corporate defendants in fraud, misrepresentation, and breach of contract case seeking $1.15 million in damages; case nonsuited after hearing on motion to dismiss, June 2011
· Associated Packaging, Inc., et al. v. Jackson Paper Manufacturing Co., et al., No. 10-cv-745, General Court of Justice, Superior Court Division, State of North Carolina - Lead counsel to defendant in $1.15 million securities fraud suit
· Coats, et al. v. Nashville Limo Bus, LLC, et al., No. 03:10-cv-759, M.D. Tenn. - Lead counsel to individual and corporate defendants in FLSA class action; case settled, July 2011
· Jackson, et al. v. Regions Bank, No. 3:09-cv-908, M.D. Tenn. - Counsel to defendant bank in breach of duty case brought by victims of Ponzi scheme; plaintiffs seek to recover $40 million in compensatory and punitive damages based on bank's failure to detect money laundering operation; case set for trial, September 2012
· Managed Care Solutions, Inc. v. Essent Healthcare, Inc., No. 09-60351, S.D. Fla. - Counsel to defendant healthcare provider in $35 million breach of contract dispute; obtained summary judgment as to 90% of damages claimed, default judgment as to remaining damages claimed, and award of $1.5 million in attorney's fees. (See decisions at 694 F.Supp.2d 1275 (S.D. Fla. 2010, and 736 F.Supp.2d 1317 (S.D. Fla. 2010))
· Monday, et al. v. Regions Bank, No. 3:08-cv-789, M.D. Tenn. - Counsel to regional bank holding company in dispute over enforceability of interest rate derivative agreements; obtained summary judgment in favor of bank. (See decision at 2010 WL 753327 (March 4, 2010))
· Playford v. Lowder, No. 2:09-cv-182-MHT, M.D. Ala. - Counsel to regional bank holding company in shareholder derivative lawsuit alleging breach of fiduciary responsibility by directors and officers; obtained dismissal for failure to make demand (See decision at 635 F.Supp.2d 1303 (M.D. Ala. 2009).)
· Grier v. Goetz, No. 79-3107, M.D. Tenn., and Rosen v. Goetz, No. 05-5202, M.D. Tenn. - Trial and appellate counsel to a coalition of healthcare providers throughout Rufo hearing and related proceedings in two Medicaid class actions that defined the course of TennCare, Tennessee's managed healthcare program (See decisions at 402 F.Supp.2d 871 (M.D. Tenn. 2005), and 402 F.Supp.2d 876 (M.D. Tenn. 2005))
· Cox v. Shell Oil Co., No. 18,844, Chancery Court for the State of Tennessee, 27th Judicial District - Trial and appellate counsel to attorneys subject to five civil contempt petitions seeking $20 million in sanctions; developed and briefed argument that clients' conduct, if sanctionable at all, was exclusively criminal and thus could not result in civil contempt damages; obtained ruling that conduct as a matter of law could not constitute civil contempt, leading to ultimate dismissal of all five petitions - a result upheld on appeal (See appellate decision affirming trial court at 196 S.W.3d 747 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2006))
· U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Manufacturing Limited Partnership v. Qiu, No. 02-906-III, Chancery Court for the State of Tennessee, 20th Judicial District - Trial counsel to plaintiff in trade secret / inevitable disclosure case; created and briefed 'heart of the business' distinction separating 'duplication' trade secrets from others; obtained reversal of ruling that, under Coca-Cola Bottling Co. of Shreveport, Inc. v. Coca-Cola Co., 107 F.R.D. 288 (D. Del. 1985), the recipes for Copenhagen and Skoal would have to be disclosed to competitor (Court's adoption of 'heart of the business' doctrine noted in 27 TAM 38-43 (June 4, 2002))
Professional
· Life Member, Sixth Circuit Judicial Conference
· Member, Executive Council, Tennessee Bar Association Appellate Practice Group
· Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America
- Vice-Chair, Complex Litigation Institute
· Member, Nashville, Tennessee and American Bar Associations
News/Events
Articles
07.05.11, ABA TRIAL EVIDENCE NEWSLETTER, "The Duty to Preserve: Victor Stanley and Its Progeny"
Bulletins
03.08.11, Banking and Financial Services Update, Vol. 8, Winter 2011
Media Mentions
05.24.12, Carol Owen mentioned in SMART E-DISCOVERY BLOG, "California Dreamin'"
04.03.12, Carol Owen representing victims (pro bono) in Nashville's Somali sex-trafficking case, Nashville City Paper
Community
· Former President, Vice President, and Trustee, Telluride Association
· Former Trustee, Deep Springs College
· Member, Los Angeles Conservancy
Up Close
Carol has spent more than 20 years and countless hours serving as an officer and trustee of non-profit educational institutions that seek to provide educational opportunities to people seeking public service careers.
She currently serves as pro bono counsel to Jane Doe 2 in U.S. v. Adan, one of the largest sex-trafficking prosecutions in U.S. history.