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Appellate Practice

The Firm has an active appellate practice, with attorneys admitted before appellate courts in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, as well as the United States Courts of Appeal for the 5th Circuit and 11th Circuit and the United States Supreme Court. Lawyers in the firm have moderated and taught numerous seminars on appellate practice and published articles in that field, and some are former judicial law clerks with insight on how judges and appellate courts function. Because we have attorneys with expertise in virtually every substantive area of the law, we are able assemble teams that can handle any appeal.

Among the benefits provided by the firm’s appellate litigation division are the following:

  • An Experienced Guide.
    An appellate advocate can give you comfort in navigating the unfamiliar waters of appellate procedure, and avoid dismissals on procedural grounds.
  • A Fresh Perspective.
    An appellate advocate can identify appealable error in the record, identify and select  the important legal issues to be raised on appeal and provide you with a fresh perspective on the merits of your case. 
  • A Well-Crafted Brief.
    An appellate advocate can craft, or assist in crafting, a concise, compelling brief designed to present the legal issues most likely to succeed on appeal and in a manner most likely to persuade the appellate advocate’s unique audience –  an appellate bench.
  • Persuasive Oral Argument.
    An appellate advocate can effectively use the 15 to 30 minutes afforded to you at any oral argument, communicate the essence of the appeal, and answer with confidence any questions from the bench.
  • Adequate Preservation of Error.
    An appellate advocate can ensure that you have preserved any error for review on appeal and help you establish the best record for a successful appellate result, by assistance at the trial court level in preparing or reviewing pre-trial or post-trial dispositive motions, jury charges, trial briefs, or other written materials.
  • A Solid Advocate.
    In short, an appellate advocate, with a mastery of the law applicable to your case, can creatively apply that law to the facts of your case, effectively expose the fallacies of your opponent’s legal arguments, and finally persuade an appellate court that the law, correctly applied, dictates a result in your client’s favor.

    The firm is willing to assist trial counsel to whatever degree is desired, from a limited consulting role to the complete handling of any appeal. 

  • Kumho Tire Co. v. Carmichael, 526 U.S. 137 (1999) (obtained seminal ruling from the United States Supreme Court on key issue relating to the admissibility of expert testimony in federal courts)
  • Deposit Guaranty Nat. Bank. v. Roper, 445 U.S. 326 (1980) (obtained ruling from the United States Supreme Court on important class-action issue)
  • O’Brien v. Mobile Public Library, 2022 WL 829245 (Ala. Civ. App. March 11, 2022) (reversing trial court’s judgment in favor of employer for reimbursement of workman’s compensation benefits paid to the employee from proceeds of judgment for underinsured motorist benefits recovered by employee)
  • Ex parte Mobile Infirmary Association, ___ So.3d ____, 2021 WL 4129400 (Ala. S. Ct. Sept. 10, 2021)(reversing trial court’s denial of motion to dismiss claims for medical malpractice on statute of limitation grounds)
  • Ex parte Mobile Infirmary Association, 2018 WL 6583838 (Ala. S. Ct. December 14, 2018)(issuing writ of mandamus ordering trial court to vacate paragraph of protective order that allowed plaintiff’s counsel to share confidential information obtained in wrongful death action with other members of law firm).
  • McCants v. City of Mobile, 752 Fed. Appx. 744 (11th Cir. 2018)(affirming dismissal of §1983 action against city and police officials for alleged use of excessive force, and violation of substantive due process and equal protection)
  • Mitchell v. City of Mobile, 744 Fed. Appx. 687 (11th Cir. 2018)(affirming summary judgment for client in §1983 action for violation of alleged civil rights in use of deadly force).
  • Simpson v. Mobile Infirmary, Case Nos. 1160761 and 1160797 (Ala. S. Ct. August 10, 2018)(affirming trial court’s order granting judgment as a matter of law in favor of client and reversing jury verdict of $2,000,000 in medical malpractice action).
  • Ex Parte Mobile Infirmary Association, ____ So.3d _____, 2018 WL 2381977 (Ala. S. Ct. May 25, 2018)(significant decision protecting from discovery quality assurance materials and discovery of other acts or omissions in medical malpractice action).
  • Cleveland v. Mobile Infirmary, Case No. 1160322 (Feb. 17, 2018)(affirming defense verdict for client in medical malpractice action).
  • Rochester-Mobile, LLC v. C&S Wholesale Grocers, Inc., 239 So.3d 1139 (Ala. 2017)(obtaining reversal of judgment on the pleadings and remand with instructions to enter judgment in favor of firm’s client; in case of first impression, Supreme Court construes the term “lease,” in statute requiring recording of leases with terms longer than 20 years, as not including a sublease).
  • Ex parte Bio-Medical Applications of Alabama, Inc., 216 So. 3d 420 (Ala. 2016)(obtaining mandamus relief requiring summary judgment for client in wrongful death action as barred by statute of limitations)
  • Goldthrip v. Depuy Orthopaedics, Inc., 665 Fed. Appx. 808 (11th Cir. 2016)(affirming summary judgment granted in favor of client for alleged product liability on grounds action was barred by statute of limitations).
  • Moore v. Welch, 29 So.3d 185 (Ala. Civ. App. 2009)(obtained favorable ruling for clients in connection with employee’s claim against his co-workers relating to workplace safety)
  • Alfa Mut. Ins. Co. v. City of Mobile, 981 So.2d 371 (Ala. 2007)(obtained reversal in favor of insurer client in complex municipal tax matter)
  • Hunt Petroleum Corp. v. State, 901 So. 2d 1 (Ala. 2004) (obtained reversal of $20,000,000 fraud verdict against oil company client)
  • State v. Armstrong, 779 So.2d 1211 (Ala. 2000)(obtained reversal in favor of State of Alabama on attorney fee issue in eminent domain action)