Highlights

• Prevailed in an appeal before the Alabama Supreme Court, in favor of the Defendant OBGYN and her practice group following a week-long trial in the Circuit Court of Jefferson County. On appeal, the Plaintiffs argued they were entitled to a new trial because the trial court erred by denying Plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment on causation, erred in its charge to the jury and the manner in which it framed to issues to be considered by the jury, and erred in prohibiting the Plaintiffs from employing Reptile Theory tactics.
• Obtained a favorable ruling from the Alabama Supreme Court affirming complete dismissal of all claims asserted against a national fraternity arising out of the alleged conversion and fraudulent transfer of real property that was owned by members of a local chapter organization.
• Obtained a favorable ruling from the Alabama Supreme Court, affirmed without opinion, on a summary judgment entered by the Circuit Court of Walker County in favor of a urologist in an action involving postoperative complications following a robotic prostatectomy.
• Obtained a favorable ruling from the Alabama Supreme Court holding an arbitration agreement enforceable in a senior living case based upon the principles of apparent authority.
• Obtained a favorable ruling from the Alabama Supreme Court to enforce their client’s arbitration agreement in a nursing home malpractice case.
• Obtained a favorable ruling from the Alabama Supreme Court, affirming summary judgment on tort of outrage claim against third party administrator arising from administration of workers’ compensation claim.
• Secured a favorable ruling from the Alabama Supreme Court affirming a Rule 12 dismissal for our client on Tort of Outrage and Wrongful Discharge in Violation of Public Policy claims.

• Obtained favorable ruling from Florida First District Court of Appeal, affirming summary judgment in favor of condominium association on claims that association’s board of directors exceeded statutory authority, and awarding attorney’s fees to client on appeal.
• Secured favorable Supreme Court opinion on behalf of termite and pest control company in a case involving claims of fraud, negligence, wantonness, and breach of contract.
• Obtained an affirmance by the Alabama Supreme Court of a defense verdict in favor of an OB/GYN in a retained foreign body/surgical sponge case.
• Obtained from the Alabama Supreme Court a reversal and remand of a plaintiff’s verdict and judgment in a medical malpractice case on behalf of a defendant anesthesiologist due to the plaintiff’s failure to produce a qualified expert witness during trial.
• Obtained a favorable ruling from the Alabama Supreme Court affirming a judgment rendered in favor of the defendant surgeon in a medical malpractice, cholecystectomy/common bile duct injury case.
• Obtained a favorable opinion from the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals affirming the dismissal of a complaint arising from orthodontic care and treatment.
• Obtained a favorable ruling from the Supreme Court of Alabama affirming the trial court’s granting of summary judgment in favor of their clients in a case involving allegations of harm caused by the long-term use of a medication.
• Obtained a favorable ruling from the Alabama Supreme Court on behalf of their clients, a national little league baseball program and its local director, after a spectator was hit by a baseball and sustained a serious brain injury/bleed.
• Obtained a favorable opinion from the Supreme Court of Alabama reversing and remanding a trial court’s denial of a client’s request to compel arbitration of claims filed against his business in Baldwin County, Alabama.
• In June 2015, Sybil Newton, along with Jay Ezelle and Randy Sellers, obtained favorable ruling from the Alabama Supreme Court on behalf of a university provost in a suit involving an on-campus shooting of six faculty members. The Alabama Supreme Court affirmed all of the decisions of the trial court and rejected plaintiffs’ request for a rehearing.
• In February of 2015, Sybil Newton, along with Gray Stiff, and Scott Stevens, obtained a favorable ruling from the 11th Circuit in a holding which affirmed the District Court’s (Southern District of Alabama) grant of summary judgment to insurance carrier in a case brought by an Alabama bank seeking payment under a financial institution bond. The bank alleged breach of contract and bad faith and sought over $1,000,000 from the carrier after a customer of the Bank defaulted on loans secured, in part, by a stock certificate which he had obtained fraudulently.  The primary issue on appeal was whether the fraudulently obtained stock certificate met the definition of a “counterfeit” under the terms of the bond.  The trial court held, and the 11th Circuit agreed, that the stock certificate at issue was an authentic document, even if procured under false pretenses, and does not meet the definition of “counterfeit” or trigger coverage under the bond.  The Bank’s application for rehearing en banc was denied by the 11th Circuit on April 20, 2015. The opinion issued by the 11th Circuit was the subject of several articles in Appellate Law 360.
• In August of 2014, obtained favorable ruling from the 11th Circuit Court in favor of a national grocery store chain, affirming the district court’s grant of summary judgment in this premises liability/slip and fall case.  Warren Butler and Scott Stevens successfully obtained summary judgment for our Defendant, and Sybil Newton handled the briefing before the 11th Circuit following the Plaintiff’s appeal.  The case contains helpful language regarding the Plaintiff’s burden on causation, the need for expert testimony on issues outside of a layperson’s understanding, and the impropriety of basing a theory upon speculation.
• In August of 2014, obtained ruling from The Alabama Supreme Court overruling Boudreaux v. Pettaway, 108 So.3d 486 (Ala. 2012), and expressly rejecting  the  prior holding in Boudreaux  that a potential bad faith claim against a defendant  physician ’s insurer should be considered as a  present  asset in determining whether a judgment should be remitted.
• In July of 2014, Obtained favorable ruling  for a Defendant/coal mining company from the Alabama Supreme Court in a case which arose from a claim for benefits under the Black Lung Benefits Act .   The Alabama Supreme Court  affirmed the trial court’s dismissal of the case and held that it lacked jurisdiction to consider this issue outside of the federal framework for BLBA actions.

News & Insights

• Starnes Attorneys Prevail in an Appeal Before the Alabama Supreme Court
• 30 Starnes Attorneys Listed in Best Lawyers in America 2024
• Sybil Newton and Scott Stevens Obtain Favorable Ruling from the Alabama Supreme Court
• Starnes Attorneys Win Appeal for Urologist in Medical Malpractice Case
• SDF’s Davis, Bates & Newton Obtain Favorable Ruling from the Alabama Supreme Court
• Starnes Davis Florie Ranked a Top Law Firm by Chambers USA 2023
• SDF’s Eagan, Newton, Huntley, and Jones Obtain Favorable Ruling from Alabama Supreme Court
• Newton, Bolt & Hines Obtain Favorable Ruling from the Alabama Supreme Court
• 30 SDF ATTORNEYS LISTED IN BEST LAWYERS IN AMERICA 2023
• Favorable Alabama Supreme Court Ruling for Newton, Butler & Still
• Starnes Attorneys Umbach, Newton & Still Secure Favorable Ruling from Alabama Supreme Court
• Sybil Newton Reappointed to a 5th Term on the Standing Committee on the Alabama Rules of Appellate Procedure
• TWENTY-TWO ATTORNEYS NAMED TO THE 2021 EDITION OF MID-SOUTH SUPER LAWYERS
• 29 SDF ATTORNEYS LISTED IN BEST LAWYERS IN AMERICA 2022
• Sybil Newton and Scott Stevens Prevail in Florida Appellate Court and Secure Attorney’s Fee Award
• SDF Attorneys Newton & Butler Secure Favorable Opinion from Alabama Supreme Court
• White, Newton & Bates Secure Favorable Ruling in Supreme Court Opinion
• Twenty-Six Attorneys Named to the 2020 Edition of Mid-South Super Lawyers
• Twenty-Six SDF Attorneys Listed in Best Lawyers in America 2021
• Another Appellate Win for SDF – Affirmance of Defense Verdict at Trial