Highlights

• 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 defense award for a nursing home and rehabilitation center in a wrongful death, medical malpractice action in a case involving allegations that the resident suffered numerous falls, the last of which resulted in a subdural hematoma that caused the resident’s death.
• Secured a dismissal of claims of medical malpractice and wrongful death against a local home health and hospice agency. Citing provisions of the Alabama Medical Liability Act regarding the necessity of expert testimony on the issues of standard of care and causation, Will obtained summary judgment in favor of his client.
• Obtained a defense verdict in favor of an oral and maxillofacial surgeon in a case involving a bilateral total joint replacement of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ).
• Obtained a defense verdict in favor of a nursing home in a wrongful death case arising from allegations that a patient died from gastrointestinal bleeding, infection, and hemorrhage at a dialysis access site.
• Obtained a defense verdict for an assisted living facility and the facility’s executive director in a six-day arbitration hearing involving a resident’s allegations of sexual assault.
• Obtained complete dismissal of wrongful death claims against an international security management company.

• Obtained summary judgment in favor of a local disaster-recovery contractor in a wrongful death lawsuit.
• Obtained complete dismissal of all claims asserted against local-bank client and its president regarding allegations of false imprisonment, conspiracy, defamation, slander, and conversion. Affirmed by the Alabama Supreme Court.
• Obtained a defense verdict on behalf of a franchisee of a world-wide fast-food restaurant in a premises-liability action.
• Obtained a defense verdict on behalf of a repossession firm involving allegations of wrongful repossession, trespass, and conspiracy.
• Obtained complete dismissal of wrongful death claims against a nursing home because the plaintiff failed to invoke the arbitration process.
• Obtained dismissal of all claims against a local hospital on grounds the plaintiff failed to comply with the statute of limitations.
• Obtained dismissal of claims against a local pharmacy accused of causing physical injury as a result of a misfilled prescription.
• Obtained a summary judgment in favor an ambulance company in a suit involving an automobile accident.

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Presentations and Publications

• “Sexual Assault in Long-Term Care: Evaluating and Defending these Claims,” Alabama Nursing Home Defense Lawyers Association, Orange Beach, AL (April 2018).
• “How to Prepare for and Defend Against Claims of Assault in the Long-Term Care Setting,” CLM Annual Conference (March 2018)
• “Alabama’s Contractor Statute of Repose,” The Alabama Roadbuilder (Fall 2010)(co-author)
• “Medical Literature: Friend and/or Foe in the Medical Malpractice Trial,” Defense Research Institute, Medical Liability and Healthcare Law Seminar (New Orleans, February 2012)
• “From Sale to Science: An Overview of Alabama Dram-Shop Claims and the Impact of Scientific Expert Testimony,” Alabama Defense Lawyers Association Journal (Spring 2012)(co-author)
• “Hot Topics in Nursing Home Litigation,” Alabama Nursing Home Association Conference (Spring 2016)

News & Insights

• SDF’s Davis, Bates & Newton Obtain Favorable Ruling from the Alabama Supreme Court
• Reed Bates & Will Davis Obtain Defense Award for a Nursing Home in Arbitration
• Will Davis Selected to BBJ’s Best of the Bar for 2022
• TWENTY-TWO ATTORNEYS NAMED TO THE 2021 EDITION OF MID-SOUTH SUPER LAWYERS
• STARNES RANKED AS A “HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FIRM” IN THE 2022 EDITION OF BENCHMARK LITIGATION
• Starnes Ranked as a “Highly Recommended Firm” in the 2021 Edition of Benchmark Litigation
• Twenty-Six Attorneys Named to the 2020 Edition of Mid-South Super Lawyers
• Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Update for Long-term Care Facilities and Assisted Living: Update on Monitoring Requirements
• COVID-19 Nursing Home Guidance – Compliance Recommendations
• THIRTY-ONE SDF ATTORNEYS NAMED TO THE 2019 EDITION OF MID-SOUTH SUPER LAWYERS
• SDF Attorneys MacKenzie, Bates & Davis Obtain Defense Verdict After 6-Day Trial
• SDF Attorneys Reed Bates & Will Davis Obtain Defense Verdict in Nursing Home Wrongful Death Case
• Starnes Davis Florie Ranked in the 2019 Edition of Benchmark Litigation
• THIRTY-ONE SDF ATTORNEYS NAMED TO THE 2018 EDITION OF MID-SOUTH SUPER LAWYERS
• Davis, Stevens, & Wells Named to Benchmark Litigation’s 40 & Under Hot List
• Twenty-Eight SDF Attorneys Named to the 2017 Edition of Mid-South Super Lawyers
• Umbach, Perkins, Davis, & Vinson Participate in the Alabama Trucking Association’s Annual Mock Trial
• Reed Bates & Will Davis Obtain Defense Verdict After 6-Day Arbitration for Assisted Living Facility
• Twenty-Six SDF Attorneys Named to the 2016 Edition of Mid-South Super Lawyers
• Starnes Davis Florie Announces New Partners