The Starnes team won a closely-watched appeal in the Alabama Supreme Court on behalf of a university provost who was sued by the families of victims of an on-campus shooting of six faculty members. The families had appealed the trial court’s ruling that the provost did not have a duty to protect the victims, did not cause their deaths, and was protected by state-agent immunity. The families also appealed the trial court’s decision striking the supporting affidavit of the murderer, Dr. Amy Bishop, based on evidentiary objections raised by the Starnes team. The Alabama Supreme Court affirmed all of the decisions of the trial court and rejected plaintiffs’ request for a rehearing. The case was highly publicized with coverage from the Huntsville Times, CNN, the New Yorker, the Boston Globe, and the New York Times.
The Starnes team included lead partner Jay Ezelle, lead trial counsel Randy Sellers, and lead appellate counsel Sybil Newton.
