Robert S. Patterson

Tennessee Bar Foundation, Fellow  Listed in Benchmark Litigation, "Local Litigation Star," Tennessee, 2008-2021 Listed in The Best Lawyers in America® Bet-the-Company Litigation, 2012-2021 Commercial Litigation, 2006-2021 Litigation – Intellectual Property, 2012-2021 Business Litigation, 2003-2006 Listed in Business Tennessee, "150 Best Lawyers," 2009-2017 Listed in Chambers USA, Litigation: General Commercial, 2003-2020 Listed in Mid-South Super Lawyers Business Litigation, 2006-2021 "Top 50," Nashville, 2012-2013 "Top 100," Tennessee, 2014-2015 Listed in Nashville Business Journal "Best of the Bar," 2012, 2015-2017 "Top 100 Lawyers in Nashville," 2009-2011 Nashville Business Leaders, 2014 Honored as an "Attorney for Justice" by the Tennessee Supreme Court Access to Justice Commission, 2018 Arbitration in premium adjustment dispute Defended client in arbitration regarding a dispute over retro-active premium adjustment. Successful resolution of bet-the-company business tort litigation We represented a startup health care company in a suit filed by a large competitor claiming misappropriation of trade secrets, violation of confidentiality and non-compete agreements and intentional interference with business relations. In this bet-the-company case, we obtained a favorable settlement for our clients after more than 500 court filings, approximately 50 court hearings before four judges, more than 60 depositions, and four days of mediation before a panel of three mediators. The confidential settlement included providing authority to our client to publicize the resolution of the case, including that it paid no money to its competitor and that there was no finding or admission of wrongdoing. Investigation related to claims of mismanagement Assisted client against assertion by their client of mismanagement across several properties with potential seven-figure exposures. Organized and conducted investigation of all claims and made presentation that convinced their client its claims were groundless. Obtained dismissal in putative class action alleging breach of charitable trust, breach of contract and related actions Obtained dismissal for large, nonprofit hospital in putative class action alleging breach of charitable trust, breach of contract and related actions. Also successfully defended hospital against motion to transfer and consolidate case in multi-district litigation. Class Action Suit Defended client in class action suit challenging the provision of health care to uninsured patients. We proved our client had done nothing wrong and had the case dismissed on a motion. Defense of client in tax-free split in family-held businesses Defended client in tax-free split of $1.5 billion in family-held businesses with substantial real estate holdings and ownership of NFL franchise. The case spawned three lawsuits and involved many consultants in areas of accounting, tax planning and estate planning. Dispute regarding post-closing sales price adjustment Defended client in dispute over post-closing adjustments to the sales price of $300 million purchase of a hospital involving complicated accounting issues. Case settled in arbitration. Four week trial with defense verdict Defended client in suit alleging client's boats were damaging the shoreline of the Cumberland River, and thereby challenged our client's business objective of using the river as means of transportation. After four week trial, received a ruling in favor of client. “Shareholder Divorce” Have represented shareholders and directors in numerous cases involving shareholder disputes over control of privately held companies. For example, recently engineered the buy-out of a partner in a hedge fund by the remaining partner, avoiding a lawsuit that would have damaged business of the hedge fund. Clifford v. St. Thomas Hospital One of many medical malpractice cases involving serious injuries that dismissed on a motion for summary judgment. Appearances before the Securities Exchange Commission Represented numerous parties in claims asserted by the SEC, ranging from defense of informal investigation to Wells Submissions and negotiation of settlements. City Attorney, City of Belle Meade Act as outsider general counsel for municipality with approximately 3000 residents, advising on matters ranging from zoning to sewer contracts. Class action counsel Have served as lead and local counsel in numerous class actions. Class action settlement of “bet the company” tort claims against client Defended company in a series of 500 related tort claims when coverage was in dispute, and ultimately negotiated a class action settlement principally funded by the carriers that had disputed coverage. Defense of directors Defense of directors in shareholder derivative actions against company. Defense of public company in publicly sensitive contract claim After establishing in deposition that damages claims were subject to attack, resolved claim through confidential, mediated settlement. Defense of Registered Representatives Representation of registered representatives sued by their customers on lack of suitability and failure to disclose claims. Defense of Underwriter’s counsel in securities fraud claim arising in connection with failed retirement centers Attorney/client had been sued in several cases involving commonly owned retirement centers. Claims were resolved within policy limits. Expert witness Have served as expert witness in an array of cases, ranging from advising the Board of Professional Responsibility on claims involving securities laws to evaluating the business, as opposed to risk, motivations for settlement of a case in aid of evaluation of determining coverage. Federal Materials Co. - ACR Litigation (Circuit Courts for Lyon and Caldwell Counties, Ky. 2009) In this "bet the company" litigation, we represented a quarry owner in approximately 350 lawsuits and as to another 150 claimants, in which the plaintiff residential and commercial building owners sought $55 million in damages. The plaintiffs argued the concrete was failing due to alkali-carbonate reactivity (ACR) caused by our client's quarry rock. In three years of hard fought litigation, we defeated class action certification and crafted a defense strategy that challenged both the legal bases and factual premises of the plaintiffs' claims, leading to a settlement for a fraction of the claimed damages. Concurrently, we worked with the client's carriers to obtain coverage for most of the client's settlement contribution share, then utilized a class action for settlement purposes only and resolved all asserted and unasserted claims related to ACR, except for a few claimants who opted out of the settlement. Insurance coverage Have represented both carriers and insureds in coverage disputes. For example, represented NFL franchise in resolution of claims involving retroactive adjustment of worker’s compensation claims. Insurance Litigation Defense of an insured in $2.5 million retroactive premium adjustment case. International Arbitration (Germany) Represented major distributor of musical instruments in arbitration arising out of its termination of its German Distributor. Obtained dismissal of claims against St. Thomas Hospital that it had failed to provide sufficient indigent care When hospitals across the country were being sued for failing to provide indigent care, Bob filed a peremptory motion that was granted dismissing the case, saving his clients thousands in fees that would have otherwise been incurred. Ponzi Schemes Represented claimants in successful effort to recover “investments” lost in Ponzi scheme after successfully convincing carriers to resolve claims through confidential settlement; have also represented broker-dealer in failure to supervise claims asserting that it should have discovered the actions of the registered representative who operated the Ponzi scheme. Private arbitration between two hospitals over the post-closing adjustment of the purchase Bob recovered approximately $15M in “post-closing adjustments” by digging into the seller’s accounting practices to expose adjustments that would otherwise have cost his client. Resolution of various medical malpractice claims in various state courts Successful resolution of various medical malpractice claims in various state courts. Resolved False Claims Act claim for health care provider before the government officially intervened Bob has resolved False Claims Act claims for a fraction of the government’s demand by successfully challenging the assumptions on which the demand was based. Risk Management Consistently consult with business of management of potential risks. For example, advised publicly held company on large claim by important client, ultimately preparing a PowerPoint presentation used by the CEO to convince customer of problems with the assumption giving rise to the demand. Recently consulted with growing company on dispute over a contract with another state, and helped arrange a series of helpful communications to be used as evidence in framing the dispute for resolution. Sale of Stock of Custom Software Solutions, Inc. Represented major shareholders in closely held corporation in sale of stock of small software development company. Tax-free split up of major real estate company Represented one of two siblings who inherited ownership of $1B real estate company, ultimately resolving litigation pending in two states with a tax-free split up of the real estate empire. Use of Business Judgment Rule to avoid litigation Have advised on the corporate decision making process to avoid disputes between differently situated shareholders; for example, structured and proctored a board’s decision making progress in allocating available funds for distribution to multiple classes of shareholders, each with differing claims on the fund available for distribution.