Business Disputes/Litigation

Business & Commercial

At Jones Hawkins & Farmer, our Nashville, Tennessee business and commercial dispute practice has included, cases such as the following:

Noncompetition Agreement Cases

Representation of individuals in the following businesses who challenged the enforceability of noncompetition agreements:

  • Physicians
  • Stock Brokers
  • Sales Representatives (medical supplies, insurance, financial services networks, and others)
  • Environmental Clean-Up Contractors
  • Property Managers
  • Sellers of Businesses

“Business Divorces” (Disputes Between Separating Business Owners)

  • “Squeeze-out Merger” Litigation
  • Disputes under Partnership Agreements, Shareholders’ Agreements, and Operating Agreements
  • Claims of fraud, misrepresentation, breach of fiduciary duty, and breach of contract by shareholders, partners, or members of businesses
  • Terminations or expulsions of partners, shareholders, members, and officers by controlling owners
  • Business owner break-ups

Business Valuation Cases

  • Appraisal actions by dissenting shareholders in squeeze-out merger and asset sale transactions
  • Divorces (assisting domestic relations counsel with business valuation issues)
  • Break-ups under partnership agreements, shareholders’ agreements, and operating agreements

Sale of Business Disputes

  • Claims based on warranties in asset purchase agreements and stock purchase agreements
  • Claims of fraud, misrepresentation, and failure to disclose material facts

Corporate Governance

  • Shareholder derivative actions
  • Breach of fiduciary duty actions against directors, officers, controlling shareholders, and other controlling persons

Investor Actions

  • Securities fraud litigation under federal and state statutes
  • NASD and AAA arbitration cases with claims of fraud, misrepresentation, and failure to disclose material facts in connection with sales of securities and other investment products
  • NASD and AAA arbitration cases involving unsuitable investments, churning, unauthorized trading by stock brokers
  • Viatical settlement contract fraud claims
  • Fraud, misrepresentation, and failure to disclose material facts by insurance agents in the sale of investment products
  • Actions to collect margin account debts

Entertainment Industry Cases

  • Dispute over rights to historic recordings by major country artist
  • Dispute over rights to singer’s album cover artwork
  • Copyright infringement cases
  • Recording contract disputes

Hospitality Industry Cases

  • Collection of unpaid charges owed to convention hotel by convention groups
  • Actions for breaches of contracts to hold group meetings at convention hotel
  • “Attrition” damages action for group’s failure to utilize all rooms reserved at convention hotel

Unfair Competition

  • Claims against competing former employees, officers, or agents who had not signed noncompetition agreements
  • Misuse of confidential information and trade secrets
  • Commercial use of recorded musical performances not subject to copyright protection

For more information about our Davidson County business and commercial dispute practice, or to schedule an appointment to speak with a lawyer about your case, contact Jones Hawkins & Farmer, PLC today.

Contracts

At Jones Hawkins & Farmer, our Nashville, Tennessee lawyers represent parties to contracts addressing various subjects and numerous types of commercial and individual activities, including the following:

  • Promissory notes and security agreements
  • Employment contracts
  • Contracts for the sale of goods and the provision of services
  • Contracts for the sale of real property
  • Contracts for the sale of businesses
  • Service contracts in the healthcare field, including physician billing services ? Partnership agreements, shareholders’ agreements, and LLC operating agreements
  • Guaranties and other suretyship contracts
  • Recording contracts
  • Noncompetition agreements

For more information about our experience with breach of contract disputes, or to schedule an appointment to speak with an attorney, contact Jones Hawkins & Farmer today.

Probate, Wills & Trusts

At Jones Hawkins & Farmer, our Nashville, Tennessee attorneys represent clients in litigation matters and other disputes concerning probate, wills, and trusts. Below are some examples of the cases that we have handled in this area:

  • Will contests
  • Actions to set aside lifetime transfers based on undue influence
  • Actions to construe, interpret, and modify wills and trusts
  • Actions by trustees for court instructions and directions
  • Legal malpractice actions involving preparation of wills
  • Actions involving Rule Against Perpetuities issues

For more information regarding our probate, wills, trusts litigation and dispute practice, contact Jones Hawkins & Farmer today. Or if you would prefer to schedule an appointment to speak with a lawyer, call to speak with a member of our staff.

At Jones Hawkins & Farmer, our Nashville, Tennessee practice has included representing both plaintiffs and defendants in disputes concerning the businesses and conduct of various professionals, as illustrated by the following examples of some of our cases:

Attorneys

  • Legal malpractice actions
  • (Defense of lawyers, and occasionally for plaintiffs in selected cases)
  • Actions to recover unpaid attorneys’ fees
  • Actions to recover attorneys’ fees as part of litigation damages
  • Sanctions proceedings
  • Attorney billing audit disputes
  • Defense of attorneys in actions by the Board of Professional Responsibility of the Tennessee Supreme Court

Stock Brokers

Representation of NASD Registered Representatives in the following matters:

  • Noncompetition agreement cases
  • Negotiation of severance terms
  • Defamatory or unfavorable disclosures of reasons for termination on NASD Forms U-5
  • NASD and State of Tennessee regulatory investigations
  • Employee forgivable loan disputes Physicians
  • Noncompetition agreement issues
  • Other employment contract issues
  • Partnership issues
  • Termination and severance issues
  • Credentialing and peer review issues
  • Sale of practice disputes
  • Hospital-subsidized physician recruiting contract disputes

This is only a representative sample of the types of cases we handle at Jones Hawkins & Farmer. If you have a question about a case related to an industry not listed here, please contact us today to see if we can help.

Real Estate

At Jones Hawkins & Farmer, our Nashville, Tennessee trial attorneys handle litigated matters and other disputes involving real property, both for individuals and businesses seeking relief and for those who are called upon to defend against claims made against them. Below are some examples of the types of cases in which we have been involved.

  • Enforcement of contracts and options to purchase land
  • Enforcement of rights of first refusal ? Boundary disputes
  • Actions for breaches of warranties in deeds
  • Title insurance disputes
  • Actions to construe or reform deeds
  • Claims of fraud, misrepresentation, and failure to disclose material facts in land sales
  • Actions to enjoin foreclosure and for wrongful foreclosure
  • Disputes under homeowners’ association rules and bylaws

If you have questions about a real estate dispute matter, or if you need an experienced Davidson County litigator to represent the best interests of your business in court, contact Jones Hawkins & Farmer today, or call the office to speak with a lawyer.