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Coburn Dewees  Berry IV
Member
Nashville
P:(615) 742-6215
F:(615) 742-2715
E-mail Coburn Dewees Berry IV
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Education
Vanderbilt University - J.D., 1976
Vanderbilt University - B.A., 1973

Bar Admissions
Tennessee, 1976

Memberships
Nashville Bar Association (President, 2003)
Tennessee Bar Association
Nashville Bar Foundation

Honors & Distinctions
Fellow, American College of Real Estate Lawyers
Listed in: The Best Lawyers in America®; Chambers USA; Who's Who Legal; Mid-South Super Lawyers; Nashville Business Journal's "Best of the Bar"; Nashville Post’s Best Lawyers; Nashville Post Magazine, Middle Tennessee’s Top 100 in Real Estate (Nov. 2002)
Instructor, Nashville School of Law
Rule 31 Listed General Civil Mediator
Editor, Tennessee Real Estate Law Letter, 1983—Present—www.tnrelaw.com
Fellow, Nashville Bar Foundation and Tennessee Bar Foundation
Executive Committee, Bass, Berry & Sims, 6 Years
President, Nashville Bar Association, 2003
Law Clerk to Chief Judge Frank Gray, Jr., U.S. District Court, Middle District of Tennessee, 1976-1977

Publications
"Priority Conflicts Between Fixture Secured Creditors and Real Estate Claimants," Memphis State Law Review
"Avoiding Lease Drafting Pitfalls," Tennessee Bar Journal
"Litigating About the Road Taken: A Thumbnail Sketch of Tennessee Roadway Law" Nashville Bar Journal



Dewees regularly litigates such real estate conflicts as eminent domain matters, mechanic's lien and construction suits, quiet title actions, and contract disputes.

Dewees advises clients concerning zoning, planning, lease disputes, boundary, easement, restrictive covenant and land use issues. He also has extensive transactional experience. His practice has included purchases and sales, financings, leasing, and all other aspects of commercial real estate.

Representative Matters include:

Trial Court:
  • Wall v. Show Me Farms - Represented adjoining owners in litigation concerning whether a mulch manufacturing facility was permitted under the Davidson County zoning ordinance. The case resulted in a post-trial settlement by which the facility was shut down.
  • Tennsco Corp. v. Attea - This was a suit concerning whether restrictive covenants encumbered our client's property. The court applied the principle that in order to bind successive owners, restrictive covenants must clearly state that they run with the land.
  • State v. Patrick - This case involved the doctrine of title by prescription. The court ruled that 20 years' open, notorious, continuous, and hostile possession gave our client, a tenant in common, fee simple title even though there had been no actual ouster.
  • Dismang v. Hall - Successfully represented a purchaser of real property against a claim by the grantor's conservator that the grantor was incompetent at the time of the sale.
  • Hornsby v. French – Represented the defendants in this boundary line case. The plaintiffs were unable to establish title by acquiescence or adverse possession. Clear and positive proof was found lacking.
  • Hargrove v. Carlton - The court held in the client's favor and applied the rule that a party who seeks to establish the existence of a public road by implied dedication must present clear and convincing evidence.

Appellate Court:
  • Associates Home Equity Services, Inc. v. Franklin National Bank - The Court of Appeals ruled that equitable subrogation was available to a mortgagee that had paid off an existing loan. The doctrine was explained in detail in the opinion.
  • Chemical Residential Mortgage. v. Hodge - The Court of Appeals held that a lender who suffered damage because our client improperly released its deed of trust could recover only the value of the encumbered property, not the entire secured indebtedness.
  • Guffy v. Toll Brothers Real Estate, Inc. - The issue on this appeal was whether the Federal Arbitration Act preempted the state law requirement that an arbitration clause in a residential contract be initialed. The court held that preemption would apply if there were sufficient interstate contacts and remanded for a hearing on that point.
  • Smith v. Sovran Bank - The Court of Appeals held that unmarried grantees who took title as husband and wife were estopped to deny their marriage vis as vis our client, a bona fide purchaser.

Dewees and his wife, Kathy, have three grown sons. Dewees’ interests outside of work include reading, Italian, duck hunting, and boxing.