Dale Grimes, a Member of the firm and leader of its Antitrust and Trade Practices Group, has nearly 30 years of experience handling civil litigation matters in both state and federal trial and appellate courts throughout Tennessee with a special focus on antitrust, consumer fraud, complex litigation, class actions, telecommunications, energy and water. In addition to extensive experience in complex cases, including multidistrict litigation, Mr. Grimes has been counsel of record for defendants in over 30 class actions.
Mr. Grimes' practice also focuses on antitrust counseling to clients on a variety of merger, pre-merger notification, distribution, exclusive dealing, exclusionary practices, market power, healthcare, pricing and joint venture issues, as well as government and internal antitrust investigations. He has spoken on healthcare and antitrust issues to business and trade organizations, healthcare provider groups and various clients as well as the Tennessee Bar Association. In addition Mr. Grimes has designed and presented antitrust compliance programs for various clients.
In the telecommunications and utilities field, Mr. Grimes represents telecommunications, natural gas and water distribution clients before the Tennessee Regulatory Authority as well as in state and federal courts.
His litigation experience includes:
- Defense of tobacco company in federal price discrimination action resulting in jury verdict for client.
- Defense of waste management company in class action alleging monopolization and attempted monopolization under state antitrust and consumer protection laws resulting in summary judgment for client that was upheld on appeal.
- Defense of dairy industry participant in class actions alleging monopsonization and price collusion.
- Representation of water utility in trial of contested case seeking rate increase before Tennessee Regulatory Authority.
- Successful representation of client in business combination through second request from Federal Trade Commission.
- Defense of big box retailer in state consumer protection act class action.
- Representation of telecommunications company in federal class action claiming improper disclosure of customer information to National Security Agency.
- Representation of major technology company in federal court litigation involving software licensing and contract performance.
- Defense of major hospital corporation in class action claims of overcharging by uninsured patients.
- Defense of tobacco company in federal court litigation involving tortious interference and inducing breach of contract claims.
- Defense of major hospital corporation in state and federal multi-state class actions alleging billing fraud.
- Defense of pharmaceutical manufacturers in class actions under state antitrust and consumer protection laws.
- Defense of local exchange telephone companies in federal and state antitrust and consumer protection class actions.
- Defense of actions against bank alleging RICO violations arising out of lending practices.
- Defense of state attorney general antitrust investigation of price fixing and group boycott among health care providers.
- Representation of hospitals in staff privileges litigation under antitrust law.
- Representation of various clients in attempted monopolization litigation including physician group, crushed stone seller, and process patentee.
- Representation of airport shuttle operator on claim of market division in violation of antitrust law.
- Representation of clients in the automotive paint, flat glass, synthetic textile fiber, travel, healthcare, wholesale drug distribution, workers compensation insurance, beauty product, wireless, natural gas, copper tubing, investment reporting, chemical, financial services and recording industries in federal and state antitrust and consumer fraud cases, many of which were class actions.
- Prosecution and defense of insurance coverage and director indemnification suits.
- Representation of bank directors in litigation arising from bank failure.
- Agency and appellate representation of telecommunications clients on issues under the federal and state telecommunications statutes.
Mr. Grimes served as editor of the 4th edition of the Tennessee chapter of the State Antitrust Practice and Statutes published by the American Bar Association. He was chair of the Civil Justice Reform Act Advisory Group for the Middle District of Tennessee, in which he co-authored the Cost and Delay Reduction Plan and local rule on case management practices currently in force in that federal court. Mr. Grimes has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America® since 1999, and named as one of the best litigation lawyers in Tennessee by Chambers USA. He is also listed in the Lawdragon 500 and Lawdragon 3000 Leading Lawyers in America. He has lectured on healthcare and antitrust law in the Executive Seminars Program at the Owen Graduate School of Management of Vanderbilt University. He is a Fellow of the Nashville Bar Foundation, and has been active in many bar association activities. Mr. Grimes is past chairman of the Board of Regents of the University of the South, a former senior warden of Christ Church Episcopal Cathedral, president of the Board of Trustees of St. Mary's Sewanee and former chair of the Constitution and Canons Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee.
A native of Nashville, Mr. Grimes received a B.A. from the University of the South in 1975 and graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1978, where he served as an editor of the Tennessee Law Review. Following law school, he served a two-year judicial clerkship with the Honorable L. Clure Morton, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. He joined Bass, Berry & Sims in 1980. He attended the Harvard Law School Program of Instruction for Lawyers in 1985, where he studied Antitrust Law with Professor Philip Areeda, Federal Civil Procedure and Economics.
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