Mr. Thompson is chair of the Litigation Practice Area and focuses his practice on complex business litigation, including cases involving securities and shareholder class action defense, derivative actions, officer and director liability, breach of contract, business fraud, corporate and partnership dissolutions, trust and estates litigation and insurance litigation.
Representative cases include the following:
- Lead counsel for public footwear company in successful prosecution of rights under Merger Agreement tried before the Chancery Court of Davidson County, Tennessee. One of few cases nationally to address scope of a material adverse effect ("MAE") clause;
- Lead counsel for institutional minority shareholder in successful defense of shareholder derivative/breach of fiduciary duty case tried in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware, New Castle County;
- Counsel for board of directors in successful defense of shareholder derivative action alleging defendants breached their fiduciary duty by manipulating the companies financial results and engaging in insider trading;
- Representation of mutual fund and fund investment advisor in class-action suit brought on behalf of former fund shareholders alleging various causes of action under federal securities laws and state common law;
- Representation of national accounting firm in securities class-action suit brought on behalf of shareholders of publicly-traded company alleging causes of action under federal securities laws;
- Representation of large national bank in consumer class action alleging violations of the Truth-In-Lending Act;
- Successful representation of start-up hi-tech manufacturing business in case alleging theft of trade secrets and breach of covenants not to compete;
- Successful representation of acquiror of book publishing business in arbitration for breach of representations and warranties in asset purchase agreement;
- Resolution by summary judgment of claim by alleged former joint venture partners claiming lost profits from failed real estate development;
- Successful representation of restaurant franchisor in case brought by former president and CEO alleging breach of employment contract;
- Successful representation of restaurant franchisor in various cases around the country brought by franchisees alleging various torts and breaches of franchise agreements;
- Judgment in favor of client in suit sought by alleged former partner claiming share of profits in multi-million dollar manufacturing business;
- Successful representation of owner of large multi-use real estate development in property tax appeal before State Board of Equalization;
- Successful representation of national bank in multiple lender liability claims asserted by purchasers of limited partnership interests in failed real estate ventures; and
- Successful arbitration in favor of client restaurant franchisor against former franchisee.
Mr. Thompson has practiced in Nashville since 1984. He graduated from the University of The South in 1981 and received his law degree from Vanderbilt University in 1984. Upon graduating from law school, Mr. Thompson joined Farris, Warfield & Kanaday, where he practiced for 15 years and was head of the firm's litigation section. He joined Bass, Berry & Sims in 1999. He has been named one of Tennessee's leading litigation lawyers by Chambers USA .
Mr. Thompson is active in the community. He is past Chair of the Tennessee Bar Association Litigation Section and the Nashville Bar Association Dispute Resolution Committee. He is past President of the Board of Directors of Travellers Rest Historic House and Museum, a member of the Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of Middle Tennessee and a member of the Board of Directors of Men of Valor. He is a past board member of Monroe Harding Children's Home (Chair), the Exchange Club of Nashville, and the Antiques and Garden Show of Middle Tennessee.
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