Jay M. Ezelle

Jay Ezelle is a partner at Starnes Davis Florie and has been with the firm since 1999. Jay has served as the Hiring partner for the firm and is a current member of the firm’s executive committee.

PRACTICE

Jay has worked on a broad variety of litigation matters, concentrating on complex, high-risk litigation. He has represented numerous Fortune 500 companies in a variety of matters  including national class actions and multidistrict litigation. He has also represented several universities in high-profile matters ranging from intellectual property disputes to NCAA compliance investigations.

HIGHLIGHTS

– Defended Allied Crushed Stone Company in lawsuit brought by Vulcan Materials Co. and obtained successful resolution through tax-exempt stock exchange and merger of Allied into a subsidiary of Vulcan.

– Currently representing software development company in drafting and negotiating intellectual property agreements for new enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution.

– Currently representing The University of Alabama in a trademark dispute with sports artist Daniel A. Moore that has been the subject of press coverage by numerous news outlets including The New York Times, NPR and ESPN.

– Currently representing an insurance carrier in a purported national class action relating to premium rates.

– Currently representing a large government contractor in a fraud and breach of contract case with a former employee.

– Currently representing KKR in a securities fraud case arising from the leveraged recapitalization of the Bruno’s grocery store chain.

– Currently representing an NFL player in a civil case alleging assault and battery.

– Successfully represented UAB and the UAB Research Foundation in an intellectual property dispute relating to a universal control system for electrosurgical devices.

– Successfully represented a large hedge fund in a trade secrets and fraud case relating to the purchase of the international energy portfolio from the Enron Bankruptcy.

– Obtained declaratory judgment for General Motors allowing it to close car dealership under the Alabama Motor Vehicle Franchise Act and ruling that GM was not obligated to pay the dealer $1.2 million in alleged debt forgiveness and sales tax revenue relief offered by the City of Birmingham.

– Represented and helped obtain dismissals and/or favorable settlements for numerous global financial institutions in the highly-publicized Enron, HelathSouth, and WorldCom multidistrict litigations.

– Obtained a complete dismissal for The University of Alabama and its President in litigation stemming from the termination of Mike Price, the former head football coach, in what USA Today described as one of the “top 25 biggest sports scandals”.

– Represented the University of Alabama in Huntsville in an intellectual property dispute over PEGylation technology and helped UAH obtain a $25 million settlement.

– Represented UAB and the UAB Research Foundation in a patent dispute relating to antiviral compounds used to treat Hepatitis B and helped UAB obtain a settlement with a minimum value of $15 million.

– Obtained a complete dismissal of Emory University in an intellectual property dispute relating to compounds used to treat the Hepatitis C.

HONORS AND AWARDS

Jay has been named a “Future Star” for the state of Alabama in the 2011 – 2015 editions of  Benchmark Litigation, is recommended for General Commercial Litigation in the 2011 – 2015 editions of Chambers USA, is listed in the 2012 – 2015 editions of Alabama Super Lawyers, was selected by his peers for inclusion in the 2015 edition of Best Lawyers in America®, and has been named a 2014 Intellectual Property Star by the 2014 and 2015 editions of IP Stars by Managing Intellectual Property Magazine. Jay was also selected as one of the Birmingham Business Journal’s “Top 40 Under 40” for 2012.

While in law school, Jay was elected to the Order of the Coif, the Order of the Barristers and the Bench and Bar Legal Honor Society, was a Hugo Black Scholar, a Dean M. Leigh Harrison Award recipient and an editor for the Alabama Law Review. Jay was also the winner of Campbell Moot Court Competition and a member of the Jessup International Law Moot Court Team.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

Jay is a member of the Board of Directors for United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Birmingham, the Junior Patrons Board of the Alys Robinson Stephens Performing Arts Center,  and the Monday Morning Quarterback Club. He is also involved in the Birmingham Athletic Partnership and attends the Cathedral Church of the Advent.

SPEECHES AND PUBLICATIONS

* Jay M. Ezelle and Cole R. Gresham, “Big Verdicts, Limited Discovery: The Rising Importance of Trade Secrets in Alabama,” in the Cumberland Law Review, Vol. 44, pg 55 – 77(2014).

* Jay M. Ezelle and C. Clayton Bromberg, Jr., “The Internal Affairs Doctrine in Alabama“, The Alabama Lawyer, Vol. 72, No. 2, Pages 143 – 147 (March 2011).

REPORTED CASES

W.R. Huff Asset Management Co., L.L.C. v. Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co., L.P., 566 F.3d 979 (11th  Cir. 2009).

General Elec. Capital Corp. v. Emergystat, Inc., 2009 WL 4465245 (N.D.Ala. 2009).

The Board of Trustees of The University of Alabama v. Nektar Therapeutics, Inc., 2005 WL 2335714 (N.D. Ala. 2005).

Price v. University of Alabama, 2004 WL 1253201 (11th Cir. Apr. 20, 2004).

Nichols v. Citigroup Global Markets, Inc., 364 F.Supp.2d 1330 (N.D.Ala. 2004).

Wisconsin Investment Bd. v. Ruttenberg, 300 F.Supp.2d 1210 (N.D.Ala. 2004).

Price v. University of Alabama, 318 F.Supp.2d 1084 (N.D.Ala. 2003).

W.R. Huff Asset Management Co., LLC v. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., L.P., 234 F.Supp.2d 1218 (N.D.Ala. 2002).

Retirement Systems of Alabama v. Merrill Lynch & Co., 209 F.Supp.2d 1257 (M.D.Ala. 2002).