Throughout his career, Matt has represented plaintiffs and defendants in the Alabama state and federal courts in a wide range of cases, including business torts, trade secrets, fraud, will and trust disputes, contract disputes, bad-faith insurance claims, construction litigation and voter fraud. He has also handled numerous personal injury and wrongful death claims, including food poisoning, car accidents, rollovers and motorcycle accidents resulting in traumatic brain injuries, in addition to handling appeals in state and federal courts across the United States. His clients have received settlements totaling more than $46 million.

Notable Cases

As a member of Beasley Allen’s Mass Torts Section, Matt is currently involved in defective medical device litigation. He is lead attorney on cases involving Zimmer Biomet’s Comprehensive Reverse Shoulder System, which is under a Class 1 Recall for excessive fractures of one of its components and may require additional surgeries to revise. He is also assisting on cases involving Inferior Vena Cava Filters, which are implanted to stop blood clots but can migrate or fracture and lead to embolism, organ damage or death; 3M Bair Huggers, which are warming blankets that can cause infection; Viagra and Cialis, which can increase the risk of melanoma; and Biomet’s and Wright’s metal-on-metal hip implants, which can loosen, fracture or dislocate and require additional surgeries.

In addition to handling appeals, Matt also has litigated hundreds cases involving in litiare Baycol, Vioxx, Zyprexa, Crestor, and well-known antibiotics that caused patients to develop Stevens-Johnson Syndrome. Additionally, he was involved in litigation surrounding the highly publicized New England Compounding Center (NECC) fungal meningitis outbreak of 2012, as well as litigation involving Granuflo and Lipitor.

Matt was instrumental in the firm’s litigation related to post-operative pain pumps used in routine shoulder surgeries. These pain pumps caused a devastating condition known as chondrolysis, where the cartilage in a patient’s shoulder joint was destroyed, ultimately requiring prosthetic joint replacement in young adults and teenagers. Among his clients were highly accomplished musicians, former college athletes, NFL prospects, NHL prospects and Olympic hopefuls. In January 2013, Matt served as co-lead trial counsel in the first bellwether trial in the coordinated California state-court litigation in Orange County, California.

Though Matt is involved in all aspects of the litigation process, he particularly enjoys taking depositions of physicians and other experts across many scientific disciplines. Over the years, Matt has developed a keen interest in orthopedic injuries.

Ratings and Awards

From 2013 to the present, Matt has been rated AV Preeminent, the highest peer rating awarded for ethics and professional ability.  Matt was nominated and selected by his peers in 2016 to be among the Top 1% of America's Most Honored Professionals®.

Professional Affiliations

Matt is a member of the American Association for Justice, Alabama Association for Justice, the American Bar Association, Montgomery County Association for Justice and the Montgomery County Bar Association. He is admitted to practice in all state and federal courts in Alabama, the United States District Court for Colorado and the United States Courts of Appeals for the Ninth and Tenth Circuits.

Education

After earning his undergraduate degree from Auburn University Montgomery, Matt graduated from of Western Michigan University’s Thomas M. Cooley Law School, completing his coursework in only two years.

Community Involvement

Matt is an avid outdoorsman, barbecue chef and Auburn Tigers football fan. He is married to the former Katherine Tanner Rees of Montgomery, Alabama. They have two daughters, Anna and Isabella, and attend ChristChurch XP. Matt also serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors for Southeastern Diabetes Education Services/Camp Seale Harris, a non-profit camp for children and teenagers with Type 1 diabetes and their families.