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John E. Winters, an effective trial lawyer with over 18 years' experience, focuses his practice in the areas of Labor and Employment and Commercial Litigation. His vast knowledge and experience coupled with a common sense approach to resolving disputes is vital to helping his clients save not only money but also valuable time away from their businesses. He takes the time to understand his clients' needs and legal goals and looks for cost-effective solutions that will get them the results they want. For those cases that require court action, Mr. Winters has extensive trial experience. he has served as lead counsel in approximately 50 jury trials throughout Tennessee. He has also served as lead counsel in countless non-jury and administrative hearings. The Best Lawyers in America, a highly regarded peer-review publication, selected Mr. Winters for inclusion to its list in 2011 for Labor and Employment and Insurance Law. He first earned this distinction in 2010. In his Labor and Employment practice, besides providing litigation assistance, Mr. Winters gives general employment law advice, provides training and represents companies in a wide array of matters before state and federal administrative agencies. His practice includes the following issues:
In his Commercial Litigation practice, he represents companies as well as individuals in federal and state courts and arbitration proceedings. Representative Cases Appellate Decisions Johnson v. Lenoir City Housing Authority, 2008 Tenn. App. LEXIS 189 (Tenn. Ct. App. Mar. 31, 2008) Johnson v. Reineke, 2004 Tenn. App. LEXIS 119 (Tenn. Ct. App Feb. 25, 2004) FTA Enterprises, Inc. v. Pomeroy Computer Resources, Inc., 2001 Tenn App. LEXIS 116 (Tenn. Ct. App. Feb. 12, 2001) Other Decisions Yarnell v. TransAmerica Life Ins. Co. and SunTrust Investment Services, Inc., 694 F. Supp. 2d 849 (E.D. Tenn. 2010) Linson v Lockheed Martin Energy Systems, Inc., 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 44654 (E.D. Tenn. June 29, 2006) Duff v. Lockheed Martin Energy Systems, Inc., 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 60747 (E.D. Tenn. Aug. 25, 2006) Andrews v. Lockheed Martin Energy Systems, Inc., 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 68027 (E.D. Tenn Sept. 21, 2006) Miller v. Lockheed Martin Energy Systems, Inc., 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 79293 (E.D. Tenn. Oct. 18, 2006) O'Neal v. Wackenhut Services, Inc., 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 34634 (E.D. Tenn. May 25, 2006) (order denying motion to certify class and failure to hire claim) Published Articles "What are the Rules After Hoffman?" Tennessee Bar Journal, July, 2008 Recent Presentations "Anatomy of an Age Discrimination Complaint" Kramer Rayson LLP Sixth Annual Employment Law Conference, Knoxville 2009 "Reducing the Potential for Discrimination and Harassment Liability" National Business Institute, Knoxville, 2009 "Managing a Diverse Workforce" Kramer Rayson LLP Fifth Annual Employment Law Conference, Knoxville, 2008 "Proposed Amendments to the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure Regarding Discovery of Electronically-Stored Information" Tennessee Bar Association Seminar on Electronic Evidence, Knoxville 2008 "Preparing the Employment Law Case" National Business Institute Seminar, Knoxville 2008 "Trade Secret Claims and Covenants Not to Complete" Kramer Rayson LLP Fourth Annual Employment Law Conference, Knoxville 2007 "How to Select the Right Jury for Your Case" National Business Institute's Building Your Civil Trial Skills, Knoxville 2007 "After Burlington Northern: Developments in Retaliation and Whistleblowing" Kramer Rayson LLP Third annual Employment Law Conference, Knoxville 2006 "Principles of Electronic Discovery" Barristers - Trial Practice in Tennessee, Knoxville 2005 "What to Expect When You've Been Sued, Principles of Employment Law Discovery" Kramer Rayson LLP Employment Law Conference, Knoxville 2004 Representative Matters Mr. Winters obtained dismissal of his client, a large financial institution, in a case in which its broker was alleged to have been negligent regarding a life insurance policy valued at $1 million. He was lead trial counsel in a jury trial for an aviation company that purchased an airplane relying on misrepresentations made by the agent during the negotiations. He was successful at obtaining a verdict against the seller of the airplane. He negotiated resolution of a non-compete agreement for a former employee that allowed the employee to remain employed in the same field. Mr. Winters was on the firm's defense team that successfully defended a putative class action with 17 named plaintiffs in a Title VII claim. The claims of all 17 plaintiffs were either dismissed on summary judgment or voluntarily dismissed with prejudice in exchange for a waiver of court costs after summary judgment was filed. He was also on the firm's defense team that defended a putative class action involving failure to hire issues with a proposed class of over 300 members. In this case, the plaintiffs' motion to certify the class was denied, and two of the individual claims were dismissed on summary judgment. On the one claim that survived summary judgment, he served as the lead trial counsel. The jury returned a verdict in favor of his client. He represented a company that obtained a $920,000 jury verdict against a competitor for engaging in interference with contractual relations, interference with business relations, unfair competition, breach of fiduciary duty and conspiracy. This verdict was later affirmed by the Tennessee Court of Appeals. Of Note
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