Robert F. Parsley

Chattanooga

Office: 423.785.8211 | Fax: 423.321.1511

bob.parsley@millermartin.com

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  • Overview
  • Experience
  • Education
  • Involvement
  • In-Depth
  • Overview

    Bob Parsley practices primarily in civil litigation, with concentration in appellate practice, written advocacy, and business litigation. Mr. Parsley is Chair of the firm’s Appellate Practice Group and routinely represents clients in state and federal appellate courts.

  • Experience

    Representative Engagements and Judicial Decisions

    • Renasant Bank v. Landcastle Acquisition Corp., 57 F.4th 1203 (11th Cir. 2023) (successfully represented defendant-appellant bank in obtaining reversal of summary judgment on interlocutory appeal based on question of first impression in FDIC context)
    • Metropolitan Government of Nashville & Davidson County, et al., v. Tennessee Department of Education, et al., 645 S.W.3d 141 (Tenn. 2023) (represented amicus curiae in defending constitutionality of school-voucher statute)
    • Sharon Weatherly v. Eastman Chemical Co., 2023 WL 5013823 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2023) (successfully represented defendant-appellee chemical company in obtaining affirmance of dismissal of nuisance and property-damage claims based on asbestos-claims statute)
    • Keith Cousins v. Hutton Construction, Inc., et al., Case No. E2021-01251-COA-R3-CV, 2023 WL 1815660 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2023) (successfully obtained reversal of judgment against real-estate developer for breach of executive employment contract)
    • In re Beaulieu Group, LLC, 2022 WL 2903402 (11th Cir. 2022) (successfully represented plaintiff-appellee buyer of assets of carpet manufacturer in obtaining dismissal of appeal from bankruptcy adversary proceeding based on lack of appellate jurisdiction)
    • Joshua David Mellberg, LLC, et al., v. Jovan Will, et al., Case Nos. 20-16215 & 20-16216, 2021 WL 4480840 (9th Cir. 2021) (successfully represented defendant-appellee marketing group in obtaining affirmance of summary judgment against $30 million claims for misappropriation of trade secrets in annuity marketing industry)
    • Cynthia Pittman, et al., v. Unum Group, et al., 861 F. App’x 51 (6th Cir. 2021) (successfully represented defendant-appellee publicly traded insurer in obtaining affirmance of dismissal of multi-million-dollar securities-fraud claims)
    • Joshua David Mellberg, LLC v. Impact Partnership, LLC, 355 Ga. App. 691, 844 S.E.2d 223 (Ga. Ct. App. 2020) (successfully represented marketing group in obtaining affirmance of rejection of anti-SLAPP statute in defamation case against competitor)
    • Thermolife International LLC v. GNC Corp., 922 F.3d 1347 (Fed. Cir. 2019) (successfully represented dietary-supplement manufacturer and seller in upholding million award of attorneys’ fees for successful defense of patent-infringement claims)
    • Jacobs Field Services North America, Inc. v. Wacker Polysilicon North America, LLC, 375 F. Supp. 3d 898 (E.D. Tenn. 2019) (successfully represented publicly traded polysilicon manufacturer in defeating motion to remand and obtaining dismissal of lawsuit by design engineer based on agreement to arbitrate pass-through claim)
    • Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. HBS International Corp., 910 F.3d 1186 (11th Cir. 2018) (successfully represented appellant dietary-supplement manufacturer and seller in obtaining reversal of dismissal of Lanham Act claims)
    • Tennessee Clean Water Network v. Tennessee Valley Authority, 905 F.3d 436 (6th Cir. 2018) (successfully represented amicus curiae Tennessee Valley Public Power Association in advocating for reversal of order imposing $2 billion removal of coal-ash impoundment under Clean Water Act)
    • Carolina Electrical Workers Retirement Plan, et al., v. Zenith American Solutions, Inc., et al., 137 S.Ct. 1079 (U.S. Sup. Ct. 2017) (successfully represented respondent ERISA plan administrator in opposing petition for certiorari)
    • Crew One Productions, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board, 811 F.3d 1305 (11th Cir. 2016) (successfully represented defendant-appellant labor-referral service in reversing ruling by National Labor Relations Board that independently contracting stagehands were employees subject to unionization)
    • Brown v. BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, Inc., 827 F.3d 543 (6th Cir. 2016) (successfully represented defendant-appellee plan administrator in affirming dismissal of action by healthcare provider challenging recoupments based on patients' assignments of ERISA benefits)

    Selected Publications

    • Author, Initial Civil Appeals: Tennessee, Practical Law (Thomson Reuters/Westlaw) (2016–present)
    • Author, Additional Civil Appeals: Tennessee, Practical Law (Thomson Reuters/Westlaw) (2016–present)
    • Co-author, Reforming Tennessee’s Rules of Appellate Procedure: Separate Notices of Appeal...or Not?, 1 Belmont Law Review 17 (2014) (resulted in promulgation of Tennessee Rule of Appellate Procedure 3(h))
    • Author, Litigating Waiver of Issues for Appeal and on Appeal in Federal Courts, book chapter in Strategies for Appellate Litigation: Leading Lawyers Examine the Unique Differences Between Appellate and Trial Practice, 2013 WL 574524, *7–31 (Thomson Reuters/Aspatore 2013)

    Selected Presentations

    • Presenter, Ethics in Appellate Practice: Four Fundamental Issues (Civil Actions) Tennessee Supreme Court Boot Camp, Tennessee Bar Association (Nashville, TN Oct. 4, 2023)
    • Presenter, Building the Appellate Record and Preserving Issues for Appeal, Tennessee Bar Association Tort, Insurance & Appellate CLE (Nashville, TN Mar. 21, 2019)
    • Presenter, Best Practices: Checklists, Decision Analysis, and Decision Trees as Tools for Litigation Management, Tennessee Valley Public Power Association Legal Conference (Murfreesboro, TN Feb. 10, 2017)
    • Presenter, Litigating Waiver of Issues for Appeal and on Appeal in Federal Courts, Attorneys Insurance Mutual of the South, Annual Continuing Education Seminar (Birmingham, AL Dec. 5, 2014)
    • Organizer, Presenter and Judges Panel Moderator, Fundamentals of Federal Appellate Practice, Tennessee Bar Association TennBarU CLE (Nashville, TN Oct. 17, 2014)

    Other

    • Director, Miller & Martin Writing Academy (in-house training program for legal writing)
  • Education

    • J.D., summa cum laude, University of Tennessee
      • Order of the Coif
      • Research Editor, Tennessee Law Review
    • B.A., with highest distinction, University of Virginia
      • Phi Beta Kappa
      • Raven Society
  • Involvement

    Bar Admissions
    • Tennessee
    • Georgia
    Court Admissions
    • U.S. District Courts
      • Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of Tennessee
      • Northern District of Georgia
    • U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth, Ninth, Eleventh, and Federal Circuits
    • U.S. Supreme Court
    Clerkships
    • Judicial Clerk, Hon. Frank F. Drowota III, Chief Justice, Tennessee Supreme Court
    Accolades
    • Fellow, American Bar Foundation
    • The American Lawyer & Corporate Counsel Top Rated Lawyer in Appellate Law (2016, 2020)
    • Burton Award for Legal Achievement (Burton Foundation in Association with Library of Congress) (legal writing)
    Memberships
    • Tennessee Board of Law Examiners, Vice President
      • Appointed by Tennessee Supreme Court as one of five board members
      • Oversees State of Tennessee’s licensing of attorneys and works with the Tennessee Supreme Court and the Executive Director on rulemaking and policy decisions affecting attorney licensing.
    • Tennessee Bar Examiner
      • Appointed by Tennessee Supreme Court as one of 12 examiners for Tennessee bar exam - 2016–2019
      • Author of evidence and appellate procedural sections for Tennessee Law Course, taken by newly admitted attorneys to the Tennessee bar
    • American Bar Association
      • Council of Appellate Lawyers, Tennessee State Chair (current)
      • Managing Editor, Proof: The Journal of the Trial Evidence Committee (ABA Litigation Section), 2007–2009
    • Tennessee Bar Association
      • Appellate Practice Section - Executive Council
      • Appellate Practice Section - Chair, 2014–2015
    • State Bar of Georgia
    • Federal Bar Association
    • Chattanooga Bar Association
    • Barrister, Justices Ray L. Brock Jr. and Robert E. Cooper Chapter of the American Inns of Court
    Community
    • Lookout Mountain Presbyterian Church

     

     

Did You Know

Mr. Parsley competed in varsity NCAA Division I Cross Country and Track & Field at the University of Virginia, participating on an ACC Championship team.  

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