Diana M. Comes
Office Information
Diana focuses her practice on financial services litigation and intellectual property matters, and has handled appeals before the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Fifth and Sixth Circuits, the Tennessee Supreme Court, and the Tennessee Court of Appeals.
Biography – View PDF Bio
- Associations
- Bar Admissions
- Civic Involvement
- Distinctions
- Education & Honors
- Experience
- In the News
- Papers, Presentations, & Publications
- Recent Blogs
Bar Admissions
- Tennessee, 2011
- U.S. District Courts
- Tennessee: Western, Eastern
- U.S. Court of Appeals
- 6th Circuit
- 5th Circuit
Civic Involvement
- Memphis Farmer's Market, 2009-Present
Distinctions
- Super Lawyers®
- Mid-South Rising Star, Business Litigation, 2017
- Leo Bearman, Sr. American Inn of Court Outstanding Associate, 2017
Education & Honors
- University of Memphis, J.D., summa cum laude, 2011
- Senior Articles Editor, The University of Memphis Law Review, 2010-2011
- Dean’s Distinguished Service Award, 2009-2010
- CALI Excellence for the Future Awards (multiple areas)
- Rhodes College, B.A., English Literature, summa cum laude, 2008
- Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society
- Omicron Delta Kappa Honor Society
- Clerkship, Judge Ronald L. Gilman, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, 2012-2013
- Clerkship, Chief Judge Jon. P. McCalla, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, 2011-2012
Experience
- Successfully moved to dismiss negligence claims against regional medical transport company and defended dismissal on appeal.
- Briefed, argued, and obtained dismissal of claims for wrongful tip-pooling under the Tennessee Tip Statute on behalf of national sports organization, involving the Tennessee Supreme Court overruling nineteen-year-old precedent allowing such claims.
- Obtained dismissal of all claims for wrongful foreclosure against large regional financial institution and successfully defended dismissal on appeal in federal court.
- Successfully moved for summary judgment on all claims of employer liability for sexual harassment on behalf of national grocery store chain and obtained affirmance of decision on appeal.
- Obtained dismissal of interstate moving and transit claims under the Carmack Amendment and military claims acts for lack of subject matter jurisdiction on behalf of regional moving and storage company.
- Successfully opposed exclusion of expert witness and obtained complete dismissal of all discrimination claims against major metropolitan airport authority after trial in federal court.
- Obtained dismissal of all breach of contract and tort claims against mortgage servicer in federal court.
Papers, Presentations, & Publications
- Co-Author, “Survey of Federal Circuit Courts’ Class Action Decisions – 2018,” 6th Circuit Chapter (ABA Publishing 2018).
- Co-Author, “A Practitioner’s Guide to Class Actions, 2d. Ed.,” Tennessee Chapter (ABA Publishing 2017).
- Moderator, Legal Issues in Human Trafficking CLE, October 2017.
- Moderator, Women in Law and Leadership CLE, Hanging Your Own Shingle panel, October 2017.
- Contributor, "Radio Show: Association for Women Attorneys - Memphis" cityCURRENT Radio Interview, February 2017.
- Presenter, "Internal Investigations," Butler Snow General Counsel CLE, November 2014.
- Co-presenter, "Social Media and Juror Misconduct," Federal Bar Association, Summer Practice Seminar, August 24, 2012.
- Author, "Meet Me in the Middle: The Time is Ripe for Tennessee to Adopt the Uniform Collaborative Law Act," 41 U. Mem. L. Rev. 551, 2011.
- Author, Regular columnist for DRI’s Daubert On-line, an electronic newsletter providing updates on the law applicable to expert witnesses.
Recent Blogs
- Sixth Circuit Upholds Dismissal of Fraud and Contract Claims Against Employer Sponsoring Green Card Application for Employee
- Sixth Circuit Nixes TILA Rescission Claim
- The Tennessee Business Court at One Year
- Sixth Circuit Tracks Broader Definition of Commercial Advertising or Promotion in Lanham Act Claims for False Advertising
- Sixth Circuit Files Win for Bankruptcy Debtors Harassed During Automatic Stay
- Sixth Circuit Rejects Due Process Clause Challenge to Michigan Foreclosure
- Sixth Circuit Holds that a “Settlement Offer” is Misleading Under the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act
- If Your Home Can’t Move, It’s Not a “Consumer Product” under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act
- Sixth Circuit Prints Out Victory for Recipients of Fax-Blasting More...
- Sixth Circuit: No Arbitration of Pending Claims
- Pro-Arbitration Trend Continues in the Sixth Circuit
- Sixth Circuit Finds Agreement to Arbitrate – Even Where There Was No Signed Writing