Kevin C. Baltz
Office Information
- Assistant Practice Group Leader, Commercial Litigation Group
Practice Areas
- Commercial Litigation
- Class Actions
- Real Estate Development and Finance
- Financial Services Litigation
- Trucking Litigation
- Appellate and Written Advocacy
- Professional Liability
- Broker-Dealers and Investment Advisers
- Catastrophic Events and Major Claims
- Business Torts and Unfair Competition
- Alternative Dispute Resolution
Industries
Kevin Baltz has extensive experience counseling clients through complex civil litigation in state and federal courts. Mr. Baltz routinely handles contract disputes, real estate litigation, banking litigation, consumer financial services litigation, disputed dissolutions, business torts and appellate work. Mr. Baltz also regularly serves as counsel in arbitration proceedings before the American Arbitration Association (AAA) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).
Biography – View PDF Bio
- Associations
- Bar Admissions
- Civic Involvement
- Distinctions
- Education & Honors
- Experience
- In the News
- Papers, Presentations, & Publications
- Recent Blogs
Bar Admissions
- Tennessee, 2003
- U.S. District Courts
- Tennessee: Western, Middle, Eastern
- U.S. Bankruptcy Courts - Tennessee: Western, Middle, Eastern
Civic Involvement
- East Nashville Football Stadium Foundation, Inc.
- Director/Secretary
- Nashville Sports Counsel
- School Board, Vice-Chair, Christ the King School
Distinctions
- Rule 31 Mediator, Tennessee Supreme Court, 2021
- Martindale-Hubbell®
- AV®-Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated, 2012-2017
- Fellow, Nashville Bar Foundation
- Benchmark Litigation
- Future Litigation Star, 2009
- International Association of Defense Counsel Trial Academy, Stanford, 2008
Education & Honors
- University of Tennessee College of Law, J.D., cum laude, 2003
- Editor, Tennessee Law Review
- Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society
- University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, B.S., cum laude, 2000
- 2000 Academic All-American (Wrestling)
- Dayle-May Award Winner
Experience
- Obtained dismissal of breach of contract and fraud claims asserted against Member/Director of LLC in American Arbitration Association’s International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR). (February, 2017).
- Represented tenants in highly-publicized litigation related to landlords’ efforts to terminate lease agreements.
- Represented several insurers in claims arising from Hurricane Sandy in New York and New Jersey federal courts (2015-2016).
- Obtained $1M judgment against an entity that defrauded a church in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
- Successfully petitioned for the appointment of a receiver and, thereafter, prevailed on claims asserted by the purchaser of the receivership assets. Farmers & Merchants. State Bank v. Direct Scaffold Servs., Co., LLC, Case No. 3:09-0376, (M.D. Tenn. 2016).
- Successfully represented a condominium home owners association with respect to breach of contract and fraud claims (Fall 2013).
- Obtained a declaratory judgment vacating and voiding an arbitration award. The Braxton, LLC v. TWB Architects, Inc. et al., Chancery Court for Davidson County, Tennessee, Case No. 09-1670-III(IV) (May 2012).
- Obtained a defense verdict on behalf of Averitt Air, Inc. in a multi-million dollar claim related to aircraft maintenance. Valley Commercial Capital, LLC v. Averitt Air, Inc., Circuit Court for Davidson County, Tennessee, Case No. 09C3849 (June 2012).
- Enforced a restrictive covenant before a FINRA arbitration panel. SunTrust Bank and SunTrust Investment Services, Inc., Claimants, vs. Corey D. Anderson, Respondent (FINRA Arbitration 11-03554, June 5, 2012). More...
- Successfully established that the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act is inapplicable to wrongful foreclosure actions. Paczko v. SunTrust Mortgage., Inc., 2012 Tenn. App. LEXIS 671 (Tenn. Ct. App. Sept. 25, 2012).
- Prevailed in wrongful foreclosure action based upon plaintiff’s failure to comply with express terms of promissory note and deed of trust. Simpkins v. SunTrust Mortgage, Inc., 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 105700, 12 (E.D. Tenn. July 30, 2012).
- Convinced the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee to apply a strict "place of payment" rule under the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC). Rossi v. SunTrust Mortgage, Inc., 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 149376, *12, 76 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (Callaghan) 427, 2011 WL 6888530 (M.D. Tenn. 2011).
- In transportation litigation, routinely convinced courts to recognize the preemptive effect of the Carmack Amendment, 49 U.S.C. § 14706, over state and common-law claims. See, e.g., Thornton v. Philpot Relocation Sys., 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6696 (E.D. Tenn. 2012); L.A. Enters. v. Roadway Express, Inc., 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 24898 (E.D. Tenn. 2006); Grehan v. Am. Holiday Van Lines, Inc., 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 23425 (E.D. Tenn. 2005).
Papers, Presentations, & Publications
- Author, “Doctrine, Doctrine … Give Me the News,” Bizlitnews.com, July 2017
- Author, “Three Stripes and You’re Out: adidas Seeks to Protect its Mark,” Bizlitnews.com, March, 2017
- Author, “Puff … Puff … Sue? Distinguishing an Aggressive Sales Pitch from an Actionable Misrepresentation,” Bizlitnews.com, January, 2017
- Author, “Anything is (Im)Possible: Applying the “Impracticability” Defense to the Tennessee Wildfires,” Bizlitnews.com, December, 2016
- Author, “Arbitration Agreements: Make Your Own Rules of Civil Procedure,” Bizlitnews.com, May, 2016
- Author, “False Advertising? Not if Just One Expert Says It’s Not,” Bizlitnews.com, June, 2015
- Author, “Careful What You Wish For: Court Affirms Award of Attorney’s Fees Based Upon Arbitration Rules,” Bizlitnews.com, January, 2015
- Author, “I Want My Selfie Back!!!,” Bizlitnews.com, September, 2014
- Author, “Is There A Right To Be Forgotten? The Court of Justice of the European Union Says 'Yes',” Bizlitnews.com, May, 2014 More...
- Author, “Arbitration Provisions: The Effect of Applying The AAA Rules,” Bizlitnews.com, December, 2013
- Author, “Business Litigation: Is Expert Testimony Required?,” Bizlitnews.com, November, 2013
- Author, “Enforcing an Electronic Contract? SGMT* (*Sounds Good to Me!),” Bizlitnews.com, March, 2013
- Author, “The Tennessee Consumer Protection Act is Inapplicable to Wrongful Foreclosure Actions,” Bizlitnews.com, November, 2012
- Author, “Promissory Note Payment: Courts are Strictly Construing the 'Place of Payment’ Identified in the Note,” Bizlitnews.com, September, 2012
- Co-Presenter, "Ethics for In-House Counsel, Adapting to a Changing World: A CLE for In-House Counsel," November 2014
- Presenter, "Achieve Your Poker Face: Tips to a Successful Mediation," DRI Webcast, Chicago, IL, 2010
- Presenter, "Overcoming Common Challenges in Discovery Practice," Nashville, TN, 2009
- Presenter, "The Tennessee Products Liability Act of 1978 and State Law Products Liability Concepts," Southeast Products Liability Forum, 2009
- Presenter, "Deposition Ethics," Nashville, TN, 2008
- Author, "Deposition of the Corporate Representative: The Scope of Rule 30(b)(6) Depositions," For the Defense, February, 2008
- Author, "Depositions of In-House Counsel - Maintaining and Protecting Evidentiary Privileges," DRI, Evidentiary Privileges for Corporate Counsel, 2008
- Author, "Settlement Negotiations: What is Protected from Discovery and Admission at Trial," For the Defense, February, 2007
- Presenter, "Claims Liability Workshop," Loss Prevention Conference, Atlanta, GA, 2006
- Author, "The Apex Deposition: Protecting High-Level Executives from Burdensome or Harassing Discovery," For the Defense, April, 2006
Recent Blogs
- High Hurdles to Class Actions Remain Even in the Time of COVID-19
- Great Scott! The Sixth Circuit Revives Hoverboard Lawsuit
- All Rise? Article III Standing Continues To Face Strict Scrutiny
- Doctrine, Doctrine ... Give Me the News
- Three Stripes and You’re Out: adidas Seeks to Protect its Mark
- Puff … Puff … Sue? Distinguishing an Aggressive Sales Pitch from an Actionable Misrepresentation
- Anything is (Im)Possible: Applying the “Impracticability” Defense to the Tennessee Wildfires
- Arbitration Agreements: Make Your Own Rules of Civil Procedure
- FALSE ADVERTISING? Not if Just One Expert Says It’s Not. More...
- CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR: Court Affirms Award of Attorney's Fees Based Upon Arbitration Rules
- I WANT MY SELFIE BACK!!!
- Is There A Right To Be Forgotten? The Court of Justice of the European Union Says "Yes".
- Arbitration Provisions: The Effect of Applying The AAA Rules
- Business Litigation: Is Expert Testimony Required?
- Enforcing an Electronic Contract? SGMT* (*Sounds Good to Me!)
- The Tennessee Consumer Protection Act is Inapplicable to Wrongful Foreclosure Actions
- Promissory Note Payment: Courts are Strictly Construing the "Place of Payment" Identified in the Note