Trey serves as Practice Group Leader for the Product Liability, Toxic Tort and Environmental Group. His current practice is focused on defending pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers in cases pending in various state and federal venues throughout the country.  He also has experience representing clients in the areas of recreational vehicles, watercraft, automatic doors, automobiles, home appliances, industrial machinery, children’s toys, and natural gas pipelines. He also counsels manufacturers on risk management, including product safety, recalls, and compliance matters involving the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

Biography – View PDF Bio

• Associations
• Bar Admissions
• Distinctions
• Education & Honors
• Experience
• In the News
• Papers, Presentations, & Publications
• Recent Blogs

Associations

Bar Admissions

• Mississippi, 2000
• Tennessee, 2013
• U.S. District Courts
  • Mississippi: Northern, Southern
  • New York: Northern
  • Tennessee: Middle, Western
• U.S. Court of Appeals
  • 5th Circuit
  • 6th Circuit

Distinctions

• Best Lawyers in America®
  • Commercial Litigation, 2017-2020
• Martindale-Hubbell®
  • AV^®– Preeminent^™ Peer Review Rated
• Super Lawyers®
  • Mid-South Super Lawyers, Personal Injury – Products: Defense, 2013-2019
  • Mid-South Rising Star, Personal Injury – Products: Defense, 2009-2010
• Benchmark Litigation
  • Member of the team selected as nationwide Product Liability Firm of the Year, 2018
• 2017 Yancey Memorial Award, awarded to the best article in IADC’s Defense Counsel Journal
• 2013 Top Rated Lawyer in Insurance Law, Martindale-Hubbell®
• Top 40 Under 40, Mississippi Business Journal, 2008
• Graduate, Leadership Jackson, 2003-2004
• J.B. Carr Community Service Award

Education & Honors

• University of Mississippi, J.D., 2000
  • Editor-in-Chief, Mississippi Law Journal
• Mississippi State University, M.A., English, 1997
  • Associate Editor, The Mississippi Quarterly
• Baylor University, B.A., Journalism and English, 1993

Experience

• Represents clients in areas of recreational vehicles, watercraft, automatic doors, automobiles, firearms, home appliances, industrial machinery, children’s toys and natural gas pipelines.
• Significant Trials
• Miss. Farm Bureau Cas. Ins. Co. v. CNH America, et al.:  Subrogation action (products liability and warranty) involving industrial cotton picker. Tried in United States District Court of Southern Mississippi.  (Trial Counsel) (2011).
• Gulf South Pipeline Company LP v. Blanche Mari Downy Pitre, Eminent Domain action. Tried in the County Court of Warren County, Mississippi, Special Court of Eminent Domain (Trial Counsel) (2007).
• Lloyd Richard Lovitt, et al. v. The Stanley Works, et al.: Product liability and premises liability action involving automatic door. Tried in U.S. District Court of Northern Mississippi.  (Trial Counsel) (2006).
• Jimmy D. Houser v. Empire Truck Sales: Commercial and product liability action involving industrial machinery. Tried in the County Court of Rankin County, Mississippi.  (Trial Counsel) (2003).
• Lionel M. Arnold v. Doug Sproat: Unlawful force action against prison warden. Tried in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi.  (Trial Counsel) (2002).
• Waren v. Nationwide Ins. Co.: Personal injury action involving car accident. Tried in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi.  (Trial Counsel) (2002).
• Blackwell Chevrolet v. LaDonna Harvey: Commercial action against purchaser of vehicle. Tried in the County Court of Hinds County.  (Trial Counsel) (2001).
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• Significant Published Opinions
• Gulf Guar. Life Ins. Co. v. Conn. Gen. Life Ins. Co., 304 F.3d 476 (5th Cir. 2002).
• Stellar Group v. Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., 2007 WL 955293 (S.D. Miss. March 28, 2007).
• Hutchenson v. Am. Home Prod. Corp., 2006 WL 1717176 (N.D. Miss. June 20, 2006).
• ​Alexander v. Am. Home Prod. Corp., 2006 WL 1716908 (N.D. Miss. June 19, 2006).
• Baggett v. Yamaha Motor Corp., U.S.A., 2006 WL 1520539, Prod. Liab. Rep. (CCH) P 17, 485 (S.D. Miss. May 31, 2006).
• Gulf South Pipeline Co. v. Pitre, 35 So. 3d 494 (Miss. 2010).

In the News

• 93 Butler Snow Attorneys Listed in 2019 Mid-South Super Lawyers and Rising Stars
• 173 Butler Snow Attorneys Named in Best Lawyers® 2020, 19 Named “Lawyer of the Year”
• Butler Snow Ranked No. 2 in Lex Machina’s ‘Top Law Firm Report’
• 106 Butler Snow Attorneys Listed in 2017 Mid-South Super Lawyers and Rising Stars
• How Lost Case Led to Big Win for Yamaha In-House Counsel - Corporate Counsel
• Yamaha In-House Counsel and Butler Snow Attorneys Selected for the Yancey Memorial Award by the International Association of Defense Counsel
• 147 Butler Snow Attorneys Named in Best Lawyers®, 18 Named “Lawyer of the Year”
• 102 Butler Snow Attorneys List in 2015 Mid-South Super Lawyers and Rising Stars
• 117 Butler Snow Attorneys Listed in 2013 Mid-South Super Lawyers®

Papers, Presentations, & Publications

• Co-Author, “Product Liability & Safety USA Trends and Developments,” 2020 Chambers Global Practice Guide, July 2020.  
• Co-Author, “Product Liability & Safety USA Trends and Developments,” 2019 Chambers Global Practice Guide, July 2019.  
• ​Co-Author, “The Use of Computer-Generated Animations and Simulations at Trial,” 83 Def. Couns. J. 439 (2016) ​(winner of the 2017 Yancey Memorial Award).
• Co-Author, Voir Dire section in IADC’s Defense Counsel Training Manual, Third Edition.
  
• Speaker, “Why So Animated?  Pros and Cons of Using Animation and Videos in Product Liability Cases,” 2016 IADC Annual Meeting, Product Liability Committee, Bermuda.
• Speaker, “Emerging Issues and Current Laws,” 2013 National Business Institute Seminar, Bad Faith Insurance Claims in Mississippi, Jackson, Mississippi.
• Speaker, “Identifying the Type of Tort, Related Cause of Action, and Damages,” 2013 National Business Institute Seminar, Bad Faith Insurance Claims in Mississippi, Jackson, Mississippi.
• Author, “Why Expansion of Commerce and Trade Does Not Expand the Reach of the Courts: In Personam Jurisdiction and Stream-of-Commerce Theory,” For The Defense, November 2011.
• Speaker, “Product Liability Law Update: Lawson, McIntyre, and Goodyear,” 2011 Bulldog Lawyer CLE, Mississippi State University.
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• Speaker, “Electronic Evidence: The New Spoliation Frontier?” 2011 Harmonie Group Product Liability Seminar, Chicago, IL.
• Speaker, “Making Life Easier for the Recreational Products Client in the ‘New Economy,’” 2010 DRI Products Liability Seminar, Recreational Products Specialized Litigation Group, Las Vegas, Nevada.
• Speaker, “Effective Use of Experts in Product Liability Cases,” 2009 Southeast Products Liability Forum, Nashville, Tennessee.
• Speaker, “Defend Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Cases – and Win,” 2008 National Business Institute Seminar, Settling Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Claims, Jackson, Mississippi.
• Speaker, “Hold on to Your Hats: The Year in Review,” 2008 DRI Products Liability Seminar, Recreational Products Specialized Litigation Group, Phoenix, Arizona.
• Author, “After the Recall:  What Do We Do Now?” DRI’s In-House Defense Quarterly, Fall 2007.
• Co-Author, “A Primer on the Use of Epidemiological Studies in Product Liability Litigation,” The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Product Liability 62 (2007).
• Author, “The Reporter’s Privilege in Mississippi,” The Reporter’s Privilege Compendium (2002 & 2007).

Recent Blogs

• "The Mock Recall": What to Do Now to Avoid a Potential Recall Catastrophe
• CPSC Regulations Still Apply During COVID-19 Pandemic
• Welcome to Product Lines