Bio

Mike provides broad-ranging guidance in every phase of commercial lending operations, including negotiating transaction terms and preparing loan documents; developing compliant loan products, services, and programs; business formation and governance; and closing loans, including real estate, construction, C & I, and asset-backed loans.

In addition to his work representing creditors in consumer and commercial Bankruptcy cases, Mike represents litigants in adversary proceedings in the United States Bankruptcy Courts sitting in Tennessee.

Mike’s litigation practice in Tennessee state and federal trial and appellate courts includes collections; UCC disputes; business disputes; receiverships; breach of contract; commercial finance lease enforcement; property damage and personal injury claims; real estate and loan broker compensation; consumer finance; title and lien issues; and general commercial litigation. Smaller practice areas include general litigation; restaurant and hospitality industry litigation; federal civil rights and constitutional litigation; labor and employment litigation; insurance coverage disputes; administrative review litigation; and estate planning litigation.

Mike was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1976 and attended Miami University, where he majored in History and Diplomacy & Foreign Affairs and graduated in 1999. Mike has called Nashville home since he moved to town in 1999 to attend Vanderbilt University Law School, from which he graduated with a J.D. in 2002. In his career, Mike has worked as an Assistant Attorney General for the state of Tennessee, as well as as an associate and partner in small and large law firms in Nashville. In his free time, Mike enjoys traveling, gardening, sailing, woodworking, amateur history, photography, and golf.

REPRESENTATIVE ENGAGEMENTS

• Local counsel for lender on a prominent, large mixed-use development in Downtown Nashville—including both construction finance and post-completion refinance transactions.
• Secured a summary judgment for client in a multi-million dollar will contest.
• Successful representations of lien holders in insurance coverage and federal civil seizure
• cases.
• Successful representation of lender in commercial foreclosure proceedings under disputed security instrument.
• Local counsel on corporate indenture transactions.
• Represented Judgment Creditor in Judgment Debtor’s Individual Chapter 11 case following imposition of seven-figure jury verdict against Judgment Debtor.
• Represented unit owners in connection with HOA’s multi-million dollar assessment for structural and other repairs against small segment of all unit owners.
• Represented property owners in title, lien priority, boundary, partition and other real estate disputes.
• Engineered the conversion of a seven-story office building from multi-unit office condominium consisting of numerous parcels to a single parcel to accomplish sale of the building.
• Assisted in drafting loan documents for luxury boutique hotel in Downtown Nashville.
• In two separate, lengthy engagements involving the same collateral, (a) obtained full repayment for first-priority secured lender in representation, negotiations and complex litigation—in U.S. District and Bankruptcy Courts, and North Carolina state court—on behalf of lender involving owner of firearms manufacturer borrower’s alleged violations of federal firearm export statutes and regulations, federal criminal investigation, UCC Article 9 sale of borrower’s collateral, 11 U.S.C. § 363 asset sale, and ultimate resolution; and (b) resolved subsequent lender’s claim to and lien rights in firearm collateral physically seized and held by the ATF during a second Article 9 sale.
• Advised and represented secured lender in multi-state transactional negotiation, litigation and ultimate workout situation involving foreclosure of lender’s first priority interest in residential Tennessee real estate; lender’s exercise of rights following default as to cross-collateralized Florida commercial property; complex title disputes, including dispute with other secured lender; complex contractual/leasehold interest disputes; and subsequent state trial and appellate court litigation in Tennessee and Florida.
• Advised and represented primary lender (pursuant to participation agreement) in foreclosure of high-rise, multi-family, high-end condominium development; subsequent reorganization of horizontal property regime and sale of residential units; and resolution of post-foreclosure deficiency indebtedness due and owing from commercial guarantors.
• Advised and represented secured lender in large workout and settlement involving subcontractor, two general contractors, a property owner/developer, a bank and an attorney; foreclosure-related issues; involving a partially completed residential real estate development; with lengthy litigation in at least one state court case; issues involving priority of purchase, M&M and construction liens, pursuant to Tennessee statutes; and land use and easement issues.
• Advised and represented secured lender in large workout and settlement involving very large, partially completed residential real estate development; foreclosure; one U.S. District Court case and two Bankruptcy cases; bank participation issues; subsequent control and sale of development; commercial purchase rights; title issues; and negotiated and closed ultimate REO sale of subject property.
• Advised and represented investor in (ultimately, successfully mediated) dispute with LLC co-member with respect to multi-million dollar contributions to and distributions from LLC.
• Advised and represented defendant mortgage lender in litigation and ultimate settlement of consumer dispute with unorthodox proceedings in state and Bankruptcy courts, and numerous communications with state and federal administrative, regulatory and legislative entities.
• Negotiated and closed on millions of dollars’ worth of settlements and work out deals in other consumer, commercial and construction-related lending disputes, including litigation in all Tennessee state, federal and Bankruptcy courts.
• Obtained multiple six figure judgments against commercial and consumer borrowers and guarantors on unpaid home equity lines of credit; unpaid unsecured loans; pre-foreclosure unpaid secured commercial loans; post-foreclosure deficiencies, and have collected hundreds of thousands of dollars in connection therewith.
• Post-judgment recovery of over $350,000.00 from commercial guarantor in default who attempted to shield assets in overfunded tax-advantaged retirement accounts designated as tenants by the entireties.
• Obtained favorable settlement for first-priority mortgagee from homeowners’ insurance carrier following homeowner’s “foreclosure rage” destruction of mansion, as part of large dispute between community bank and co-borrowers on separate lines of indebtedness involving a workout, two state court cases and one appeal, one Bankruptcy case, at least one foreclosure and execution issues following entry of judgment against one borrower.
• Obtained appellate reversal of qualified immunity denial for seven individual-capacity defendants in Fourth Amendment invasion of privacy case.
• Second-chaired defense in five-week long personal injury trial where jury assigned comparative fault to minor plaintiffs’ attorneys and parents.
• Obtained summary judgment and appellate affirmance for school board, employee and contractors on claims asserted under § 1983, § 504 and IDEA in wrongful death case.
• For plaintiff, obtained appellate affirmation of denial of qualified immunity for police officer on Fourth Amendment claims.