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Michael Ross, Employment, Litigation, Class Action Attorney

Michael Eric Ross

Partner

678.336.7234

Profile

Taylor English offers experienced, first-class lawyers at cost-effective rates in a truly collegial environment.

Mickey Ross is a member of Taylor English’s Employment and Labor Relations practice group, as well as its Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice group. He is a seasoned employment and business litigator with more than 40 years of experience in federal and state trial and appellate courts and arbitration proceedings across the country, including a number of class and collective actions. Mr. Ross has successfully represented both individuals and companies in a wide variety of cases, often on the cutting edge of the law. For example, he has:

Won a jury trial in Rome, Georgia, of a potentially $50 million case in which plaintiffs alleged that their plant was closed because of the age of the workforce in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act;
Successfully defended wage and hour collective/class actions brought by, among others, restaurant managers and employees, mortgage brokers, parking lot attendants, and insurance investigators;
Successfully defended the first class action under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act;
Defeated a putative class action in California by agents of a national financial services company by successfully moving to compel individual arbitrations in Georgia;
Successfully represented public and private creditors in seeking to enforce promissory notes and guaranties in excess of $10 million;

Defeated class certification by current and former students at a national for-profit university who alleged various state law tort claims; and

Recovered in arbitration more than $2 million in additional severance benefits for a senior executive who was let go by his company after it was acquired.

Before joining Taylor English, Mr. Ross practiced with King & Spalding for nearly 34 years, including 28 years as a partner, and with Greenberg Traurig LLP for more than two years as a shareholder.

Memberships

State Bar of Georgia

American Bar Association

Society for Human Resource Management

Community Involvement

Jewish Family & Career Services, Board of Directors, 2008-2009; Personnel Committee, 2007-present

Practice Highlights

Experience

Wage and hour lawsuit for national coffee store company
Successfully resolved hybrid wage and hour collective/class action brought by managers of national coffee store company who alleged that they were misclassified as exempt.
Arbitration to enforce "Golden Parachute"
Recovered in arbitration more than $2 million in additional severance benefits for a senior executive who was let go by his company after it was acquired.
Collections suit for the FDIC as Receiver for Silverton Bank
Represented the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, as Receiver for Silverton Bank (FDIC-R), in three separate federal court actions against borrowers and guarantors who defaulted on loans made by Silverton Bank, which failed in 2009. In each of the three cases, summary judgment was granted to the FDIC-R on its claims for breach of contract, interest, and attorneys’ fees in the aggregate amount of more than $10 million. The rulings in these lawsuits confirm ...
Age discrimination jury verdict for Fortune 200 company
Obtained jury verdict for Fortune 200 company in a potentially $50 million case in which plaintiffs alleged that their plant was closed because of the age of the workforce in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.
First class action under the WARN Act
Successfully defended the first class action under the WARN Act.
Alleged class action by financial services representatives
Defeated a putative class action in California by agents of national financial services company by successfully moving to compel individual arbitrations in Georgia.
Alleged class action against for-profit post-secondary school
Defeated class certification by current and former students at national for-profit university who alleged various state law tort claims.
Wage and hour lawsuit by fast food restaurant managers and assistant managers
Successfully resolved putative collective action by managers and assistant managers of national fast food restaurant chain who alleged that they were misclassified as exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
ACLU action against Atlanta Public Schools
Represented Atlanta Public Schools in favorably resolving a class action brought by the ACLU that raised federal and state constitutional and statutory claims with respect to the adequacy of education, procedures for assigning and disciplining students, and search practices at alternative high school.
Corporate headquarters lease litigation
Won jury verdict for large privately held company in dispute over the terms and conditions of the lease for its corporate headquarters.
Comverge, Inc. v. Fay; Comverge, Inc. v. Vos and Simple Energy, Inc
Represented the plaintiff to a satisfactory resolution in companion litigation in Georgia and Colorado to enforce restrictive covenants and obtain protection against the misappropriation of trade secrets.

Newsroom

Speaking Engagements

"Employment Contracts: Arbitration Agreements, Restrictive Covenants and More," Labor & Employment Law Conference
October 5, 2014
"Recent Developments: Restrictive Covenants, Agreements to Arbitrate, and Releases," Labor & Employment Law Conference
October 2005-2013
"Case Studies of Clinical Integration Models: Hits, Misses & Consequences," Greenbranch Publishing Audio Conference
February 2009
"Recent Ethics Developments," Employment Law & Litigation Group, ORC Worldwide
October 2008
"Issues and Strategies Every Seasoned Employment Practitioner Needs to Know: Cat’s Paw, Mixed Motive and Offers of Judgment," Labor & Employment Section of the Atlanta Bar Association
March 2005
"Taking Off the Gloves: Contacting Employee Witnesses – An Ethical Discussion," Labor & Employment Section of the Atlanta Bar Association
March 2004

Publications

Co-author. "Compensability of Travel Time Under the FLSA," Labor & Employment Section of the Atlanta Bar Association Newsletter
Summer 2007
Co-author. "Butterflies and Group Goodbyes: Are Your ADEA Releases in RIFs Enforceable After Smith?" Metropolitan Corporate Counsel
July 2005
Co-author. "Whose Field of Dreams: Antitrust Relief Against Restrictions On the Sale or Relocation of Major League Baseball Teams," 42 Antitrust Bulletin 521 (1997)
"Antitrust, Eleventh Circuit Annual Survey," Mercer Law Review (1983-1987, 1989-1991, 1993-1995)
"Recognizing the Reliance Interest in Awarding Damages Under Section 4 of the Clayton Act: Of Mitigation and Prospectivity," 12 Georgia Law Review 193 (1978)
"Developing An Effective Antitrust Compliance Program," 15 Ga. B.J. 87 (1978)
"Territorial and Customer Restrictions On Distributing Agents or Consignees: The Nature of 'Title, Dominion and Risk of Loss,'" 13 Ga. B.J. 39 (1976)
Co-author. "Of Bicycles and Beer: Vertical Territorial and Customer Restrictions from Schwinn to Coors," 26 Mercer Law Review 507 (1975)
"The Single Product Issue in Antitrust Tying: A Functional Approach," 23 Emory Law Journal 963 (1974)