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Scott D. Carey

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Scott D. Carey concentrates his practice in complex business and tort litigation, with a special emphasis on transportation-related litigation. He is the former leader of the Transportation Group and is the former managing partner of Baker Donelson's Nashville office.

Professional Biography


In addition, Mr. Carey's experience includes professional negligence and malpractice, insurance coverage and title insurance cases. He is a member of the Firm's 24 Hour Motor Carrier Emergency Response Team, a group of attorneys dedicated to providing rapid post-accident intervention and investigation throughout the Firm's footprint and beyond, whenever and wherever you need us.

Mr. Carey also has experience handling land title disputes involving insurers, owners and lenders, insurance coverage disputes, curative actions to eliminate or cure title defects, and post-closing, foreclosure and REO corrective title work.

Mr. Carey is active in Republican politics and serves as general counsel to The Tennessee Republican Party. He has represented parties in election law matters, including election law contests and campaign finance issues. Mr. Carey also chairs the Firm's Solar Initiative and serves as general counsel for the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce.

  • Successfully defended KLLM Transport Services, Inc. in a jury trial in state court, DRI™ The Voice.

  • Represented a U.S. subsidiary of a South Korean multinational electronics company in an investment to construct a new 829,000-square-foot home appliance manufacturing facility near Clarksville, Tennessee.
  • Successfully defended a multinational retail corporation in a wrongful death case involving a traffic accident. The client avoided paying tens of millions in damages, left to pay only medical costs that it had already agreed upon paying.

  • Represented a medical device manufacturer in a defective hip replacement litigation.

  • Represented various food producers in contamination cases.

  • Represented a natural gas company in fire/explosion cases.

  • Represented a large funeral and cemetery company in products liability cases involving burial containers.

  • Investigated and represented various clients in fire-related litigation, including fires in cars, buses, trucks, warehouses, homes, and businesses.

  • AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
  • General counsel for the Tennessee Republican Party
  • Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 31 Mediator
  • Listed in The Best Lawyers in America® for Commercial Litigation and Transportation Law since 2007; Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants since 2011
  • Named the Best Lawyers® 2018 Transportation Law "Lawyer of the Year" in Nashville
  • Named the Best Lawyers® 2017 Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants "Lawyer of the Year" in Nashville
  • Listed in Mid-South Super Lawyers since 2007
  • Listed as among the top 50 Nashville attorneys and the top 100 Mid-South attorneys by Mid-South Super Lawyers (2014 – 2018)
  • "Most Admired CEOs" honoree by the Nashville Business Journal (2015)
  • "The Best of the Bar" honoree by the Nashville Business Journal (2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2023)
  • Member – Disciplinary Hearing Committee, Tennessee Supreme Court, District V
  • Member – Tennessee Business Court Rules Advisory Committee
  • Member – American Bar Association (House of Delegates, 2001 – 2004)
  • Member – Tennessee Bar Association (Board of Governors, 1999 – 2001; Chair-Judiciary Committee; Governmental Affairs Committee; Racial and Ethnic Diversity Committee; various positions in the Young Lawyers Division, including president)
  • Member – Nashville Bar Association (Board of Directors, 2001 – 2004; various positions in the Young Lawyers Division, including president) 
  • Fellow – The Nashville Bar Foundation
  • Fellow – The American Bar Foundation 
  • Member – Tennessee Economic Development Council
  • Advisory Group – Davidson County Business Court Pilot Project
  • Member – Baker Donelson's 24-Hour Transportation Emergency Response Team

Transportation Organizations 

  • Member – Truckload Carriers Association
  • Member – Transportation Intermediaries Association
  • Member – Transportation Lawyers' Association
  • Member – Tennessee Trucking Association
  • Member – Association of Transportation Law Professionals
  • Member – DRI (Trucking Law committee)
  • Member – Southeastern Warehouse Association
  • Member – Trucking Industry Defense Association

Political Organizations 

  • Member – Republican National Lawyers Association
  • Alternate delegate – 2008 and 2012 Republican National Convention

Solar Organizations

  • Board member – Tennessee Solar Energy Industries Association (TenneSEIA)
  • Member – Solar Electric Power Association
  • Member – American Solar Energy Society

Other Professional Organizations

  • Member – International Association of Defense Counsel

Community Involvement

  • Leadership Nashville, Class of 2017-18
  • Board member and general counsel – Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce
  • Downtown Rotary Club
  • Board member – Boys and Girls Club of Middle Tennessee
  • Member – Pi Kappa Alpha Alumni Board (Sigma Chapter)
  • Elder – Westminster Presbyterian Church
  • "Avoiding Nuclear Verdicts in Catastrophic Accident Cases," NPTC National Safety 2021 Conference (September 2021)
  • Panel Moderator – "Accident Response Strategies that Mitigate Your Accident Liability," National Private Truck Council's 2014 National Safety Conference, Washington, D.C. (September 2012)
  • Panel Moderator – "Ethics: Are Lawyers Vanishing?," 2014 TLA Annual Conference (May 2014)
  • Panel – "The Vanishing Lawyer: What Might have Been," Tennessee Judicial Conference, Nashville, Tennessee (June 2013)
  • "Mediation and Settlement Negotiations," 2013 TLA Annual Conference and CTLA Mid-Year (May 2013)
  • Program Chair – Transportation Lawyers' Association's Transportation Law Institute, Nashville, Tennessee (November 2012)
  • "Target Defendants: Protecting Trucking Companies," webinar (October 2012)
  • "Mitigating Liability Exposure: What Take-Away Lessons Fleets Can Learn from the Courtroom," National Private Truck Council's 2012 National Safety Conference, Washington, D.C. (September 2012)
  • "Transportation Insurance Case Law Update," TLA Annual Conference (2012)
  • Panelist – "Defense Litigation Strategies for Handling Claims Based on Safety Regulations, Including CSA and Hours of Service," The 44th Transportation Law Institute, Washington, D.C. (November 2011)

Education

  • University of Tennessee School of Law, J.D., 1992
  • Vanderbilt University, B.A., 1989

Admissions

  • Tennessee, 1992
  • Georgia, 2023
  • U.S. Supreme Court, 1997
  • Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, 1995
  • Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, 1997
  • Federal District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, 1993
  • Supreme Court of Tennessee, 1992

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