J. Christopher Fox, II

Practices

• Business Litigation
• Business Restructuring, Creditors' Rights & Bankruptcy
• Product Liability Litigation

Professional Experience

Chris Fox is an associate in Thompson Hine's Business Litigation, Product Liability Litigation, and Business Restructuring, Creditors' Rights & Bankruptcy groups. Mr. Fox has been litigating individual, multi-party, and class action cases in Georgia since 2005. His practice focuses on complex business disputes, most commonly litigating contractual issues arising in the lending and financial services arenas. Mr. Fox also regularly represents product manufacturers, product distributors, and employers, and has successfully defended the firm's clients against a wide range of personal injury and wrongful death claims, including strict liability, breach of warranty, and failure to warn. Mr. Fox frequently appears in state and federal courts across Georgia, and has successfully argued the merits of numerous dispositive motions. In the course of representing clients through all phases of litigation, Mr. Fox has served as trial counsel in several jury and bench trials.

Mr. Fox is admitted to practice in all Georgia and Tennessee trial and appellate courts, as well as all Georgia federal courts and the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Fox is also active in Alternative Dispute Resolution and is a registered mediator and arbitrator with the Georgia Commission on Dispute Resolution. Mr. Fox remains involved in pro bono work, and his experience includes the ongoing representation of a convicted Georgia Death Row inmate in connection with a pending habeas corpus petition.

Education

• Vanderbilt University School of Law, J.D., 2005, President, Vanderbilt Bar Association; Associate Justice, Moot Court Board
• University of Tennessee, B.A., 2002, summa cum laude; Torchbearer Award (for contributions to campus life)

• Zurab Lezhava v. Wilmington Trust Co., et al., No. 11-10113, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 2600 (11th Cir. Feb. 10, 2012).  Secured summary judgment in client’s favor on multi-million dollar breach of contract claims.  Order was affirmed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on appeal.
• Lindley v. FDIC, et al.,  No. 4:11-cv-147, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 627 (S.D. Ga. Jan. 4, 2012).  Obtained summary judgment in FDIC’s favor pursuant to D’Oench  doctrine in litigation arising from commercial transaction and alleging negligent misrepresentation, breach of contract, breach of warranty, and fraud.
• Fairfax v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., et al.,  312 Ga. App. 171, 718 S.E. 2d 16 (2011).  Represented the Trustee and servicer in suit seeking to enjoin liquidation of collateral.  The trial court granted our motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, and the Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed that order.
• Cincinnati Insurance Company v. Mid-South Drillers Supply, Inc., et al., No. M2007-00024-COA-R3-CV, 2008 Tenn. App. LEXIS 39 (Jan. 25, 2008).  In litigation arising from well-drilling machine explosion, defended company alleged to have manufactured defective hose.  Summary judgment was entered by the trial court as a sanction for spoliation, and that ruling was affirmed on appeal.
• Aderhold v. Lowe’s Home Centers, Inc., 284 Ga. App. 294, 643 S.E.2d 811 (2007).  Defended claims for personal injuries allegedly sustained at store location.  Summary judgment was upheld on appeal.
• Vito v. Inman, et al., 286 Ga. App. 646, 649 S.E.2d 753 (2007).  Successfully appealed trial court’s denial of summary judgment on misappropriation of trade secrets claim, which reversal resulted in judgment as a matter of law with respect to the entire suit.

• "Statute of Repose – Different Parts, Different Limits?" Institute of Continuing Legal Education in Georgia, Product Liability Seminar Materials, March 2010
• "The Causation Key, an Analysis of the Proximate Cause Element of Legal Malpractice;" Institute of Continuing Legal Education in Georgia, Winter Seminar Materials, February 2008
• "The Entry and Exit Into the Mind of the Jury;" Institute of Continuing Legal Education in Georgia, Winter Seminar Materials,, February 2007

• Atlanta Bar Foundation Law Jam 2011: Battle of Atlanta Lawyers' Bands (first place overall and best original song)
• Award for Outstanding Public Service from Pro Bono Project of State Bar of Georgia, 2006-2007