We mourn the passing of retired partner and good friend, Britt Coleman, who passed away on November 3, 2024, at the age of 81. A legendary lawyer and fixture in the firm's litigation group for decades, Mr. Coleman will be sorely missed. Read about Britt's impact and legacy in his obituary.
Britt Coleman is a retired partner who joined the firm's Birmingham office in 1971 as an associate, and he became a partner in 1976. He continued practicing with the firm until he retired in 2012.
Before his retirement, Britt was a member of the firm’s Litigation Practice Group. His primary area of practice was the defense of corporate defendants in civil litigation, which included product liability defense, commercial litigation, industrial accidents, coal mining litigation, consumer fraud litigation and general civil litigation. Britt represented major manufacturers in the defense of product liability cases involving tires, wheels, vehicles, and other products, including cases in Georgia as well as Alabama when he served as regional counsel for a truck wheel manufacturer. He also represented a major tire manufacturer in litigation throughout Alabama.
Britt was selected as a "Lawyer of the Year" by Best Lawyers in America, being named "Best Lawyers' 2010 Birmingham Product Liability Litigator of the Year". He is listed in two categories in Best Lawyers in America: Product Liability Litigation and Personal Injury Litigation. He is also listed in Who’s Who in American Law and Super Lawyers. He was a member of the Product Liability Advisory Council (PLAC) and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). He has been listed in Who’s Who in America since 1994.
University of Alabama School of Law, Sam W. Pipes Distinguished Alumnus Award, 2009 American Bar Foundation, Fellow Alabama Law Foundation, Fellow Birmingham Bar Foundation, Fellow Martindale-Hubbell® AV Preeminent Rated Listed in Alabama Super Lawyers, Civil Litigation Defense, 2009–2012 Listed in The Best Lawyers in America® Personal Injury Litigation–Defendants, 2003–2015, 2017-2018 Product Liability Litigation–Defendants, 2007–2015, 2017-2018 "Lawyer of the Year," Birmingham, Product Liability Litigation, 2010 Listed in Who's Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities Distinguished Military Graduate and Commissioned 2d Lieutenant, U.S. Army, 1964 American Jurisprudence Book Awards, Four-time Winner Woodard v. STP Corp., 11th Cir. 1999, 170 F.3d 1043 Ex parte Tarpley, Ala. 1974, 293 Ala. 137, 300 So. 2d 409 DeLoach v. Mayer Elec. Supply Co., Ala. 1979, 378 So. 2d 733 Waldrop v. Peabody Galion Corp., Ala. 1982, 423 So. 2d 733 Glover v. Silent Hoist & Crane Co., Inc., N.D. Ala. 1979, 471 F. Supp. 457 General Motors v. Edwards, Ala. 1985, 482 So. 2d 1176, 54 USLW 2356 Tapley v. Liberty Super Markets of Birmingham, Ala. Crim. App. 1974, 53 Ala. App. 363, 300 So. 2d 401 Enoch v. Firestone Tire & Rubber Co., Ala. 1988, 534 So. 2d 266 Michael Barnes v. Birmingham International Raceway Inc., Ala. 1989, 551 So. 2d 929 Beville v. Spencer, Ala. 1990, 568 So. 2d 1224 Arthur Young, Inc. v. Arthur Young & Co., N.D. Ala. 1983, 579 F. Supp. 384, 224 U.S.P.Q. 166 Ritchie v. Bridgestone/Firestone, Ala. 1993, 621 So. 2d 288 Pitts v. Beasley, Ala. 1997, 706 So. 2d 711 American States Ins. Co. v. Lanier Business Products, M.D. Ala. 1989, 707 F. Supp. 494 Reynolds v. Bridgestone/Firestone, 11th Cir. 1993, 989 F.3d 465 Arthur Young, Inc. v. Arthur Young & Co., 579 F. Supp. 384 (N.D. Ala. 1983) The firm successfully represented Arthur Young, Inc., a national “big Eight” accounting firm that was also engaged in the business of executive search and recruitment, in this declaratory judgment filed against it by an executive search firm whose president and sole shareholder was named Arthur Young. We filed a counterclaim seeking a declaration that plaintiff’s use of “Arthur Young” infringed as well as diluted our client’s trademark rights under federal and Alabama law. After a bench trial, the court entered a judgment and permanent injunction in favor of our client.
