J. Ross Pepper

J. Ross Pepper is a trial lawyer with over 29 years of experience representing clients in civil trials and arbitration proceedings.

Mr. Pepper has handled cases all over the state of Tennessee in both federal and state courts and at both the trial and appellate level. He has handled cases outside of Tennessee, including business litigation in the Superior Court of Delaware, and has argued appeals before the Court of Appeals of Tennessee, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Mr. Pepper has received numerous awards and distinctions throughout his career including a Martindale-Hubbell “AV” rating- – – the highest rating for legal ability and ethical standards given by the oldest, most widely recognized and most respected lawyer rating organization. Martindale-Hubbell bases its ratings on the opinions of lawyers and judges familiar with a lawyer’s work.

Mr. Pepper has successfully represented both plaintiffs and defendants in a wide range of cases including complex commercial and business cases, real estate cases, will contest and trust cases, employment cases, shareholder and LLC dispute cases, construction cases, tort cases, and cases involving serious personal injuries and wrongful death.

Mr. Pepper is a Nashville native who has deep ties to Middle Tennessee as well as to the Nashville and Tennessee legal communities. Mr. Pepper has been an active member of the Nashville Bar Association for years and is a Fellow of the Nashville Bar Foundation. He is a member of the Tennessee Bar Association Litigation Law Executive Counsel; a board member and executive officer of Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee; a board member of the Nashville City Club; and serves on the Nashville Bar Association’s Chancery and Circuit Court Committee. In 2018, Mr. Pepper was appointed by the Mayor of Nashville to serve on the Metropolitan Board of Zoning Appeals where he serves as vice-chairman.

Mr. Pepper also devotes time to fundraise for Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Nashville and has himself been a “Big Brother” for years. Besides being a lawyer, Mr. Pepper is an avid outdoorsman.

Education and Experience

• Graduated University of Tennessee School of Law, with high honors, 1990 (Member, Tennessee Law Review, Craven Constitutional Law Moot Court Team)
• Judicial Clerk, United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, 1990
• Attorney for large multi-state law firm— 1990-1993 (handled business, commercial, employment, tort cases)
• National Institute of Trial Advocacy, 1993

Honors, Awards, Memberships

• Adjunct Professor of Business Law at Belmont University (former)
• Fellow of the Nashville Bar Association
• Order of the Coif
• Phi Kappa Phi
• Nashville Bar Association
• Tennessee Bar Association
• Tennessee Association for Justice

Publications

• Recovering Lost Profits, Tennessee Bar Journal, August 2008, Vol. 44, No. 8
• Patterson v. McClean Credit Union, The Exclusion of Post-Formation Conduct from the Protection of the Right to Make and Enforce Contracts Clause, Tennessee Law Review, Winter 1991

Bar Admissions

• Tennessee, 1990
• United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, 1990
• United States District Court, Eastern District of Tennessee, 1990
• United States District Court, Middle District of Tennessee, 1993

Representative Clients

• Individuals
• Businesses (corporations, LLCs, partnerships, sole-proprietors)
• Technology companies
• Construction companies
• Manufacturers
• Banks
• Brokers

Area of Practice

• Litigation
• Business litigation
• Commercial litigation
• Appeals
• Insurance law
• Breach of contract
• Real estate disputes
• Construction disputes
• Tractor trailer and 18 wheeler accidents
• Reinsurance
• Commercial leases
• Real estate brokerage commissions
• Mortgage brokerage commissions
• Lender liability
• Trade secrets
• Private placement offerings
• Uniform Commercial Code (“UCC”)
• Business torts
• Contract interference
• Unpaid commissions
• Employment contracts
• Stop-loss insurance
• Collection of promissory notes and debts
• Non-compete agreements and covenants not to compete
• Building contracts
• Construction equipment related claims
• Lost profits
• Class actions
• Warranties
• Fraud
• Investment Fraud
• Third party administrator (TPA) contracts
• Life insurance policies
• Lost sales
• Indemnity claims
• Non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements
• Misrepresentations in the sales of goods and services
• Tennessee Consumer Protection Act
• Fraudulent transfers
• Security guard liability