Joe Loveland is a senior litigation partner in King & Spalding’s Atlanta office with more than 30 years of trial experience.  A Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, he is listed in the Best Lawyers in America, Chambers USA’s list of America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, Corporate Counsel Magazine’s list of the “Nation’s Top Business Litigators,” and a Top 100 Georgia Super Lawyer.  A member of the bars of both Georgia and Texas, he has served as trial and appellate counsel on wide-ranging matters.  Some of the more significant matters in which he has recently been involved include:

• Lead counsel defending The Coca-Cola Company against whistleblower allegations of financial and accounting improprieties filed by a former employee in litigation in both state and federal court in Georgia.  Mr. Loveland also coordinated the Company’s response to investigations into these activities by the Department of Justice and the SEC.
  
  
• Lead counsel for Verizon Wireless defending litigation brought by AT&T to enjoin Verizon’s “There’s a Map for That” commercials comparing the 3G networks of the two companies.  The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia denied AT&T’s request for a temporary restraining order on the commercials, and the action was subsequently dismissed. 
  
  
• Lead counsel for Imperial Tobacco Co. of Canada in litigation filed in San Francisco state court by a former subsidiary asserting claims of fraudulent conveyance, illegal dividends, and alter ego arising out of inter-corporate transfers.  The action is also connected with the subsidiary’s bankruptcy action in Delaware. 
  
  
• Lead counsel for Wachovia Bank and Wells Fargo Bank in action filed by Elavon, Inc. in federal court in Atlanta asserting claims of breach of contract and tortious interference with contractual relationships arising out of the merger of Wachovia and Wells Fargo.
  
  
• Lead counsel for Ernst & Young in securities litigation and accounting liability cases in federal court in Tennessee and Mississippi.  The Tennessee action, a purported shareholder class action, was dismissed by the District Court and is currently on appeal to the Sixth Circuit.  Mr. Loveland argued the appeal.
  
  
• Lead counsel for General Electric Healthcare in defense of claims of breach of contract and misappropriation of trade secrets with regard to software in federal court in Austin, Texas.
  
  
• Coordinating counsel for WellCare Health Plans, Inc. and its subsidiaries in responding to the investigation of the Company by the United States Department of Justice and other state and federal agencies arising out of WellCare’s Medicaid health plan. 
  
  
• Lead counsel for ACS in an action asserting breach of contract and misappropriation of ACS trade secrets claims against a former vendor in Chancery Court in Wilmington, Delaware.
  
  
• Lead counsel for NBC Universal in purported class action litigation in the Northern District of Georgia challenging whether certain promotional activities constitute illegal gambling under the laws of Georgia.  The District Court dismissed all claims following a ruling by the Georgia Supreme Court on certified questions from the District Court.  Mr. Loveland argued the case in both the District Court and the Georgia Supreme Court. 
  
  
• Lead counsel for XLHealth, an open-access special needs health plan, in purported class action in the Northern District of Georgia challenging communications to health care providers under the TCPA. 
  
  
• Lead counsel for Miller Brewing Company in federal court in Milwaukee in antitrust and contract suit seeking the right to terminate Miller’s Canadian License Agreement with Molson.
  
  
• Lead counsel for The Coca-Cola Company in litigation filed in both federal and state court by more than 50 independent bottlers challenging the right of the Company and Coca-Cola Enterprises to warehouse deliver certain products to major retailers, including Wal-Mart.
  
  
• Lead counsel for a major law firm in resolving claims of professional negligence arising from a patent prosecution issue.
  
  
• Lead counsel for various not-for-profit hospital systems in class action litigation in federal and state courts challenging pricing and collection policies of hospitals in Georgia and West Virginia. 

Mr. Loveland's trial experience includes:

• Lead counsel for Texaco Inc. and Texaco Pipeline Inc. in a three-month toxic tort jury trial in Beaumont, Texas defending against claims of personal injury and property damages arising from a pipeline rupture and subsequent fire on the San Jacinto River.  The jury returned a defense verdict on all claims.  The case was selected by the National Law Journal as one of the Top Ten Defense Wins for the year.
  
  
• Lead counsel for The Coca-Cola Company in a two-week jury trial in federal court in Atlanta asserting claims against its international apparel licensee for trademark infringement, breach of contract, breach of a loan agreement, and defending against counterclaims for breach of contract and fraud.  The jury returned a verdict for The Coca-Cola Company on all claims.
  
  
• Lead counsel for Donnie Cleveland Lance in a death penalty habeas corpus case in Georgia.  Mr. Loveland led the King & Spalding team that represented Mr. Lance in the evidentiary trial on his habeas petition, which resulted in an Order vacating the death sentence that had been imposed. 
  
  
• Lead counsel for Ernst & Young in a month-long accountant liability jury trial in Gulfport, Mississippi in February, 2007.  The jury allocated 75% of liability to settling defendants and 25% of liability to Ernst & Young.  Mr. Loveland recently argued the appeal of the verdict in the Fifth Circuit.
  
  
• Lead counsel for Small Smiles Holding in trial in state court in Madison, Wisconsin involving post-closing demands on an escrow fund created upon the purchase of a business.  The plaintiff seeking release of the funds dismissed the claims with prejudice. 
  
  
• Defending Banca Nazionale del Lavoro in a number of suits in state and federal courts arising out of $2 billion of unauthorized loans by the bank’s Atlanta branch to the government of Iraq.
  
  
• Lead counsel for WellCare in defeating a motion for temporary injunction filed in 2007 by a group of dental providers challenging the decision to terminate the group’s participation in a dental provider network.  After the motion for temporary injunction was defeated, the claims against WellCare were dismissed by the plaintiff.
  
  
• Lead counsel in the defense of Columbia HCA and one of its hospitals in a three- week trial in federal court in Atlanta on claims of breach of contract and misappropriation of trade secrets involving computerized hospital information systems.  The court found in favor of Columbia HCA on the trade secret claims and awarded minimal damages on the breach of contract claim.
  
  
• Lead counsel for a group of United States and Netherlands Antilles corporations in two separate jury trials and appeals against corporate alter ego and fraudulent conveyance claims brought by a German construction company arising out of commercial transactions in Iran.  The Georgia Supreme Court ultimately ordered that judgment be entered in the groups’ favor on all claims.
  
  
• Lead counsel for Miller Brewing Company in distribution litigation in federal court in Tampa involving claims of antitrust violations, RICO, fraud and breach of contract, as well as claims by Miller of breach of contract and trademark infringement.

Mr. Loveland has served as head of the firm’s Professional Services Liability Practice and is a frequent speaker at professional meetings, including speaking on “Professionalism in Appellate Litigation in Georgia,” “Damages in Business Litigation in Georgia,” “Defeating Class Certification,” and “Class Actions Against The Insurance Industry.”

Mr. Loveland graduated with highest honors from the University of North Carolina and received his law degree, cum laude, from Harvard Law School.  He has served as Chair of the firm’s Litigation Department and has been elected to the firm’s Policy Committee on three occasions. 

Mr. Loveland was a founding member of Georgia Appleseed and currently serves as Chair of its Board of Directors. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the National Institute of Trial Advocacy and of the Lawyer’s Committee of the National Center for State Courts and serves as Vice Chair of the American College of Trial Lawyers’ Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Committee.