Thomas \\"Tom\\" D. Myrick
Tom litigates a wide range of high-stakes suits on behalf of corporations and individuals from varying industries and geographies. His accomplishments include securing the largest jury verdict in North Carolina history and serving as lead trial counsel in one of the longest civil jury trials in state court history. He also tried a case before the North Carolina Business Court, then defended the results on appeal before the North Carolina Court of Appeals, North Carolina Supreme Court, and ultimately the U.S. Supreme Court.
Tom, a CPA and licensed broker, has arbitrated and resolved high-risk disputes in healthcare, taxation, power and gas, contracting, banking, and other complex and technical industries. His representations have involved negligence, retaliatory actions, product liability, sophisticated damage theories, product recalls in concert with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, fraud, corporate governance issues, and many more realms of law. His ever-present goal is to minimize clients’ exposure to litigation, but he relentlessly pursues a positive outcome if litigation cannot be avoided.
In the courtroom, Tom applies inventive approaches to persuasively defend his clients. He works to be a relatable communicator to every audience — juries and judges in particular —and has taught courses and authored published works on top strategies for jury selection. Tom takes on every matter with the mindset that litigation is a fact-specific practice. He believes it comes down to the art of deduction, not rigidity or conventionality.
Clients praise Tom’s integrity, ability to manage expectations, and straightforward communication style. “He’s an advocate in every sense and operates with utmost respect for those on both sides of the table,” one client remarked.
In addition to his courtroom advocacy, Tom serves as board treasurer for Our Military Kids, a nonprofit that offers grants to children of deployed military members and veterans. To date, the organization has given a total of $35 million in grants to more than 98,000 children, and a grant has been given to every child who has applied. Tom also previously served as board chair for Justice Initiatives, Inc.
Representative Experience
\tIn Re: the Estate of David Scott Corbett. Represented the executrix of her deceased brother’s estate who was a propounder of his will being caveated by the decedent’s wife. The caveator claimed that her husband was unduly influenced into signing his revised will and lacked the cognitive capacity to make a will at the time he signed it. The case involved more than $150 million in real and personal property value being held in trust.
\tMid-Atlantic Emergency Medical Associates, PLLC; et al. Health Management Associates, LLC; et al. Secured a career-defining confidential settlement as lead counsel representing a group of emergency room physicians for two hospitals in North Carolina owned by a national for-profit entity that pressured the clients to admit patients and perform diagnostic tests without medical necessity for the sole purpose of increasing revenues. When the clients refused to commit healthcare fraud, their contracts were terminated, and they sued for wrongful termination and related claims.
\tCarolina Panthers Stadium, LLC N.C. Department of Revenue. Served as lead counsel representing the NFL franchise Carolina Panthers in an ad valorem tax dispute over the assessed value of their stadium successfully reducing the valuation by $257 million.
\tKazden v. Isaacs. Served as lead litigation counsel for a trustee and several corporate entities in connection with claims to void the trust and distribute assets held by the trust and the corporate entities. The trust was organized under the laws of the Cook Islands and the corporate entities, which were held entirely within the trust, received royalty payments for medical technology invented by the settlor. Successfully avoided significant discovery, obtained dismissal of several parties, and ultimately obtained a favorable settlement that allowed the trust to retain all its assets.
\tThe Kimberly Rice Kaestner Trust N.C. Department of Revenue. Won summary judgment for a trust client in the N.C. Complex Business Court, and successfully defended that judgment before the N.C. Court of Appeals, the N.C. Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court of the United States. The key issue in the case was whether the State of North Carolina could tax the out-of-state sourced income of a trust solely on the basis that the trust’s beneficiary became a resident of North Carolina when the trust was administered out- of-state and the trustee resided in another state. The Court held the tax unconstitutional as a violation of the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution.
