J. Matthew Haynes, Jr., Director

Matthew represents corporations, small businesses and individuals in all state and federal courts throughout Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia.

Matthew has significant first chair jury trial experience and has successfully defended a wide variety of clients in premises liability, trucking/transportation, consumer litigation, and construction defect litigation, among other areas. He has extensive experience in the defense of catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death claims.

In litigated matters, Matthew’s state and federal court experience provides the basis for an early strategic case evaluation and litigation plan for aggressive resolution through trial or mediation.

REPRESENTATIVE CASES:

• Obtained a defense verdict following a jury trial in the U.S.D.C. Maryland in a suit alleging malicious prosecution, false imprisonment, assault, battery and punitive damages.
• Obtained summary judgment in a premises liability case pending in the D.C. Superior Court.
• Obtained partial summary judgment in a false arrest/false imprisonment suit in U.S.D.C. Maryland.
• Excluded plaintiff’s liability expert after a successful Daubert challenge in the U.S.D.C. Eastern District of Virginia.
• Obtained summary judgment on behalf of a national discount retailer in a $20M mild traumatic brain injury suit pending in U.S.D.C. Eastern District of Virginia, and prevailed on appeal to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.
• Obtained summary judgment on behalf of an interstate trucking company and its driver in a $1.5M personal injury suit pending in the U.S.D.C. Western District of Virginia arising out of a failed drive shaft.
• Successfully defended a $1M mild traumatic brain injury claim that resulted in nominal settlement on the eve of a scheduled four day jury trial.
• Obtained a defense verdict on behalf of a national restaurant chain in a premises liability jury trial.
• Obtained a defense verdict in a premises liability jury trial on behalf of a global warehouse retailer.
• Drafted and successfully argued a plea in bar in a construction defect suit which resulted in the dismissal with prejudice of the general contractor.
• Successfully defended a declaratory judgment action against a non-standard personal lines insurance carrier based upon policy holder's material misrepresentation in policy application.
• Obtained a $3,000 jury verdict in an admitted liability personal injury automobile accident case where the plaintiff's claimed medical bills totaled in excess of $15,000.
• Drafted and successfully argued a motion for summary judgment on behalf of a global warehouse retailer in a $750,000 personal injury action in federal district court and prevailed on appeal to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.

RECOGNITIONS

• Best Lawyers^®
  • Commercial Litigation, since 2021
  • Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants, since 2021
  • Product Liability Litigation - Defendants, since 2021
• Virginia Business Magazine, Legal Elite, Civil Litigation, since 2021

Professional and Community Involvement

• Virginia State Bar
  • Board of Governors, Litigation Section, 2013-present
    • Chair, 2019-2020
• Council on Litigation Management (CLM)
• Defense Research Institute (DRI)
  
  • Committee Member: Trucking Law
  • Committee Member: Construction Law
  • Former Editor: The Critical Path
• National Association of Dealer Counsel (NADC)
• Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys (VADA)
• Richmond Bar Association
• Virginia Bar Association

Publications

• Co-author, "Keeping out the Plaintiff's PET," Journal of Civil Litigation(Spring 2006)
• Author, Virginia Section of "Construction Litigation Desk Reference--A Fifty State Guide to Construction Litigation", DRI Defense Library Series, September 2009