Matthew F. Barr

Biography

Matt Barr represents Fortune 500 companies and professionals from the transportation, retail, and healthcare industries. For nearly three decades as a litigator and trial lawyer, he has defended complex and high-stakes cases involving catastrophic accidents, professional liability, and sexual misconduct.

Matt has tried over 50 trials and argued landmark appeals in federal and state courts. He handles some of the most dangerous trials with over a billion dollars at risk and media coverage. Clients regularly depend on him to take over cases going to trial with dire prospects. He has extensive experience representing prominent companies from several sectors, such as UPS, United Rentals, U-Haul, Simon Property Group, McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Office Depot, CVS, and Quest Diagnostics.

Representative Trial Experience

  • Successfully convinced a Missouri jury in 2023 to find no independent liability against UPS for the supervision of a driver who caused a catastrophic accident, rejecting punitive damages in a trial with over $300M claimed.
  • Secured a very favorable jury verdict of $19M for Comcast after parachuting into an unwinnable and dangerous trial in 2023 in a Georgia jurisdiction notorious for nuclear verdicts. Plaintiffs sought $200M for a car accident in which the deceased suffered a severe traumatic brain injury and coma that left him functionally a paraplegic until passing 20 months later.
  • Achieved a favorable verdict in a Georgia trial in 2023 involving a pharmacist who filled a prescription with a dosage exceeding the manufacturer’s recommended amount. The patient suffered a rare disease, Stephens-Johnson Syndrome, losing 90% of her skin and most eyesight permanently. The plaintiff sought $58M, with 80% allocated to the client. The jury returned a verdict of $40M, assessing only 2% to the pharmacist, less than 10% of the lowest demand against the client.
  • Defense verdict in a trucking case arising from a chain reaction accident that killed five nursing students and injured two other students with significant media coverage. The suit was filed by one of the survivors of the wreck who sustained a TBI and suffers from PTSD in part due to seeing her friends burning and passing away. The insured driver admittedly caused the backup on an interstate highway that the nurses were in when they were struck by the codefendant truck driver. The jury awarded her $15 million but assigned 100% fault to the codefendants and 0% to our client.
  • Successfully defended UPS in a catastrophic brain injury case in Houston. The plaintiff sustained a permanent brain injury and requires 24/7 care for the rest of his life, including a feeding tube. The plaintiffs alleged that the subject vehicular accident resulted from independent negligence by UPS. Plaintiffs also sought punitive damages in the billions, claiming that UPS consciously disregarded safety. After an eight-day trial, the jury returned a verdict that exonerated UPS from independent liability. The jury declined to award any punitive damages.
  • Defense verdict for CVS in a premises liability case in Georgia. The plaintiff suffered from herniated discs in his back, undergoing surgery that provided no relief. He was later diagnosed with failed back syndrome and underwent a spinal cord stimulator trial, which proved unsuccessful. As a result, he has been unable to resume his job, and his prospects of returning to work in the future were uncertain.
  • Nominal verdict in favor of McDonald’s in a premises liability case involving a slip-and-fall at a restaurant. The plaintiff alleged that an employee did not put out any wet floor signs after mopping, resulting in the plaintiff’s fall and catastrophic injuries. The plaintiff never returned to work following the accident and was found to be disabled by the Social Security Administration. The plaintiff also presented testimony from an Emory University endocrinology expert that the fall exacerbated her preexisting diabetic neuropathy. The jury awarded only $2,042.

Professional Expertise

Premises Liability

Matt has represented several of the nation's leading retailers and landowners in premises liability litigation involving all types of claims, including allegations stemming from catastrophic accidents, slip and fall injuries, negligent security, assault, and false imprisonment.

Sexual Misconduct

Matt has successfully defended a variety of organizations involved in investigations and litigation arising out of the alleged sexual misconduct of an employee or agent of the organization. Matt has represented schools, placement agencies, and private businesses.

Professional Liability

Matt has successfully defended a variety of professionals in virtually every type of malpractice litigation. Matt has represented physicians, nurses, pharmacists, midwives, psychiatrists, physical therapists, counselors, architects, engineers, real estate brokers and agents, and numerous facilities, including hospitals, long-term care, and mental health treatment facilities. Representative matters include wrongful death cases, bad-baby cases, obstetrical cases, radiological cases, and emergency medicine cases.

Services

Education

  • Florida State University College of Law  (J.D., cum laude, 1997)
  • Georgia Institute of Technology  (B.S., with highest honors, 1994)

Bar Admissions

  • Georgia

Courts

  • Supreme Court of Georgia
  • Georgia Court of Appeals
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
  • U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia

Professional Affiliations

  • State Bar of Georgia
  • Georgia Defense Lawyers Association
  • Atlanta Bar Association
  • DRI
  • ALFA International
  • Senior Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America
  • Trial Law Institute
  • Diversity Law Institute
  • Barrister, Order of Veritas

Honors

  • AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell®
  • The Best Lawyers in America© (2020-2024)
    • Medical Malpractice Law - Defendants
    • Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants
    • Professional Malpractice Law - Defendants
  • Georgia Super Lawyers, Rising Star (2005-2007, 2009, 2011-2012)
  • Litigation Counsel of America Trial Lawyer Honorary Society, Fellow

Trials

  • Pannell v. UPS, Clay County, Missouri 
  • Casarez v. UPS, Harris County, Texas
  • Taylor v. Suburban, State Court of Fulton County, Georgia
  • Dolgopolova v. Sullivan, State Court of DeKalb County, Georgia
  • AGL v. Mistras, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
  • Williams v. Rojo Transportation, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
  • Richards v. Total Transportation, Superior Court of Bryan County, Georgia
  • Henderson v. Parrott, State Court of Lowndes County, Georgia
  • Monteagudo v. Burton, State Court of DeKalb County, Georgia
  • Moretz v. Stewart, State Court of DeKalb County, Georgia
  • Fiesta Brands v. Interplan, Superior Court of Hall County, Georgia
  • Bowbliss v. Quick Med, State Court of Fulton County, Georgia
  • Bitty v. Metropolitan Security, State Court of Fulton County, Georgia
  • Bauer v. CVS, State Court of Forsyth County, Georgia
  • Clark v. Revco, Superior Court of Gwinnett County, Georgia
  • J.B. v. Goldstein Garber & Salama, LLC, Superior Court of Fulton County , Georgia
  • Harris v. Spod Partners, Superior Court of Rockdale County, Georgia
  • Gilortiz v. Cintas, Superior Court of Fulton County, Georgia
  • Richards v. Simon Property Group, State Court of Fulton County, Georgia
  • Hall v. Optioncare, State Court of Bibb County, Georgia
  • Goldman v. Clearvision Laser Centers, et al., State Court of DeKalb County, Georgia
  • Jackson v. Toys R Us, State Court of Fulton County, Georgia
  • Kendrick Phillips v. Simon Property Group, State Court of Bibb County, Georgia
  • McCoy v. Simon Property Group, Superior Court of Cobb County, Georgia
  • Nestadt v. Simon Property Group, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
  • Reed v. Walker, State Court of Bibb County, Georgia
  • Scruggs v. Georgia Baptist, et. al., State Court of Fulton County, Georgia
  • Smith v. Five Star, State Court of Cobb County, Georgia
  • Theresa Drury v. Harris Ventures, Inc., State Court of Glynn County, Georgia
  • Leann Woody v. Karen Morin, CNM, et al., Superior Court of Rockdale County, Georgia
  • Chachad vs. CVS Pharmacy and Georgia Clinic, State Court of Fulton County, Georgia
  • Gerald Nestadt v. Simon Property Group, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
  • Gilbert Goldman v Clearvision Laser Centers, et al., Superior Court of DeKalb County, Georgia
  • Gladys Lowe v. CVS Pharmacy
  • Regina Stamps v. CVS Pharmacy
  • Kara Myers v. CVS Pharmacy, State Court of Fulton County, Georgia
  • Angela Delaine Dover v. Revco Discount Drug Centers, Inc. and Kristy Tumlin
  • Ella Volcy v. Charter Mobil Homes, Superior Court of Appling County, Georgia
  • Elton Hassle v. Gwinnett Place Associates, Superior Court of Gwinnett County, Georgia

Presentations

  • “New Plaintiff Tactics in Litigation,” In-house Meeting (August 2019)
  • "Excess Claims," American Law Firms Association Seminar, New York, NY
  • "Dealing With Default," Georgia Insurance Law Institute, St. Simons, GA