Attorneys

Practice Groups

Education

B.A., Auburn University (Journalism), 1975
J.D., Cumberland School of Law (cum laude) 1979

Professional Memberships

Alabama State Bar
Montgomery County Bar Association
Alabama Defense Lawyers Association
Defense Research Institute
Alabama Law Foundation Fellow
Journalism Advisory Council: Auburn University School of Communications and Journalism
American Board of Trial Advocates
American College of Trial Lawyers
Trial Masters^TM
DRI Business Torts & Contract Litigation SLG

Admitted To Practice

All Alabama State Courts
U.S. Supreme Court
Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals
U.S. District Court, Southern District of Alabama
U.S. District Court, Middle District of Alabama
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Alabama
U.S. Tax Court

Dennis R. Bailey

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Contact

Email Mr. Bailey
Phone: 334-206-3234
Fax: 334-481-0031
Download vCard

After serving as a federal law clerk in the Middle District of Alabama for one year, Mr. Bailey began practicing law with the firm in 1980 and has been a shareholder since 1983. Building upon a strong background of product liability and insurance defense, Mr. Bailey’s practice has evolved into handling a variety of complex litigation directly for clients who are either self-insured or have control over the selection of defense counsel.

Mr. Bailey works closely with corporate counsel and is therefore familiar with corporate litigation guidelines, reporting, and budgeting requirements. He has managed and argued complex litigation for corporate manufacturing, insurance, and financial services clients as pro hac vice counsel in federal or state cases in Arizona, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and California. He has also represented clients in construction arbitration proceedings and has served as an arbitrator.

A former newspaper reporter, cartoonist and magazine editor, Mr. Bailey has been involved in media law since 1980, particularly matters involving First Amendment rights and open government. He has served for years as general counsel for the Alabama Press Association and other media clients, and now supervises a statewide media hotline.

Recent Practice Highlights

In a decision that affects at least 13 other putative class action cases pending in Alabama circuit courts, the Alabama Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal of a putative class action claiming that Alabama cooperatives could not utilize patronage capital credits under Alabama law. Recherche, LLC v. Baldwin County Electric Membership Corporation, No. 1171144. The Court relied heavily on the case of Caver v. Central Alabama Electric Cooperative, 845 F.3d 1135 (11th Cir. 2017) which was defended by Rushton Stakely attorneys Dennis Bailey, Evans Bailey and Mac Freeman with the assistance of Ted Jackson and Chris Simmons. The Rushton Stakely team of Dennis Bailey, Chris Simmons and Evans Bailey also submitted a friend of the court brief on behalf of the Alabama Rural Electric Association of Cooperatives in Recherche.

Dennis and Evans Bailey obtained a summary judgment for the Dothan Eagle newspaper in a case involving a motor vehicle-pedestrian collision. The Plaintiff alleged that the tortfeasor was working as an agent or employee of the Dothan Eagle at the time of the accident. Dennis and Evans were able to demonstrate to the Court’s satisfaction that the alleged tortfeasor was actually an independent contractor, and the Dothan Eagle could not be liable as a result. The case is Westmoreland v. Dothan Eagle, Inc., et al., Coffee County Circuit Court, Enterprise Division, Case No. 17-900185.

With Ted Jackson, Dennis Bailey was successful in defending claims against an electric cooperative made by a general contractor relating to construction. After several days of testimony presented to a AAA arbitrator, the arbitrator ruled for the owner, an electric cooperative, on all claims asserted by the contractor and awarded the owner $170,000 on its counterclaim relating to completion delays. Arbitrator fees were assessed against the contractor. There was no appeal and the award and fees were paid by the contractor as directed. Ted Jackson handled the pre-arbitration dispute and Dennis Bailey handled the arbitration proceedings.

Obtained a dismissal of an appealed defamation claim. A Ugandan missionary sued The Alabama Baptist Newspaper in Jefferson County claiming an article concerning his operations in Africa was defamatory. The circuit court granted summary judgment that the article was not capable of a defamatory meaning nor written with actual malice toward the missionary. The missionary filed post-judgment motions and then appealed to the Alabama Supreme Court. The appeal was dismissed October 28, 2017, due to the expiration of the time to appeal established in Ala. R. Civ. Pro. 59.1. Evans Bailey and Jessica Trotman participated in the briefing process.

Honors and Awards

Dennis R. Bailey was selected as “Lawyer of the Year” in the 2024 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America®, a guide that is highly respected in the legal community. Lawyers are selected based on extensive reviews by their peers, and only one lawyer in a specific practice field and location is selected annually for this publication. Bailey was honored for his work in Product Liability Litigation- Defendants.

Bailey has served as President of the Alabama Defense Lawyers Association

In 2018, Bailey became a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, one of the premier legal associations in North America.

In 2016, Alabama Bar Association President Lee Copeland awarded Dennis Bailey and two others the President’s Award in recognition of Exemplary Service to the Profession.

The Alabama Defense Lawyers Association selected Bailey to serve on the 2015 – 2016 District III Board of Directors.

Bailey is an Advocate of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA).

Bailey has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Auburn University Alumni Association.

Bailey was selected for the 2012 – 2015 Journalism Advisory Council of Auburn University School of Communications and Journalism.

Bailey has been commended by Joint Resolution of the Alabama Legislature for work in drafting Alabama Open Meetings Act of 2005 and by the board of directors of the Alabama Press Association for helping to pass that legislation.

Bailey was the recent decisions editor for Cumberland Law Review and a member of Cumberland School of Law’s Curia Honoris Society.

Bailey has served as an officer and member of the Auburn Baseball Letterman’s Club.

While attending Auburn University, Bailey was a scholarship baseball player and was a member of the student newspaper staff. He made the SEC Academic Baseball Team in 1975 and was named to the Outstanding College Athletes of America.

Publications

“Defamation in Alabama,” Jones Law Review (2000)

“1975: A Code Odyssey,” Cumberland Law Review (1979)

Presentations

May 2010: Alabama Press Association Webinar: Media law Refresher Course

Adjunct Professor: Department of Journalism, Auburn University:”Mass Media Law and Press Ethics.” 2007 – 2009

Alabama Bar Institute: “Removal Jurisdiction in Federal Courts: The New Standards” and “Recent Developments in Civil Procedure”

“American Products Liability Overview” – Swedish Manufacturers Association (Stockholm)

“The Alabama Open Meetings Act of 2005” sponsored by the Alabama Press Association in conjunction with the Attorney General of the State of Alabama

Adjunct Professor, Jones School of Law: Conflicts of Law, 1983

Community Involvement

Mr. Bailey is involved in a number of community activities and has coached youth baseball for many years. He is a member of the Church of the Ascension in Montgomery, Alabama.