John Neiman

Clients look to John Neiman in high-stakes cases that are on appeal or likely to get there. A former U.S. Supreme Court clerk and Solicitor General of Alabama, John chairs the Firm’s Appellate Practice Group, which strives to provide clients the highest level of appellate advocacy at value-driven rates. Best Lawyers® has named him the region's "Lawyer of the Year" for Appellate Practice three different times—in 2017, 2021, and 2024.

At any given time, John has multiple cases pending in the Alabama Supreme Court and Eleventh Circuit. In recent years, John has helped clients obtain reversals by the Alabama Supreme Court of multiple jury verdicts, including an $18 million verdict in one case and an $11.4 million verdict in another. In another pending state appeal, John’s team obtained the complete remittitur, to zero, of a $6 million punitive damages verdict. He also recently helped clients obtain reversal by the Alabama Supreme Court of orders refusing to compel arbitration of class actions and discovery sanctions that otherwise would have required a judgment against it on a claim for wrongful death. He has successfully represented clients in the Eleventh Circuit multiple times, in cases involving claims in excess of $50 million.

John also represents clients in a wide array of appeals throughout the country. In 2024, he orally argued a high-profile criminal matter in the Fourth Circuit that resulted in the vacatur of the client’s convictions and a new trial on all charges. In recent years he has presented oral argument for insurance-sector clients in the highest courts in New York and California, as well as the Fourth, Seventh, and Eighth Circuits. John has appeared for alcohol-industry clients in the Supreme Court and the First, Third, Fourth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Circuits. As state Solicitor General from 2011 to 2014, John orally argued two merits cases at the United States Supreme Court.

John also routinely serves as counsel at high-stakes trials, including three jury trials in 2024. The subject matter has varied from alleged bad-faith denial of insurance coverage, to claims of environmental contamination, to personal-injury claims, to securities litigation. In this role he helps trial lawyers—whether at Maynard Nexsen or other firms—preserve clients’ objections, argue motions for judgment as a matter of law, and otherwise posture the case for effective results on appeal.

John’s practice extends to constitutional and administrative challenges to legislation and agency action. He is currently part of a team that represents clients challenging the federal Corporate Transparency Act. As counsel for the State of Alabama in water litigation, he recently helped his client negotiate an agreement that—if adopted by the Corps of Engineers after a public-comment period—will set minimum-flow targets at critical points of the Chattahoochee River for the first time in history.

John is a fellow of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers. Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business distinguishes him as a Band 1 leading attorney in the area of Appellate Litigation.

Community & Professional

• American Academy of Appellate Lawyers
• American Bar Association; Appellate Committee Chair (2012-2013)
• American Law Institute
• Eleventh Circuit Appellate Practice Institute Planning Committee (2014)
• Alabama Rules of Appellate Procedure, Advisory Committee (2011-present)
• Alabama State Bar
• Birmingham Bar Association
• Living River, Board of Directors (2011-2015)
• Leadership Birmingham Class of 2014-2015
• Alabama Leadership Initiative Class of 2012

Recent and noteworthy state appellate experience:

• CNU of Alabama, LLC v. Shakeena Cox, 2024 WL 4716159 (Ala. Nov. 8, 2024) (reversing order declining to compel arbitration of putative class-action claim)
• Mottern v. Baptist Health Sys, 2024 WL 4097539 (Ala. Sept. 6, 2024) (counsel for amicus Business Council of Alabama on case establishing standard for product-liability claims in medical context)
• Sykes v. Majestic Mississippi, 2024 WL 655794 (Ala. Feb. 16, 2024) (affirming summary judgment for client in mass-accident wrongful-death cases)
• Ex parte Hankook Tire, 2023 WL 8857184, at *1 (Ala. Dec. 22, 2023) (reversing case-dispositive discovery sanctions in wrongful-death case)
• Dolgencorp v. Gilliam, 392 So.3d 71 (Ala. 2023) (reversing adverse jury verdict and rendering judgment in client’s favor in personal injury case)
• Cordero v. Transamerica Annuity Service Corp., 211 N.E.3d 663 (N.Y. 2023) (rejecting, after oral argument, imposition of liability on clients for court-approved sales of structure settlements)

• Ex parte HuffingtonPost.com, Inc., 376 So.3d 432 (Ala. 2022) (reversing trial court and issuing mandamus granting client immunity under federal Communications Decency Act)
• Ex parte Ass'n of Cnty. Commissions of Ala. Liab. Self-Ins. Fund, Inc., 368 So. 3d 823 (Ala. 2022) (reversing trial court and issuing mandamus granting immunity from wrongful-death actions);
• Naftel v. State ex rel. Driggars, 361 So. 3d 751 (Ala. 2022) (reversing trial court and upholding client's judicial appointment against constitutional challenge)
• Cannon v. Lucas, 346 So.3d 949 (Ala. 2021) (reversing $18 million adverse personal-injury jury verdict and remanding for new trial)
• Protective Life v. Apex Parks Grp., LLC, 322 So.3d 1027 (Ala. 2020) (reversing $11.4 million adverse jury verdict and rendering judgment for client)
• Davis v. Chilton County Health Care Auth., Nos. 1180876 & 1180969 (Ala. Mar. 13, 2020) (no-opinion affirmance and dismissal in appeals challenging funding mechanism for client’s operations)
• MetLife Sec. v. Brandt, No. B282949, 2018 WL 6616097 (Cal. Ct. App. Dec. 18, 2018) (successfully orally argued case involving request for attorney fees)
• Hasting v. Bentley, No. 1150009 (Ala. Jan. 21, 2016) (dismissal of appeal for Governor in case challenging his decision to remove Confederate flags from state capitol grounds)
• Ex parte State of Alabama, 121 So. 3d 337 (Ala. 2013) (as Alabama Solicitor General) (in gambling litigation, obtaining first appellate mandamus ruling in more than 100 years requiring a trial court to issue a search warrant)

Recent and noteworthy federal appellate experience:

• United States v. Laffitte, 121 F.4th 472, 477 (4th Cir. 2024) (orally argued) (obtained vacatur of convictions and new trial after jury verdict on bank and wire-fraud charges)
• Advance Tr. & Life Escrow Servs., LTA v. Protective Life Ins. Co., 93 F.4th 1315 (11th Cir. 2024) (orally argued) (successfully defended order rejecting plaintiffs’ principal liability theories in putative nationwide cost-of-insurance class action)
• Lemons v. Principal Life Insurance Co., No. 22-12064, 2024 WL 1480369 (11th Cir. Apr. 5, 2024) (orally argued) (successfully defended favorable jury verdict and the denial of mental-anguish damages in disability-insurance case)
• Life Ins. Co. v. Blevins, 92 F.4th 734 (8th Cir. 2024) (orally argued) (successfully defended affirmance of summary judgment in bad-faith case)
• Parsley v. Great-W. Life & Annuity Ins. Co., No. 22-12459, 2023 WL 7126426, at *1 (11th Cir. Oct. 30, 2023) (affirmance of dismissal of disability-insurance claims against client)

• True Homes LLC v. CMH Mfg., Inc., No. 21-1532, 2022 WL 17091858, at *1 (4th Cir. Nov. 21, 2022) (affirmance of judgment for client on $100 million trademark claims)
• Levy v. W. Coast Life Ins. Co., 44 F.4th 621 (7th Cir. 2022) (orally argued affirmance of dismissal for client in life-insurance dispute)
• Stewart v. Hartford Life & Accident Ins. Co., 43 F.4th 1251 (11th Cir. 2022) (orally argued affirmance of summary judgment for client in ERISA dispute)
• Campbell v. Hartford Life & Accident Ins., No. 21-5621, 2022 WL 620151 (6th Cir. Mar. 3, 2022) (ruling for client in life-insurance dispute)
• James River Ins. Co. v. Ultratec Special Effects Inc, 22 F.4th 1246 (11th Cir. 2022) (ruling for client in coverage dispute over wrongful-death claims)
• Ascent Hosp. Mgmt Co., LLC v. Emps. Ins. Co. of Wausau, No. 21-11924, 2022 WL 130722 (11th Cir. Jan. 14 2022) (ruling for client in COVID- related business- interruption loss coverage dispute)
• McCullough v. AIG Ins. Hong Kong Ltd., 828 F. App'x 704 (11th Cir. 2020) (orally argued vacatur of denial of client’s motion to arbitrate $65 million bad-faith claim)
• WM Mobile Bay Envtl. Ctr., Inc. v. City of Mobile Solid Waste Auth., 972 F.3d 1240 (11th Cir. 2020) (orally argued certification of questions to Alabama Supreme Court relating to execution of $6 million jury verdict for client)
• Robinson v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., 958 F.3d 1137 (11th Cir. 2020) (obtained affirmance of dismissal of claims against client for infestation of home by brown-recluse spiders)
• Carruth v. Bentley, 942 F.3d 1047 (11th Cir. 2019) (orally argued affirmance of dismissal of Section 1983 claims against former Alabama governor over conservation of credit union)
• Landeros v. Pinnacle Recovery, Inc., 692 F. App'x 608 (11th Cir. 2017) (orally argued, by court appointment, defense of district court judgment declining to certify class action under Fair Debt Collection Practices Act)

U.S. Supreme Court experience:

• NetChoice, LLC v. Moody, 144 S. Ct. 69 (2023) (amicus brief in First Amendment case for author of Communications Decency Act)
• Allen v. Milligan, 599 U.S. 1 (2023) (amicus brief for economic-development organization in voting-rights case)
• Tennessee Wine & Spirits Retailers Ass'n v. Thomas, 139 S. Ct. 2449 (2019) (amicus brief for Center for Alcohol Policy in dormant Commerce Clause challenge to state alcohol laws)
• Packingham v. North Carolina, 137 S. Ct. 1730 (2017) (amicus brief for state and local government organizations defending constitutionality of law regulating sex offenders)
• Montgomery v. Louisiana, 136 S. Ct. 718 (2016) (amicus brief for prosecutors’ organizations concerning juvenile sentencing)
• Comptroller of Treasury of Md. v. Wynne, 135 S. Ct. 1787 (2015) (amicus brief for state and local government groups in case concerning power of government to tax income earned out of state)
• Nat’l Labor Relations Bd. v. Noel Canning, 134 S. Ct. 2550 (2014) (as Alabama Solicitor General) (lead counsel for Alabama and 17 other amicus States in U.S. Supreme Court merits case concerning constitutionality of President’s appointments to NLRB)
• Shelby Cnty. v. Holder, 133 S. Ct. 2612 (2013) (as Alabama Solicitor General) (lead counsel for Alabama as amicus in U.S. Supreme Court case concerning constitutionality of portions of Voting Rights Act)
• Miller v. Alabama, 132 S. Ct. 2455 (2012) (as Alabama Solicitor General) (argued U.S. Supreme Court merits case on constitutional issues concerning juvenile sentencing)
• Maples v. Thomas, 132 S. Ct. 912 (2012) (as Alabama Solicitor General) (argued U.S. Supreme Court merits case on right to counsel)

Recognition

• Recognized by Chambers USA, America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, Alabama, Litigation: Appellate (2015 - present)
• The Best Lawyers in America© for Appellate Practice and Commercial Litigation (2016 – present); Civil Rights Law (2018 - present); Bet-the-Company Litigation (2019 - present)
• Best Lawyers® 2017, 2021, and 2024 "Lawyer of the Year" for Appellate Practice
• Super Lawyers “Top 50 Lawyers in Alabama” (2018, 2019)
• Mid-South Super Lawyers for Appellate (2016 - present)
• Alabama Super Lawyers for Appellate (2011, 2015)
• National Association of Attorneys General "Best Brief Awards," Brief for Respondent, Miller v. Alabama; Brief for Respondent, Maples v. Thomas (July 2012)
• Birmingham Magazine's "Top Attorneys" for Appellate (2017)
• Birmingham Magazine's "Best Attorneys" (2011)