Daniel J.

Martin

• International Academy of Trial Lawyers, "Excellence in Trial Advocacy"
• Chambers USA, Healthcare (listed annually since 2021); Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations (2024)
• Best Lawyers®, "Lawyer of the Year," Appellate Practice, Birmingham (2022)
• The Best Lawyers in America®, Appellate Practice, Corporate Compliance Law, Criminal Defense: White Collar, Health Care Law, Litigation - Labor and Employment (listed annually since 2020)
• Mid-South Super Lawyers, Criminal Defense: White Collar (listed annually since 2020); "Rising Star," General Litigation, White Collar Criminal Defense, and Employment Litigation (2014–2017)
• Birmingham Magazine, "Top Attorneys," White Collar Defense, Birmingham (2020)
• B-Metro Magazine, 2019 "Star of the Bar"

White Collar Defense, including Healthcare and False Claims Act Litigation

• Successfully represented a physician in the first jury trial arising out of the Department of Justice’s Appalachian Regional Prescription Opioid (ARPO) Strike Force. The ARPO Strike Force targeted the client, a family practice doctor, based on her being in the top .1% of opioid prescribers in the state of Alabama by volume of pills. The DOJ charged the doctor with 19 counts of illegally distributing controlled substances. She faced up to 20 years of jail time for each count. Following a two-week jury trial, and while the jury was deliberating for multiple days, the government agreed to dismiss all but one of the 19 counts it had charged in exchange for the doctor’s agreement to plead guilty to one count of unauthorized prescription of a controlled substance. The court accepted the joint recommendation of the parties in May 2020 and sentenced the doctor to five years of probation, with no prison time. During the trial, the defense successfully challenged the newest theories (based on statistical analytics) that the DOJ has used to charge physicians based on their prescribing practices.
• Successfully defended a Nashville-based physician against a False Claims Act lawsuit filed by the US Department of Justice and qui tam lawsuits filed by seven whistleblowers. In addition to serving as a practicing medical doctor, the client was owner, president, and medical director of a multi-state practice in which more than 40,000 patients were seen each month. The suits alleged that overutilization of procedures and labs, including urine drug testing, defrauded the United States of more than $50 million and the government sought treble damages against the client. With litigation, two mediations, and other advocacy, negotiated the government down from a demand of $15 million to a highly favorable $900,000 settlement in which the physician admitted no liability or wrongdoing and won the return of his Medicare billing privileges.
• Defended an Insys sales director in a criminal action in which the United States asserted a claim for conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute through the use of allegedly sham paid-speaking engagements for doctors who prescribed the fentanyl drug Subsys; client pled guilty to a statute with a five-year incarceration cap and the government argued for incarceration; at sentencing argued for and secured sentence of probation.
• Defended an architectural firm in a False Claims Act action in which whistleblowers alleged conspiracy to defraud the United States of $40 million; secured a complete dismissal with prejudice and the client paid no money for settlement or damages.
• Successful defense of an individual targeted as part of a broader investigation of alleged violations of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute and conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud. The US Department of Justice investigators alleged that a group of people had joined forces to induce patients to purchase pain creams and braces at a significant markup — in some cases charging $10,000 or more for products that sometimes cost less than $100. Aggressively advocated client’s innocence and worked to help the government get additional information in order to more fully understand the conduct in question. At the conclusion of the investigation, all of the alleged co-conspirators were indicted except the client.
• Defended a medical director in a healthcare fraud case involving allegations of unlawful signing of orders for home health services in violation of the Stark Law and the False Claims Act; the case was dismissed pursuant to a settlement in which the client paid nothing and denied all liability.
• Defended a professional association in an FTC investigation into alleged anticompetitive conduct, including alleged allocation of market and concerted refusal to deal; after concluding its investigation, the FTC determined that no additional action was warranted, and no claims would be pursued.
• Defended a medical marketing company in a False Claims Act qui tam (whistleblower) action alleging violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute; after filing a motion for summary judgment, secured a settlement for $600,000, a small fraction of the multi-million dollar damages alleged, and there was no admission of liability and no finding that the client engaged in any wrongdoing.
• Represented a physician and a physician practice in defense of allegations of intentional false diagnoses; the case began with an FBI visit and a grand jury subpoena; after conducting a year-long investigation, the Department of Justice concluded that the physician was intentionally injecting toxic material into the necks of vulnerable patients for the sole purpose of generating profit; after then litigating against the United States for nearly four years, no criminal case was pursued and the government settled its False Claims Act complaint against the physician and physician practice for less than the amount of the alleged single damages, with no admission of liability and no exclusion from participation in Medicare/Medicaid.
• Represented a medical technology company that was a target in a white collar criminal investigation being conducted by the US Attorney's Office in Boston, Massachusetts; after a proffer of management, the government did not pursue any claims.
• Defended a large physician practice in an investigation by the Department of Justice and HHS/OIG and in a subsequent False Claims Act action in which the United States intervened; the initial complaint alleged damages in excess of $500 million based on billing that allegedly violated the Stark Law and the Anti-Kickback Statute; the government settled the claims just before trial in a settlement that involved no admission of liability, no exclusions from participation in Medicare/Medicaid, and no payment of any money to the government by the physician practice.
• Defended a physician practice in a whistleblower retaliation action brought under the False Claims Act; the claims were dismissed with prejudice pursuant to a settlement.
• Defended a nursing home organization in an investigation by HUD enforcement; HUD enforcement accused the organization of equity skimming $1.6 million from a HUD loan project and gave notice of their intent to have the OIG refer the matter to the Department of Justice for prosecution; after an in-depth analysis of a decade of financial records, a presentation was made to HUD enforcement, which resulted in HUD concluding that no equity skimming had occurred and what had been viewed as improper distributions were merely improper accounting entries; HUD ultimately resolved the matter by issuing a nominal fine.
• Represented an individual in a white collar criminal action involving a claim of conspiracy to defraud the United States by falsifying invoices to inflate the price of goods sold to the Department of Defense under a cost-plus arrangement; the client pled guilty and obtained a sentence of one year incarceration despite the United States advocating to the court for a much longer sentence and despite the statutory maximum being five years' incarceration.
• Defended a Fortune 500 company in a DOJ investigation into alleged anticompetitive conduct, including alleged horizontal price-fixing; after concluding its investigation, the DOJ did not pursue any charges.
• Successful representation of a doctor who provided care in assisted living facilities and was accused of prescribing medically unnecessary medications on thousands of occasions. The DOJ filed suit under the False Claims Act and sought recovery of millions of dollars of alleged damages and millions more in penalties. Successfully reached a settlement for less than a million dollars total and avoided an exclusion from continued participation in Medicare.

Labor & Employment Litigation

• Secured a defense trial victory in Jefferson County Circuit Court representing a wholesale grocer in an action alleging that the grocer caused the plaintiff's permanently disabling injuries; the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals affirmed.
• Secured summary judgment in federal court on behalf of a construction company facing claims by a former employee for discrimination under the Rehab Act.
• Represented a radio broadcast company in a suit against former managers and a competitor for their conspiracy to unfairly compete and tortiously interfere with the client’s employee and customer relationships; secured a financial settlement against the competing company.
• Defended a physician practice and its management against claims of malicious prosecution brought by a former employee; obtained summary judgment on behalf of all four defendants.
• Represented Ford Motor Company in an action by an employee who argued that his workplace injuries resulted from an intentional tort and, thus, that he could recover against the defendant despite the exclusive remedy provision of the Worker’s Disability Compensation Act; the court of appeals affirmed a dismissal of the employee’s claim and the Michigan Supreme Court denied leave to appeal.
• Represented a defendant municipal utility that was sued by a former employee for discrimination and wrongful termination; the plaintiff sought damages in excess of $1 million; the circuit court granted the defendant summary disposition and the court of appeals affirmed.

Other High-Stakes and/or Complex Litigation

• Represented an anesthesiologist in a three-week jury trial in federal court in a case in which the doctor faced allegations by four employee-nurses that he committed sexual battery in a surgery center; the damages sought were in the millions of dollars but the verdict against the anesthesiologist was only $250,000.
• Secured an extremely favorable arbitration award for a former NASA engineer turned serial entrepreneur in a case against a construction automation company that provides project oversight to owners of large-scale capital projects. The CEO of the construction company decided to try to manipulate a non-compete to push the client out of the construction industry by unilaterally moving the company into new areas that competed with the client's entities, and they demanded damages of $10 million for alleged theft of trade secrets. After both parties filed claims in state court, the action moved to AAA arbitration. After a three-day trial before the arbitrator and extensive post-trial briefing, obtained a sweeping victory for the client. The arbitrator ruled that the construction company and its CEO had unlawfully moved the company into new lines of business and he enjoined them from continuing to do so. He further ruled that the construction company had breached the formation agreements and the CEO had breached his fiduciary duties. Lastly, he awarded the construction company and its CEO $0 in response to their claim for $10 million.
• Represented the Walt Disney Company in a federal district court action in which it was alleged that its television series infringed upon the plaintiff's copyrighted novels; obtained dismissal of all claims on grounds of lack of substantial similarity.
• Represented JPMorgan Chase in a putative class action in a federal district court; the plaintiffs alleged that the bank violated the Truth in Lending Act each time that the bank received an assignment of mortgage as a loan servicer but did not notify the borrower that the bank was the new owner of the loan; the court granted the bank’s motion for summary judgment on grounds that the bank fell within a safe harbor of TILA.
• Represented a plaintiff development company in a suit in a federal district court arising from the defendant’s attempt to terminate the plaintiff’s easement over a parking lot owned by the defendant—without access to the parking, the plaintiff would suffer damages in excess of $1 million; the court granted the plaintiff's motion for summary judgment on counts of quiet title and slander of title and awarded plaintiff attorneys' fees based on a showing that the defendant acted with malice.
• Acted as special attorney general representing a public entity in a combined appeal to the Michigan Supreme Court; the appeal presented questions of statutory interpretation, public utility jurisdiction, and constitutional issues of separation of powers and involved an amount in controversy of approximately $589 million; the client prevailed on both appeals, obtaining an affirmance of a favorable court of appeals ruling and a reversal of an unfavorable court of appeals ruling.
• Represented a defendant in the Michigan Court of Appeals and Supreme Court in an action brought by a municipality in an effort to prevent the construction of a petroleum pipeline within the city's borders; the court of appeals issued an opinion finding in favor of the defendant and the Michigan Supreme Court then denied leave to appeal.
• Represented a plaintiff title insurer in a mortgage fraud action against two defrauders and a closing and escrow company; the trial court awarded the plaintiff a judgment of approximately $1.7 million.
• Represented an electric transmission company in the Michigan Supreme Court in an action brought by the City of Taylor in an attempt to enforce an ordinance that unilaterally ordered utilities to move facilities underground; the court issued an opinion finding that the City of Taylor’s constitutional authority to control its streets did not support the validity of the ordinance in question.
• Defended an operator of a Job Corps site from 40 lawsuits by Job Corps students alleging fraud and breach of contract.

Professional

• Alabama State Bar, Member, White Collar Crime Committee of the Criminal Justice Section
• American Bar Association
• Birmingham Bar Association
• National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
• State Bar of Michigan

Community

• Stillman College Board of Trustees
• Leadership Vestavia Hills, Class of 2013
• Notre Dame Club of Northern Alabama
• St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church
• Vestavia Hills Soccer Club, Youth Coach
• Vestavia Hills United Methodist Church, Member, Staff-Parish Relations Committee and Day School Board