Bryan A. Coleman

Bryan is a Shareholder and Member of Maynard's Litigation Section. Bryan graduated from West Point and served in the United States Army as a commissioned officer and helicopter pilot. His military and aviation experience taught him the importance of preparation, attention to detail, and decision-making. Bryan applies these concepts, and the many other lessons learned in the military, to representing clients in federal and state courts at every stage of litigation. His litigation practice is centered on product liability, complex litigation, commercial disputes, and mass torts.

His recent work includes representing aircraft, chemical, tire, and specialty-metal manufacturers, utility service providers, national retailers, banks, heavy equipment rental companies, construction companies, government contractors, and real estate developers. He regularly defends clients against wrongful death and personal injury claims and has extensive experience handling complex commercial disputes and mass tort dockets. Though he focuses on defense work, Bryan has litigated complex business disputes, and tried cases, for plaintiffs as well as defendants.

Bryan served as a commissioned officer and helicopter pilot in the United States Army. During his service, he achieved instructor pilot status in the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter. He graduated from several military schools including Airborne School and the Aviation Maintenance Manager program. His duty positions included serving as a flight platoon leader, company executive officer, operations officer, and division chief.

Bryan was listed in the Best Lawyers in America for Commercial Litigation Law and Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions in 2021. He was selected as a B-Metro Top Attorney in 2020. He was listed as a “Rising Star” by Alabama Super Lawyers in the Personal Injury Products Defense category multiple times since 2011. The American Bar Association named Bryan Co-Chair of the Litigation Section’s Chemical and Automotive Subcommittees.

• Current representation of a national pipeline services company in multi-state personal injury and property damage matters.
• Current representation of a roadway construction company in commercial disputes, wrongful death claims, and personal injury cases.
• Secured trial victory for utility contracting company in a case involving allegations of improper construction.
• Member of the trial team that represented a Fortune 50 chemical company against consolidated personal injury lawsuits filed in Alabama and West Virginia. The plaintiffs were approximately 1,600 individuals alleging respiratory injury from exposure to isocyanate-containing products used in coal mines. The cases were favorably resolved after pre-trial motions and jury selection.
• Served as counsel for a Fortune 250 energy company in mass tort litigation involving 1,000 plaintiffs alleging personal injury from exposure to natural gas odorant.
• Obtained trial victory for a regional utility services provider in a trial involving encroachments into a flood easement.
• Current defense of an international chemical company in personal injury and wrongful death claims arising from asbestos exposure.
• Current representation of a pipe manufacturer in multi-state commercial disputes associated with the manufacture and delivery of steel pipe and related fittings.
• Won summary judgment for a real estate company in a commercial dispute involving contract claims and intentional torts.
• Won summary judgment for client in a multi-million dollar commercial dispute involving aquaculture products and facilities in Alabama and Mississippi.
• Defended a global chemical company, its subsidiary, and its employees in an industrial accident involving traumatic personal injuries.
• Represented an international aircraft manufacturing company in aviation-related product liability and wrongful death actions filed in four states.
• Won summary judgment for a regional bank on breach of contract claims.
• Obtained favorable settlement for a specialty metals manufacturing company in a multi-million dollar commercial case involving contract claims and intentional torts.
• Defended a tire manufacturer in an SUV rollover case resulting in alleged traumatic brain injuries.

Affiliations

• American Bar Association - Litigation Section, Product Liability Committee; Automotive Subcommittee, Co-Chair
• Alabama State Bar Association - International Law Section, Treasurer
• Birmingham Bar Association - Federal Practice Section, Executive Board Member
• Birmingham Inns of Court

Civic Involvement

• Boy Scouts of America, Assistant Scoutmaster
• Grace Kids, Board Member
• YMCA Fundraiser
• West Point Society of Birmingham
• William Tudor Society

• H. Thomas Wells, Jr. & Bryan A. Coleman, Update to Chapter 29, Selection of Experts, Expert Disclosures, and the Pretrial Exclusion of Expert Testimony, Business and Commercial Litigation in Federal Courts, 5^th ed., Am. Bar Ass’n, Litig. Section (2021).

• Toxic Exposure Claims: A Fifty State Survey (Bryan A. Coleman, Clifford F. Kinney, Jr., Knight S. Anderson and Alan D. Mathis, eds., Am. Bar Ass’n, 2016) (editor and contributing author).

• Bryan A. Coleman & Jennifer Moore, Government Contractor Defense: Military and Non-Military Applications, Am. Bar Ass’n, Litig. Section, Products Liability Practice Points (Sept. 12, 2016).

• Bryan A. Coleman, Circuit Split Regarding the “Coupon Settlement Provisions” of the Class Action Fairness Act, Am. Bar Ass’n, Litig. Section, Products Liability Practice Points (Sept. 25, 2015).

• Bryan A. Coleman, Court Sinks Storm-Water Runoff Allegations Related to Utility Poles, Am. Bar Ass’n, Litig. Section, Products Liability News & Developments (Jul. 12, 2013).

• Bryan A. Coleman, Alan F. Enslen & David T. Newton, Balancing Free Trade with National Security-What Every Alabama Attorney Should Know About International Trade Controls, The Alabama Lawyer, Vol. 74, No. 2, 97-105 (March 2013).