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Mr. Fruin has represented commercial business in financial litigation as well as other entities in employment, product liability and/or environmental litigation. That representation has included individual cases in state and federal courts, and has also included representation of companies in alleged state or nationwide class actions. Mr. Fruin’s representation of clients has been nationwide, but has primarily focused on the southeastern United States. The largest concentration of his work over the past few years has been representing brokerage houses in arbitrations brought by their customers, employees or competitors. Notwithstanding this concentration, Mr. Fruin continues to handle a steady diet of general commercial litigation, employment, product liability and environmental cases. Representative Cases: Arbitrated more than 30 sales practice, employment or raiding cases before either the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) or National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD). Defense of securities firm in two clusters of NASD arbitrations, one involving more than 100 claimants, and the other involving more than 50 claimants. Successful defense of securities firm in NASD arbitration claiming research fraud wherein the Claimant sought damages in excess of $6 million. Successful defense of manufacturer of commercial trucks in fraud lawsuit wherein Plaintiff sought damages of approximately $3 million. Successfully defeated class action allegations against manufacturer for claims of nuisance and trespass brought by alleged class of 40,000 residents Successful defense of construction company in building defect case tried before the American Arbitration Association (AAA). Significant appellate decisions: Freightliner, LLC v. Whatley Contract Carriers, LLC, 932 So. 2d 883 (Ala. 2005) (reversing and rendering a jury verdict of 1.2 million dollars based on claims of fraud relating to manufacturing of commercial vehicles). Anderson, et al. v. H&R Block, Inc., et al., 132 F. Supp. 2d 948 (M.D. Ala. 2000) (denying motion to remand based on National Bank Act preemption); reversed 287 F.3d 1038 (11th Cir. 2002); cert. granted 539 U.S. 913 (2003) and remanded based on decision of United States Supreme Court in a companion case, Beneficial National Bank v. Anderson, 539 U.S. 1 (2003) (reversing the 11th Circuit and affirming the denial of the motion to remand based on National Bank Act preemption); Bear Stearns Securities, Inc v. Jones, 789 So. 2d 161 Ala. 2000) and Dean Witter Reynolds, Inc. v. McDonald, 758 So. 2d 539 (Ala. 1999 (both reversing the trial court’s order denying motion to compel arbitration); Dickinson v. Cosmos Broadcasting Co., Inc., 782 So. 2d 260 (Ala. 2000) (successful defense of various television stations against lawsuit brought by various federal and state politicians alleging improper charges for political advertisements). Representative Clients: Representative of the clients that Mr. Fruin has represented in litigation matters are Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, UBS Financial Services, Morgan Stanley, Morgan Keegan, Raymond James Financial Services, Protective Life, ProEquities, ExxonMobil, U-Haul, Freightliner, General Motors, Nissan, Motors Acceptance Corp., and Education Corporation of America. Prior To Maynard Cooper: Mr. Fruin served as a law clerk to the Hon. Joel F. Dubina, United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and served as a law clerk to the Hon. W. Harold Albritton, United States District Judge for the Middle District of Alabama. | 