Overview
Peter N. Hall is a national litigation attorney in Holland & Knight's Atlanta office. Mr. Hall helps his clients solve novel, complex and challenging legal problems, including defense of bet-the-company litigation and class actions. He primarily focuses his practice on the representation of businesses in all facets of labor and employment law, with an emphasis on litigation matters. Mr. Hall has litigated matters across the country, including numerous cases in California, Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, Florida, Pennsylvania, Colorado and Michigan.
Mr. Hall's substantive litigation experience runs the gamut but includes significant experience with Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) litigation, including class actions, U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) investigations and multiemployer pension plan disputes, as well as wage/hour class and collective actions and trade secret/restrictive covenant matters. He also vigorously pursues his clients' interests in commercial litigation involving class actions, breaches of commercial contract, business divorces, eviction from commercial premises, wrongful death, licensing agreements, franchise disputes, data breaches, unfair and deceptive trade practices, and civil and criminal contempt.
Mr. Hall leverages his litigation experience to provide creative and practical advice to his clients in the normal course of their business, whether they're facing day-to-day challenges or a particularly complicated predicament. Having seen how the litigation will play out, he brings that knowledge to bear in negotiating executive agreements, conducting due diligence, implementing restrictive covenant programs, advising on medical leave and return-to-work requests, conducting workplace investigations and advising on multistate and international employment policies and compliance.
Representative Experience
- Obtained a defense verdict in a multi-plaintiff Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) action brought by offshore oil rig clerks claiming misclassification as independent contractors; previously, Mr. Hall and his team successfully obtained decertification of the collective action, leaving only three named plaintiffs; the jury deliberated for less than two hours before returning a complete defense verdict
- Successfully defended a directional drilling company in a FLSA collective action asserting directional drillers had been misclassified as independent contractors, including obtaining a rendering of judgment by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in favor of defendant
- Successfully compelled an individual arbitration in a FLSA collective action involving 100-plus opt-ins in a case involving drill-site managers (DSMs) or "company men" alleging they had been misclassified as independent contractors; after obtaining summary judgment in the lead plaintiff's individual arbitration, all remaining claimants voluntarily dismissed their claims
- Sat first or second chair in numerous California wage/hour law arbitrations on behalf of oilfield services company in cases involving directional drillers and measurement-while-drilling (MWD) operators claiming they were misclassified as exempt; collectively, the arbitrations involved potential exposure of more than $20 million; Mr. Hall's team won motions to dismiss in several matters, obtained defense awards after plenary hearings in two other matters (including a cost award), and ultimately, the remaining claimants agreed to withdraw their claims, resulting in a total zero recovery
- Sat first or second chair in three FLSA overtime arbitrations on behalf of directional drilling company and third-party payroll provider involving MWD operators claiming they had been misclassified as exempt; Mr. Hall's team won defense awards in each matter, resulting in zero recovery from either respondent
- Defeated a nationwide conditional certification of class/collective wage-and-hour action brought in Pennsylvania by putative class of oil and gas pipeline inspectors; with the denial of certification, the company's exposure was reduced from overtime claims asserted by hundreds of inspectors to the claim of a single inspector who had worked for just six months
- Obtained multiple summary judgment awards in Louisiana and Rhode Island on behalf of a cable company in class/collective wage-and-hour actions brought by installation technicians; after demonstrating that the cable company was not a "joint employer" of the installation technicians, all claims against client were dismissed
- Obtained summary judgment in a claim brought by insurance sales agent in California for wage-and-hour violations and religious discrimination; by focusing on the client's independent contractor relationship with the plaintiff, all of her claims were dismissed with prejudice
- Obtained summary judgment in Florida on behalf of a private fire protection company in overtime collective action and a retaliation lawsuit brought by a former fire chief and current firefighter/emergency medical services (EMS) technician
- Represented a provider of Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace insurance in a lawsuit alleging that a client systematically underpaid providers for emergency medical services provided to client's insureds on an out-of-network basis; plaintiffs asserted underpayment on more than 10,000 claims and sought more than $15 million in damages; after depositions of fact witnesses, plaintiffs agreed to settle on favorable terms
- Successfully brought suit against the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to end years-long Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) investigation of a financial services company; after a preemptive lawsuit designed to bring about the end of the investigation was brought forth, the agency agreed to terminate its investigation with no finding of wrongdoing on the part of the client
- Represented an international pharmaceutical company in several putative ERISA and securities fraud class actions arising out of plaintiffs' exercise of put rights in employee stock bonus plan shortly before merger announcement; obtained summary judgment against multiple plaintiffs and obtained a complete defense verdict following a two-week jury trial in one of the related actions
- Represented former professional basketball players in pursuing ERISA claims for pension benefits
- Represented an employer in a multi-employer pension plan withdrawal liability claim, including filing suit for declaratory judgment against pension plan based on a delay in assessing withdrawal liability
- Represented an employer in an ERISA denial of benefits and failure to furnish plan documents claims; after an aggressive discovery and pleading strategy, the matter settled favorably
- Represented an airport concessionaire in a dispute with a subtenant arising out of breach of sublease agreement; after subtenant obtained an ex parte temporary restraining order (TRO), the case was moved to a new forum, dissolved the TRO, and the case settled shortly thereafter with the subtenant vacating the premises
- Represented a client in a class action arising out of data breach by filing early motion to dismiss alleging a lack of standing
- Represented a client in defense of a class action under Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA), including negotiation of settlement agreement involving vouchers to class members and minimal cash payment by client
- On behalf of a digital transformation and business optimization firm, defeated TRO for specific performance of services contract sought by one of the largest insurers in the country, which would have put the client in the impossible situation of being obligated to perform services while transitioning employees to the client; the case settled shortly after the TRO was denied
- Obtained a $30 million jury verdict on behalf of an industrial services business based on claims of trade secret misappropriation, breach of restrictive covenants, unfair competition, computer fraud and other business tort claims
- Defended multiple employers in a breach of contract claims filed by former employees, often seeking bonuses, severance or other post-termination benefits
- Obtained numerous TROs and preliminary injunctions on behalf of clients in numerous industries, including financial services, healthcare, retail and industrial services.
- Represented a client in a commercial dispute with a prospective business partner, including through arbitration and appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- Defended a national quick-service restaurant chain in a commercial dispute with the franchisee, which included claims of race discrimination; obtained summary judgment for franchisor and an award of attorneys' fees
- Coordinated an international remote working program for a national cloud-based payroll and human resources provider, including analysis of laws in multiple countries throughout Latin America, Southeast Asia and Europe
- Provided an analysis of labor/employment due diligence materials to multiple underwriters of insurance for representations and warranties in merger, equity purchase and asset purchase agreements
- Negotiation of executive employment, retirement and separation agreements on behalf of senior executives in the entertainment, energy and healthcare industries
Credentials
Education
- Vanderbilt University Law School, J.D.
- The Ohio State University, B.A., summa cum laude
Bar Admissions/Licenses
- Georgia
Court Admissions
- Court of Appeals of Georgia
- Supreme Court of Georgia
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
- U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas
- U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
- U.S. Supreme Court
Memberships
- American Bar Association
- State Bar of Georgia
- Vanderbilt Law Review, Associate Editor
Honors & Awards
- The Best Lawyers in America guide, Employment Law - Management, 2024
- Rising Star, Georgia Super Lawyers magazine, 2012-2015, 2019
- Georgia Legal Elite, Georgia Trend magazine, 2013
- Order of the Coif, Vanderbilt University Law School, 2004
- Elliott Cheatham Scholarship, Vanderbilt University Law School, 2001-2004
- Dean's Scholarship, Vanderbilt University Law School, 2001-2004
- University Honors Scholarship, The Ohio State University, 1997-2001