Zeitlin, David
David J. Zeitlin
+1.615.850.8997

Overview

David Zeitlin is a litigation attorney in Holland & Knight's Nashville office. Mr. Zeitlin assists clients across a variety of industries when the stakes are at their highest, and the bulk of his work reflects that focus, centering on emergency and injunctive relief in matters of critical importance.

Mr. Zeitlin plays a central role in Holland & Knight's representation of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), defending motions for preliminary injunctions and temporary restraining orders brought by college athletes challenging the validity of NCAA eligibility rules under the antitrust laws. Across more than 20 matters in which he has served as a primary brief writer – including in federal and state courts in Tennessee, South Carolina, Louisiana, Arkansas, California, Alabama, Mississippi and New York – Mr. Zeitlin has helped defeat injunctive relief in the overwhelming majority of cases. He has also collaborated with Holland & Knight attorneys in other offices on several additional NCAA-related cases. In the small number of cases where relief was granted, appeals remain pending.

Mr. Zeitlin's injunctive relief experience extends well beyond sports to include insurance, healthcare, hospitality and financial services. He successfully defended a former executive of a large health insurance company who left to lead a competitor, defeating a motion to enforce restrictive covenants. In addition, Mr. Zeitlin obtained a temporary restraining order on behalf of a mortgage lender to enforce restrictive covenants against two departing employees, and he helped secure injunctive relief for a recording artist to block a collaborator from selling his interest in their jointly owned catalog.

In addition, Mr. Zeitlin was at the forefront of Title VII religious accommodation claims arising from COVID-19 vaccine requirements, participating in one of the first trials in the nation to address those issues. His COVID-19 work also raised a constitutional question of first impression in Tennessee: whether the right of petition creates an exception to the at-will employment doctrine, barring an employer from terminating an employee who petitions the legislature on a matter of interest to the employer. The Tennessee Supreme Court agreed with his client's position, declining to recognize a right of action.

Mr. Zeitlin also maintains an active insurance coverage practice, representing policyholders and insurers in disputes involving commercial property insurance, builders risk insurance, commercial general liability insurance, and representations and warranties insurance (RWI). Notable among his results, he obtained judgment for a condominium owners' association after its carrier denied property coverage related to the Nashville Christmas Day Bombing.

Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Mr. Zeitlin served as a law clerk to the Honorable Gloria M. Navarro of the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada.

Representative Experience

Mr. Zeitlin served as the primary brief author on behalf of the NCAA in the following cases:



  • Osuna Sanchez v. NCAA, No. 3:25-cv-62-CEA-DCP, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 37500, 2025 WL 684271 (E.D. Tenn. Mar. 3, 2025) (injunction denied)
  • Brzovic v. NCAA, No. 2:25-cv-02885-DCN, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 89791, 2025 WL 1370758 (D.S.C. May 11, 2025) (injunction denied)
  • Zeigler v. NCAA, No. 3:25-cv-226-KAC-JEM, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 111927, 2025 WL 1671952 (E.D. Tenn. June 12, 2025) (injunction denied)
  • Walker v. NCAA, No. 3:25-CV-00514-JWD-EWD, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 131541, 2025 WL 1901907 (M.D. La. July 1, 2025) (injunction denied)
  • Hill v. NCAA, No. 4:25-cv-00591-LPR, ECF No. 31 (E.D. Ark. July 24, 2025) (injunction denied)
  • Bellamy et al. v. NCAA, No. 25-cv-00750, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 152042, 2025 WL 2267761 (M.D. Tenn. Aug. 7, 2025) (injunction denied)
  • Giles v. NCAA, No. 8:25-cv-01488-JVS-KES, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 175126 (C.D. Cal. Aug. 18, 2025) (injunction denied)
  • Robinson v. NCAA, No. 2:25-cv-06454-JVS-KES, ECF No. 29 (C.D. Cal. Aug. 18, 2025) (injunction denied)
  • Wingfield v. NCAA, No. 2:25-cv-06875-JVS-KES, ECF No. 26 (C.D. Cal. Aug. 18, 2025) Injunction denied)
  • Boyd v. NCAA, No. 25-cv-00729, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 163537, 2025 WL 2432200 (M.D. Tenn. Aug. 22, 2025) (injunction denied)
  • Hamilton v. NCAA, No. 2:25-cv-924-NJB-MBN, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 167481, 2025 WL 2481363 (E.D. La. Aug. 28, 2025) (injunction denied)
  • Moore v. NCAA, No. DC-25-13153 (Tex. D. Ct., Dallas Cnty. Sept. 25, 2025) (injunction granted, appeal pending)
  • Hicks v. NCAA, No. 25CVDC-00292 (Tex. D. Ct., Erath Cnty. Dec. 8, 2025) (injunction granted, appeal pending)
  • Patton v. NCAA, No. 2052 (Tenn. Ch. Ct., Claiborne Cnty. Jan. 12, 2026) (injunction denied)
  • Patterson et al. v. NCAA, No. 3:25-cv-00994, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8118, 2026 WL 115417 (M.D. Tenn. Jan. 15, 2026) (injunction denied)
  • Bediako v. NCAA, 63-CV-2026-900089.00 (Ala. Cir. Ct., Tuscaloosa Cnty. Feb. 9, 2026) (injunction denied)
  • Hickman v. NCAA, No. 2025-CP-10-06396 (S.C. Ct. Common Pleas, 9th D., Feb. 11, 2026) (injunction denied)
  • Chambliss v. NCAA, No. 35CH1:26-CV-00017-W (Miss. Ch. Ct., Lafayette Cnty. Feb. 13, 2026) (injunction granted, motion for permission to appeal interlocutory order pending)
  • Chandler v. NCAA, No. 902535-26 (N.Y. Super. Ct., Albany Cnty. Mar. 6, 2026) (temporary restraining order denied, motion for preliminary injunction pending)
  • Manu v. NCAA, No. 3:25-cv-01311 (M.D. Tenn.) (motion for temporary restraining order pending)
  • Pavia et al. v NCAA, No. 3:24-cv-01336 (M.D. Tenn.) (motion for preliminary injunction pending)
  • Coly v. NCAA, No. 4:26-cv-00008-PPS-APR (N.D. Ind.) (motion for preliminary injunction pending)

Mr. Zeitlin has assisted other Holland & Knight attorneys in the following cases on behalf of the NCAA:



  • Elad v. NCAA, No. CV 25-1981 (ZNQ) (JTQ), 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 78922, 2025 WL 1202014 (D.N.J. Apr. 25, 2025), rev'd, 160 F.4th 407 (3d Cir. 2025) (injunction reversed)
  • Coley v. NCAA, No. 5:25-cv-00098-D-BM, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 108342, 2025 WL 1616719 (E.D.N.C. June 6, 2025) (injunction denied)
  • Agee v. NCAA, No. 25-002737-CV-472, (Tex. Ct., Brazos Cnty. Oct. 13, 2025) (injunction granted, appeal pending)
  • Humphreys v. NCAA, No. 2:26-cv-00268-WLH-BFM, (C.D. Cal. Feb. 12, 2026) (injunction denied)

  • Represented a condominium owners' association and obtained a judgment in its favor, finding that the association was entitled to guaranteed replacement cost coverage despite an exclusion in its policy for buildings designated as historic structures or landmarks, which the carrier used to deny coverage because of the building's location within a designated historic district
  • Represented a large agricultural equipment retailer bringing insurance coverage and indemnity claims against one of its vendors, the vendor's commercial general liability insurance carrier and the carrier's third-party representative, successfully surviving the dismissal of claims brought against the three defendants
  • Represented a municipal corporation bringing commercial general liability insurance and property insurance claims against two insurers that arose from several million dollars' worth of damages sustained from a petroleum leak, successfully resolving the claims before summary judgment

  • Represented a publisher of social media videos against a licensee of online videos in a copyright infringement lawsuit
  • Deterred a baseless trademark lawsuit threatened against a media company's podcast based on alleged use of an infringing name
  • Represented a restaurant in a trademark litigation lawsuit brought by a restaurant in a different state that was operating with a similar name
  • Represented a mortgage company in successfully enforcing its confidentiality and non-solicitation agreements through a temporary restraining order against former employees who left to work for a competitor
  • Represented a well-known publisher against claims that a novel that was later turned into a movie copied another person's published work and life story; successfully obtained dismissal, which was affirmed on appeal
  • Represented a medical device manufacturer whose competitor had filed claims against it in JAMS arbitration, federal district court and the U.S. Court of International Trade, successfully resolving all claims

  • Represented a private equity company in a dispute with a former physician-owner of a management services organization (MSO) in which the company had acquired a minority interest; successfully obtained summary judgment that the physician was entitled to payment from a promissory note financing the purchase of the interest the company's interest in the MSO

  • Represented a former member of a popular rock duo in a dispute with a former bandmate over the sale of joint assets, seeking to enforce restrictions in their partnership agreement
  • Defended a former employee of a large insurance company who left to become the CEO of a competitor against a motion for injunctive relief
  • Obtained a temporary restraining order on behalf of a mortgage lender enforcing restrictive covenants against former employees who left to work for a competitor
  • Defended a former executive of a Big Four accounting firm against a motion for temporary restraining order alleging breach of his non-competition agreement and trade secret misappropriation
  • Defended a restaurant against claims that it misappropriated another restaurant's trade secret recipes
  • Advised a renewable energy company regarding its non-solicitation and trade secret obligations after hiring away a competitor's executive
  • Represented a medical device company bringing claims against a former distributor for breach of its confidentiality and non-solicitation obligations

Credentials

Education
  • The University of Alabama School of Law, J.D., magna cum laude
  • University of Wisconsin, B.A.
Bar Admissions/Licenses
  • Tennessee
Court Admissions
  • U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
Memberships
  • Tennessee Bar Association
  • Nashville Bar Association
  • The Nashville Food Project, Board Intern, 2024; Board Member and Chair of Strategy Committee, 2025-Present

Publications