S. Derek Bauer

Experience

Healthcare

• Counsel for medical practice in complete defense trial verdict on fraud claim, including obtaining sanctions award of more than $405,000 in fees and expenses of litigation incurred in the defense of the case. Abdalla v. Atlanta Nephrology Referral Center, No. A16A0560, __ Ga. App. __ (2016)
• Counsel for medical device implant benefit management company in multiple successful arbitrations to recover millions of dollars in payments owed by national payors.
• Counsel for hospital system in recovery of more than $2 million in hospital payments owed by four of the largest managed care payors in the U.S.
• Counsel for four nonprofit hospital systems obtaining dismissal of class action litigation in state and federal courts challenging uninsured billing practices. E.g., Satterfield v. Southern Regional Health System, Inc., 280 Ga. App. 584 (2006).
• Lead counsel for a multicampus hospital system in obtaining a complete defense jury verdict and attorneys' fees award of more than $367,000 at trial of alleged breaches of two commercial leases.
• Counsel for plaintiff hospital system obtaining summary judgment in 2010 federal trademark infringement and cybersquatting action involving use of unregistered mark in a domain name.
• Lead counsel for hospital system in recovery of high value outlier claim payment from union health and welfare fund under ERISA, including award of more than $223,000 in litigation fees and costs. DeKalb Medical Center, Inc. v. Specialties & Paper Products Union No. 527 Health and Welfare Fund, 2015 WL 4231774 (N.D. Ga. 2015).

Media and First Amendment

• Counsel for Tegna and 11Alive News in successful motion to unseal the autopsy report of Bobbi Kristina Brown in connection with investigative news report regarding epidemic heroin use among young adults in metro Atlanta.
• Appellate counsel for Carey Lohrenz, the Navy’s first female combat fighter pilot, in reversal of trademark and trade dress infringement jury verdict. Corps Group v Afterburner, Inc., 335 Ga. App. 138 (2015).
• Co-counsel for John and (the late) Patsy Ramsey in successfully defeating defamation lawsuits accusing the couple of murdering their daughter, JonBenet Ramsey. Wolf v. Ramsey, 253 F. Supp.2d 1323 (N.D. Ga. 2003).
• Lead trial and appellate counsel for Hustler magazine in a right of publicity claim arising from publication of a news article and images of the late Nancy Benoit, a well-known professional wrestler and victim of a highly publicized murder in 2007.
• Co-counsel for the plaintiff in a civil lawsuit asserting a claim for sexual battery against NBA star Kobe Bryant in federal court in Colorado in 2004.
• Counsel for WXIA-TV (11Alive), WGCL-TV (CBS 46) and WAGA-TV (FOX 5) on a successful motion to secure media rights to broadcast and stream live the entirety of the murder trial of Hemy Neuman.
• Counsel for Viacom, Inc., and Black Entertainment Television in obtaining summary judgment on a libel claim brought by rapper JT Money arising from news reports of his alleged involvement in a 2007 shooting at Club Opera in Atlanta, Georgia.
• Counsel for VH1 in obtaining summary judgment on claim for defamacast arising from broadcast episodes of the reality show Love and Hip Hop Atlanta.

Memberships

• Federal Bar Association, Atlanta Chapter
  • President (2016)
• American Bar Association
• State Bar of Georgia
  • Intrastate Moot Court Committee: Former Chairman
• Atlanta Bar Association
• American Health Lawyers Association
• Georgia Academy of Healthcare Attorneys
• Media Law Resource Center
• Emory Public Interest Committee (EPIC): Board of Directors