Jay Holloway has tried more than 100 jury trials to verdict as lead or solo counsel. In 2006, the Alabama Jury Verdict Reporter recognized him as the year’s most prolific trial attorney. Due to the nature of the cases he handles and the number of times he’s appeared before a jury, Jay has learned how important it is to separate emotions from the facts of a case. While it’s impossible to predict the outcome of any litigation, Jay makes it his goal to provide Christian & Small clients with all the facts necessary – good or bad – so they can make informed decisions.
Jay’s practice consists primarily of insurance defense litigation with an emphasis on both commercial and personal transportation. He also handles general corporate liability, premises liability and insurance coverage litigation. Before joining Christian & Small, Jay served as trial counsel to Allstate Insurance Company and general counsel at Molton, Allen & Williams, a mortgage bank and insurance brokerage.
Representative Experience
- Defended a driver reportedly attempting suicide who collided with a van driven by former University of Alabama football star Siran Stacy in Houston County. Stacy’s wife and several of his children died in the accident.
- Defended trucking company and one of its operators who was involved in a tractor-trailer accident in Montgomery County, Alabama. The client driver collided with a van owned by the Alabama Department of Corrections and seven passengers in the van died.
- Defended trucking company and one of its operators who was involved in a tractor-trailer collision that resulted in disability-causing injuries in Chilton County, Alabama.
- Defended trucking company and one of its operators who was involved in an accident involving an oversized load in Jefferson County, Alabama.
- Defended an action brought by 13 families who affected by an apartment building fire in Jefferson County, Alabama. Claims ranged from loss of personal property to personal injury and mental anguish.
- Defended a regional trucking company in Jefferson County, Alabama against a personal injury claim. The action centered on an electric fence at the company’s Birmingham terminal.
- Defended a nationwide telecommunications company in St. Clair County, Alabama whose truck driver lost control of his vehicle and struck another motorist traveling in the opposite direction.
- Defended an operator of a motor vehicle in Jefferson County, Alabama who collided with the rear of another vehicle causing it to cross into oncoming traffic and collide with a tractor-trailer traveling in the opposite direction. The driver of the other vehicle was killed and his passenger suffered an amputation of his right leg.
- Defended an operator of a motor vehicle in Jefferson County, Alabama who lost control of her automobile on a wet roadway and struck an oncoming motorist.
Reported Decisions
- Safeway Ins. Co. of Ala. v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 980 So. 2d 414 (Ala. Civ. App. 2007).
- Ex parte Nationwide Ins. Co., 991 So. 2d 1287 (Ala. 1989).
- Thompson v. Liberty Nat’l Mut. Ins. Co., 552 So. 2d 129 (Ala. 1989).
Presentations and publications
- Presenter at the Primerus Defense Institute Transportation Seminar: Truck v. Pedestrian Accidents, (Feb 2011).
- Presenter at the American Trucking Association Forum for Motor Carrier General Counsel, Meeting Ethical Obligations, (July 2011).
- Presenter at the National Business Institute, Litigating Low-Impact Collision Cases: Trial Preparation and Litigation Tactics, (August 2011).
- Presenter at the Birmingham Bar Association Continuing Legal Education: “Collateral Source,” (Aug 2011).
- Admission in Trial of Collateral Source Payments of Plaintiffs’ Medical Expenses Upheld (Again), Birmingham Bar Association Bulletin, (Winter 2011).
Professional and Community InvolvemenT
- Claims & Litigation Management Alliance: Member
- American Bar Association, Litigation and Insurance Sections
- Alabama State Bar: Member
- Birmingham Bar Association: Member
- Alabama Defense Lawyers Association (ADLA): Member
- Primerus Defense Institute: Member
- Defense Research Institute (DRI): Member
Awards and Recognition
- Ranked “Most Prolific Trial Attorney in 2006,” Alabama Jury Verdict Reporter
- Ranked “Third Most Prolific Trial Attorney, 2002-06,” Alabama Jury Verdict Reporter