M. Reid Estes, Jr., is a litigation partner with the law firm of Stewart, Estes & Donnell, PLC in Nashville, Tennessee , who has been practicing law for 28 years. Reid is an experienced civil litigator with a national practice who has appeared before numerous federal and state courts and arbitrators throughout the country. He devotes a significant portion of his practice to labor and employment law, complex class and/or collective action litigation, consumer and mass tort litigation.
He also represents clients before state and federal agencies and courts in consumer, Title VII, ADEA, ADA, FMLA, and wrongful termination matters, and advises clients regarding confidentiality, non-compete and separation agreements, as well as litigation avoidance.
Reid was selected as a Mid-South Super Lawyer for 2007 and 2008, and was characterized by Chambers USA (2004) as the lead class action guy. He is also a member of the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel (Class Action and Multidistrict Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution Sections), and the Tennessee Defense Lawyers Association.
Widely recognized as one of the nation's leading litigators in wage-hour class and/or collective action cases, Reid has served as lead counsel in numerous class and/or collective action wage and hour cases on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants across the country. Reid was named as one of the 100 Best Lawyers in Nashville by the Nashville Post which described him as a nationally recognized expert in wage and hour class-action litigation. (Nashville Post, January 2003 edition). Over the past decade, Reid has recovered in excess of $100 million dollars in back wages on behalf of employees in wage class and/or collective action cases while serving as lead and/or co-counsel.
Additionally, Reid is a certified Supreme Court Rule 31 mediator who has mediated and arbitrated a number of disputes, with a focus on resolving employment-related disputes, and is a member of the Tennessee Association of Professional Mediators.
Representative Engagements:
* Successfully represented a Fortune 500 company in federal court by developing an innovative defense strategy which effectively decertified an FLSA class/collective action and prevented court-approved notice from issuing, saving the company hundreds of thousands of dollars in potential damages and defense costs. Clark v. Dollar General Corporation.
* After large corporate defendant prevailed on its motion to compel arbitration of an FLSA opt-in collective action originally filed in federal court, obtained certification on behalf of a nationwide class of lead and assistant managers, then successfully argued that the opt-out provision of the American Arbitration Association's Class Arbitration Rules applied to arbitration proceeding, not the opt-in provision of the FLSA normally applicable in court actions. Long John Silver's Restaurants, Inc., v. Cole, et. al., 514 F.3d 345 (4th Cir. 2008).
* Recovered $13 million dollars in FLSA class/collective action seeking overtime compensation on behalf of a multi-state class of hourly-paid plaintiffs in a then precedent setting case. Case involved years of federal court litigation, consolidation of several federal court actions via successful petition to the Multi-District Panel, and one year of litigation in bankruptcy court prior to completion. Brinkley et al. v. Krystal Company.
* Recovered $18 million dollars in settlement involving three separate multi-state class/collective actions seeking overtime compensation on behalf of hourly-paid and exempt-classified employees of Shoney's restaurant chains, at that time the largest known recovery on behalf of workers in the history of the FLSA. Belcher, et. al., v. Shoney's Inc.
* Brought successful FLSA class/collective action in Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York seeking overtime compensation for 185 misclassified restaurant managers resulting in an approximately $3 million recovery. Hoffman et al., v. Sbarro.
* Obtained $20.2 million dollars in overtime wages on behalf of approximately 1,240 Account Managers in a class action filed in state court in Los Angeles, California, against world's largest soft-drink bottler and distributor. Evans et al. v. Coca-Cola.
* Filed California class action seeking overtime compensation on behalf of approximately 706 Sales Representatives resulting in a $10 million recovery against a large soft-drink bottler and distributor. Estrada v. Seven-Up.
* Brought successful FLSA class/collective action seeking overtime compensation on behalf of approximately 37,000 opt-in hourly-paid plaintiffs resulting in a $13.5 million dollar recovery. Case was litigated for several years in federal court system, which included a successful defense against defendant's motion to compel arbitration, Walker et al. v. Ryan's Family Steak Houses, Inc., 289 F.Supp. 2d 916 (M.D. TN. 2003), which was affirmed on appeal in a leading arbitration decision. Walker et al. v. Ryan's Family Steak Houses, Inc., 400 F.3d 370 (6th Cir. 2005), cert. den. 546 U.S. 1030 (2005).
* Brought nationwide class action in federal district court affecting nearly 20,000 consumers alleging that vehicle lease customers were improperly charged late fees when their monthly payments were received timely but not credited to their accounts in a timely fashion. Ultimately, over 5,000 customers recovered nearly $2 million in damages and penalties. Cope et. al., v. Bank One Corporation .
* Filed successful California class action seeking overtime compensation on behalf of approximately 148 Bakery Managers resulting in a $1.5 million recovery. Sarte et al., v. Cinnabon .
* Successful FLSA collective action seeking overtime compensation on behalf of 873 hourly-paid factory workers resulting in a $1.6 million recovery. Jobe et al., v. TRW, Inc.
Personal Information:
Reid enjoys snowboarding, wakeboarding and hiking with his wife of 20 years and three children and is an avid tennis player.
M. Reid Estes Jr. 
