Areas of Practice:
Alan C. Christian
Member
acc@johnstoneadams.com
vCard
Admitted In:
- 1980, Alabama State Bar
- 1981, U.S. Claims Court and U.S. Courts of Appeals, Fifth and Eleventh Circuits
- 1984, U.S. Supreme Court
- 1998, U.S. Tax Court
Education:
- B.A., University of Alabama, 1977 (major: political science; minor: mathematics)
- J.D., University of Alabama, School of Law, 1980
Additional Information:
Affiliations
- American Bar Association
- Maritime Law Association of the United States
- Southeastern Admiralty Law Institute
- Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association
- Mobile Bar Association
- Named to Best Lawyers: Banking & Finance Litigation; Banking Law; Oil & Gas Law; Admiralty & Maritime Law
- Member, Board of Directors, Country Club of Mobile (2000-2003; 2005-2008)
- President, Country Club of Mobile (2007-2008)
Representative Cases
Transactions
- Closed over $125 million of construction loans for regional lender (1996-2012).
- Representation of purchaser of local television station (1999).
- Orchestrated over $250 million in numerous loan workout/special assets matters for several large national and regional banks (1980-2012).
- Advice to national bank and holding company on conducting business, personal jurisdiction and loan document enforceability in Alabama (1997-1998).
- Advice to regional banks on preferred ship mortgages, account set-off rights and various Article 3, 4 and 9A issues (1980-2012).
Litigation - Banking & Financial
- Successful representation of national bank in two loan fraud cases (1996-1998).
- Successful representation of regional bank in five lender liability tax cases (1984-1992).
- Successful representation of regional bank in takeover litigation (1984).
- Successful recovery of claim against United States for regional bank on letter of credit (1985).
- Successful enforcement of loan agreements and related security documents in various special assets matters (1980-2012).
- Successful representation of regional bank in forgery litigation (2000-2004).
- Successful representation of regional bank in pro-rata commercial guaranty litigation and appeal (2006).
Bankruptcy
- Ongoing representation of regional banks in numerous Chapter 7, 11 and 13 bankruptcy matters (1980-2012).
Litigation - General/Environmental/Natural Resources
- Successful representation of major oil company in defense of four class action gas and sulphur royalty underpayment matters (1996-2006).
- Successfully recovered $6 million for landowners damaged by tenants’ gasoline contamination (1994).
- Successful representation of landowners in defense of migrating gasoline and diesel pollution litigation (2002).
- Successful representation of major oil company in NORM contamination litigation (1996-2003).
- Successful representation in Florida of major insurance company in $1 million CERCLA recovery for perchloroethylene (PCE) contamination by former tenant (1996).
- Successful representation of property manager in CERCLA contribution litigation over Superfund site (1997-2002).
- Successful representation of major oil company in defense and settlement of two unrelated crude oil and gasoline contamination matters (1995).
- Successful representation of two major oil companies in defense, dismissal of two and settlement of two other of class action crude oil royalty underpayment matters (1996-1999).
- Successful representation of major chemical manufacturer in three related construction litigation matters and recovery of attorneys’ fees (1998-1999).
- Representation of major chemical manufacturer in $8 million construction litigation claims in Texas (2003) and Kentucky (2001).
- Representation of major chemical manufacturer in $4 million contract termination claim in Oregon/Delaware/New York (2001).
- Successful dismissal of major oil company in wrongful death litigation (1999).
- Successful representation of closely held corporate shareholders in freeze-out litigation and subsequent $3 million corporate split-up (1991-1994).
- Successful representation of minority shareholder in stock ownership dispute (2000).
- Successful representation of minority shareholder in claims against another shareholder for waste of corporate assets and obtaining $1 million judgment.
- Representation of local warehouse company in defective roofing claim (1999).
- Representation of large drug distributor in breach of loyalty/fiduciary duty, usurpation of corporate opportunity and misuse of trade secrets litigation against former employees (1999-2001).
- Representation of major oil company in litigation with State of Alabama, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (1996-2001).
- Successful representation of major oil company in recovery of cost of service charges to gas and sulphur royalty owners (1996-1997).
- Successful defense of sailboat manufacturers in two separate multi-wrongful death matters in Alabama (1983) and South Carolina (1988).
- Successful representation of major chemical manufacturer in defense and settlement of personal injury burn litigation (1994), electrocution litigation (1993) and amputation litigation (1998).
- Successfully obtained dismissals of two toxic tort claims against major oil company (1996).
- Representation of major oil company in Alabama tax litigation with Department of Revenue (1998-2001).
Administrative
- Assistance to major chemical manufacturer with EPA/ADEM investigations and inquiries (1996-2000).
- Assistance to local business with ADEM permit issues regarding gasoline contaminated property (1998).
- Representation of property manager in EPA enforcement action over Superfund site (1998).
- Assistance to various local landowners with ADEM remediation requirements for gasoline and hazardous materials contamination (1994-2002).
- Representation of local property owner with asbestos related ADEM inquiries and removal (1999).
- Representation of new steel business with ADEM air permit appeals (1999-2000).
- Representation of major oil company in administrative appeal of regulatory order (2006).
Reported Decisions
- Banking and Finance Law
- McCollough v. Regions Bank, 955 So.2d 405 (Ala. 2006)
- Huntley v. Regions Bank, 807 So.2d 512 (Ala. 2001)
- Merchants Nat. Bank of Mobile v. U.S. , 878 F.2d 1382, 64 A.F.T.R.2d 89-5547, 89-2 USTC P 9511 (11th Cir. 1989)
- U.S. v. Merchants Bank of Mobile, 1984 WL 772, 54 A.F.T.R.2d 84-5752, 84-2 USTC P 9674 (S.D. Ala. 1984), aff’d 772 F.2d 1522 (11th Cir. 1985), rev’d 479 U.S. 1061 (1987), judgment for lender, 63 A.F.T.R.2d 89-433 (S.D. Ala. 1988)
- Federal Deposit Ins. Corp. v. Merchants Nat. Bank of Mobile, 725 F.2d 634 (11th Cir. 1984)
- Merchants Nat. Bank of Mobile v. U.S. , 689 F.2d 181, 231 Ct. Cl. 563 (Ct. Cl. 1982)
- Environmental/Natural Resources Litigation
- Morgan v. Exxon Corp., 869 So.2d 446 (Ala. 2003)
- Fuller v. Exxon Corp., 131 F.Supp.2d 1323 (S.D. Ala. 2001)
- State v. Amerada Hess Corp., 788 So.2d 179 (Ala. Civ. App. 2000)
- Clarke County Com’n v. Pruet Production Co., 963 F.Supp. 1136 (S.D. Ala. 1997)
- Blakely Corp. v. Montgomery Tank Lines, 11 F.3d 168 (11th Cir. 1993) (affirming $5.4 million judgment for environmental pollution of clients’ real property)
- Sipple v. Ogden, 628 So.2d 569 (Ala. 1993)
- Exxon Corp. v. Whitehead, 591 So.2d 46 (Ala. 1991)
- Exxon Corp. v. Waite, 564 So.2d 941 (Ala. 1990)
- Pilcher v. Turner, 530 So.2d 198 (Ala. 1988)
- Sheffield v. Exxon Corp., 424 So.2d 1297 (Ala. 1982) )
- General and Commercial Litigation
- Dzwonkowski v. Sonitrol of Mobile, Inc., 87 So 3d 1172 (Ala. 2011)
- Woven Treasures, Inc. v. Hudson Capital, LLC, 46 So.3d 905 (Ala. 2009)
- Dzwonkowski v. Sonitrol of Mobile, Inc., 892 So.2d 354 (Ala. 2004)
- Dzwonkowski v. Sonitrol of Mobile, Inc. , 854 So.2d 598 (Ala. Civ. App. 2002)
- Fulton v. Callahan, 621 So.2d 1235 (Ala. 1993)
- Middleton v. U.S., 822 F.Supp. 1549, 71 A.F.T.R.2d 93-1142, 93-1 USTC P 50, 150 (S.D. Ala. 1993)
- U.S. v. Metropolitan Life Ins. Co., 691 F.Supp. 1339, 63 A.F.T.R.2d 89-1124, 89-1 USTC P 9344 (S.D. Ala. 1988), aff’d 874 F.2d 1497 (11th Cir. 1989)
- Alabama Power Co. v. Marine Builders, Inc., 475 So.2d 168 (Ala. 1985) )
