Background

Tom is an Alabama native and Murray State graduate who worked in music and banking before earning his law degree from Vanderbilt University in 1991. He served as law clerk to the Hon. U.S. District Judge Edward H. Johnstone (sitting in Paducah and Louisville) from 1992 – 1994. He practiced with a regional defense firm in Paducah and Louisville from 1994 – 2000, while also serving as acting general counsel for Murray State University from 1996 – 1997. He joined Whitlow, Roberts, Houston & Straub, PLLC as a Member in 2000.

Maritime Practice

Tom is a member of the Maritime Law Association and has litigated maritime cases in Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Indiana, Tennessee and Mississippi courts involving allisions, submersions, collisions, tow breakaways, Limitation of Liability actions, Section 905(b) actions, vessel seizures, product liability, marina accidents and a variety of Jones Act and unseaworthiness claims. He has represented towing companies in litigation before the Seventh and Eighth Circuit Courts of Appeal and in the Kentucky Court of Appeals.

Employment and Business Disputes

Tom has regularly advised and represented public and private employers regarding personnel issues and in litigation involving alleged discrimination, wrongful termination, civil rights claims and wage and hour disputes. He has represented general contractors, subcontractors, architects and owners in construction defect and contract disputes in arbitration and in state and federal courts. He has significant experience in business litigation, fraud, insurance coverage disputes and general insurance defense. He has served as lead counsel in multi-district False Claims Act litigation consolidated in Washington D.C.; argued successfully before the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and Kentucky Court of Appeals; and in 2007, became one of the few Kentucky counsel to have filed a merits brief for the prevailing parties and appeared at counsel table before the Supreme Court of the United States. Tom served on the Evidence Rules Review Commission for the Supreme Court of Kentucky from 2003 – 2008, and currently serves on Kentucky’s Joint Local Federal Rules Commission. He has held the AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell since 2001.

Sample Cases

Sample court opinions in Tom’s cases include Smith v. Crounse Corp., No. 420CV00090TWPDML, 2022 WL 267599 (S.D. Ind. Jan. 27, 2022); Valdivia v. Paducah Ctr. for Health & Rehab., LLC, 507 F. Supp. 3d 805 (W.D. Ky. 2020); In re Pine Bluff Material Co. LLC, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 62339 (M.D. Tenn.); United Propane Gas, Inc. v. NGL Energy Partners, LP, No. 2019-CA-0816-MR, 2020 WL 7295180 (Ky. Ct. App. Dec. 11, 2020); Dakota, Minn. & Eastern R.R. Corp. v. Ingram Barge Co., 918 F.3d 967 (8th Cir. 2019); Estate of Meyers v. Wepfer Marine of Calvert City, LLC, 2019 Ky. App. Unpub. LEXIS 137; ; CHS v. Yellow Banks River Terminal, 2017 WL 4542225 (W.D. Ky. 2017); Foster v. Jennie Stuart Medical Center, Inc., 435 S.W.3d 629, 631 (Ky.App.,2013); Burkhead & Scott, Inc. v. City of Hopkinsville, 666 Fed.Appx. 407 (6th Cir. 2016); Osborn v. Haley, 549 U.S. 225, 127 S.Ct. 881; 422 F. 3d 359 (6th Cir. 2005), on remand, 2008 WL 974578 (W.D.Ky. 2008).

Licenses, Admissions and Associations

• Kentucky Bar, 1992
• Tennessee Bar, 2019
• United States District Court, Western and Eastern Districts of Kentucky, and Middle and Western Districts of Tennessee
• United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
• United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
• United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
• Supreme Court of the United States
• Kentucky Bar Association, Construction and Employment practice sections
• Maritime Law Association
• Propeller Club of Paducah
• American Waterways Operators, Vendor Membership

Education

• Vanderbilt University Law School, J.D. 1991
  – American Jurisprudence Award in Commercial Paper
  – Bureau of National Affairs Law Student Award
• Murray State University, B.M. 1981

Publications and Presentations

• Western Kentucky Constructor magazine (multiple articles)
• Wrongful Termination Claims in Kentucky: Lessons Learned from the Cold Call, Peel & Holland Employer Forum
• What Civil Court Judges Want You To Know, Program Moderator, National Business Institute presentation

Community Service

• Community Foundation of West Kentucky, Former Member of Board and Executive Committee
• Paducah Symphony Orchestra
  – Board of Directors, former President
  – Member of the Orchestra’s original horn section, 1979-1981
• Paducah First Presbyterian Church, Trustee, Elder and Musician
• Child Watch Children’s Advocacy Center, Former Board Member, Pro Bono Counsel
• Carson Four Rivers Center for the Performing Arts, former Board Member
• Paducah River Industry Crawfish Boil, Organizer 2015-present
• Evidence Rules Review Commission for the Supreme Court of Kentucky, appointed member 2003-2008
• Joint Local Federal Rules Commission for the Kentucky Bar Association, 2021 – Present.

Personal

Tom is married to Paducah native Cindy Baggett Miller, who works as a collaborative pianist and as a Music Director at Paducah’s Market House Theatre. Tom and Cindy serve as original members of The Paducah Singers, a professional choral ensemble. They also enjoy traveling to visit their three grown daughters, Katy, Maria, and Kye, who are all performing artists.