Our Attorneys
Listed alphabetically are the attorneys of Butler Williams & Skilling, P.C. To learn more about a particular attorney click on their name in the main menu bar.
- James C. Skilling
- Partner
- jskilling@butlerwilliams.com
Mr. Skilling is a partner of the Firm and focuses his trial practice on complex civil litigation in state and federal trial and appellate courts. Among his diverse clients are a significant number of domestic corporations as well as a number of corporations that are self-insured or part of a risk retention group. Mr. Skilling has extensive trial experience on matters that include general commercial defense, business litigation, and coverage opinions. Mr. Skilling also represents clients in complex commercial and business litigation, including patent infringement defense and class action defense under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Mr. Skilling also routinely handles construction litigation disputes, physician shareholder disputes involving non-competition agreements, and employment defense matters.
Representative Engagements:
- Mr. Skilling has served as local counsel to national patent litigation firms in matters pending in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (commonly known as the “Rocket Docket”). For example, Mr. Skilling was retained as local counsel on behalf of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. against Rambus, Inc., in Civil Action No. 3:05CV406. Mr. Skilling has also represented various corporations, not directly involved in the litigation, to monitor certain patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright, and other intellectual property matters pending in the Rocket Docket.
- Mr. Skilling routinely defends actions brought against corporations by debtors under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Mr. Skilling defended a class action complaint filed against GC Services Limited Partnership, Civil Action No. 97-CV-00010-E, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia. The class action was consolidated through a multidistrict litigation order with other class actions involving collections on MCI Telephone accounts. The court granted GC Services’ summary judgment motion on the issue of an additional 35% charge imposed by MCI, a charge that was held reasonable because it reflected MCI’s actual expenses in collection of the debt. See Talbot v. GC Services Limited Partnership, 53 F.Supp. 2d 846 (1999). Ultimately, the matter was satisfactorily resolved prior to trial.
- Mr. Skilling represented a national contractor that performed clearing work for the construction of a natural gas pipeline over a distance of 100 miles through Tennessee, Virginia, and North Carolina. In addition to filing individual mechanics’ liens on those parcels on which the clearing subcontractor performed work (and over which the pipeline was constructed), suit was brought in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia against the pipeline owner and the general contractor for breach of contract and on a joint venture theory. Ultimately, the matter was successfully resolved on behalf of the client.
- In another construction dispute, Mr. Skilling represented a Virginia excavation contractor that purchased construction equipment from an individual in Tennessee for use in its business operations. In the course of a dispute regarding the sale of the construction equipment, the Tennessee seller brought criminal charges against the Virginia contractor for alleged theft and hindering the interest of a secured creditor, in addition to other criminal charges. The contractor was arrested and extradited to Tennessee. Mr. Skilling brought an action in federal court against the Tennessee seller, various law enforcement officers, a bank, and others on claims including false arrest, abuse of process, false imprisonment, defamation, and fraud. The case resolved favorably for the Virginia contractor.
- In an employment matter involving an employer’s efforts to enforce a covenant not to compete, Mr. Skilling successfully represented the defendant employee and convinced the trial court to vacate its order enjoining the employee from competing in a four-county geographic area involving the sale and installation of building materials.
- In an action brought against various defendants for violations of the Securities Act and for common law fraud, Mr. Skilling successfully defended an out-of-state attorney who had served as the escrow agent for the alleged securities transaction. After summary judgment was briefed and argued, the matter was resolved before trial as to the client attorney. Subsequently, plaintiffs successfully obtained a judgment against the remaining defendants at trial for a substantial sum, including a substantial award of punitive damages.
- In a case involving enforcement of a non-competition clause by a physicians’ group against its employee, Mr. Skilling succeeded in resolving the case in favor of the physician employee, allowing him to return to practice medicine within one year of his improper termination from the group and within the same hospital community and locality where he had previously practiced.
- In a matter defended under the Federal Produce Act, Sid Goodman & Co. v. Callis Produce, Inc., Civil Action No. 3:96-cv-00426-RLW, a trucking company and its shareholders were the named defendants. The unpaid plaintiffs sought to recover funds from the individual shareholders, officers, and directors. Mr. Skilling was able, after discovery, to favorably resolve the matter with the client paying only a small percentage of the total amount alleged to have been owed.
- In a matter involving the breach of a commercial lease agreement between an owner (represented by Mr. Skilling) and the tenant (a national equipment rental corporation), a mediation resulted in an agreement that the parties would submit all claims to binding arbitration with payment due within ten days of the award, and without any right of appeal. The arbitrator, a retired state court judge, awarded a substantial sum to the owner which was, pursuant to the terms of the mediated agreement, paid within ten days of the arbitration award.
Education
J.D., University of Richmond School of Law, 1987
(University of Richmond Law Review)
B.A., College of Wooster, 1984
Admitted
- Supreme Court of Virginia, 1987
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, 1988
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia, 1988
- U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia,1988
- U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Virginia, 1988
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, 1991
Professional Memberships and Affiliations
- Virginia Bar Association
- Richmond Bar Association
Publications
- “Chapter 15: Homeowners’ Insurance” in Insurance Law in Virginia, Virginia CLE
- “The Appraisal Process in Virginia,” The Journal of Civil Litigation, Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys, 1997