C. Knox Withers

Partner

Direct: 404.873.8129
Fax: 404.873.8130
Atlanta
171 17th Street NW
Suite 2100
Atlanta, Georgia 30363

Biography

Knox is a partner in the Litigation and Real Estate practices and co-chair of the Retail industry team. He is also a member of the Office and Industrial & Warehouse industry teams. He protects business assets for commercial landlords, tenants, owners, property managers, developers, and financial institutions. He resolves complex business and real estate disputes through both traditional litigation and alternative dispute resolution methods. Knox achieves business-minded solutions in connection with lease disputes, dispossessory and distraint proceedings, contract litigation, and land use cases for his clients. Additionally, he handles loan default matters, promissory note and guaranty disputes, creditors’ rights litigation seeking to collect from account debtors, and foreclosure actions. Beyond the real estate industry, Knox also has experience representing clients in a variety of business litigation settings. He also has significant experience in post-judgment collection matters.

Knox strives to provide superior client service and achieve successful, cost-effective results. He dedicates significant time to the firm’s pro bono efforts, serving as co-chair of the firm’s Pro Bono Committee and having participated in the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation’s Domestic Violence, Saturday Lawyers, and Standing With Our Neighbors Programs. He has also served as the firm’s hiring partner.

Knox also has varied interests outside the practice of law. He enjoys spending time with his wife, Tracy; two daughters, Frances and Catherine; and various pets. Additionally, he is a grilling enthusiast and do-it-yourself dad. On most weekends, you can find him working in his yard, cooking up delicacies on his grill, and tinkering with home improvement projects. He frequently posts videos of his grilling and DIY projects on social media. He is also a rabid Georgia Bulldogs fan.

Experience

Retail Litigation

  • Represented owner of commercial retail development in connection with landlord-tenant dispute and related bankruptcy proceedings
  • Obtained favorable settlement on behalf of commercial landlord against municipal water authority concerning billing irregularities
  • Represents national commercial landlord in disputes with commercial retail tenants concerning issues of possession, rent, and contractual obligations
  • Represents high-end retail shopping center in dispute with former tenant regarding validity of former tenant’s exercise of gross sales termination provision
  • Represents commercial retail property management companies in disputes with tenants
  • Successfully obtained summary judgment for rent and possession against delinquent tenant
  • Successfully obtained $1 million + judgment for accelerated rent after national restaurant’s improper abandonment of premises

Industrial/Warehouse Litigation

  • Represents commercial property owner against purchaser in connection with dispute concerning sale of industrial property
  • Counsel to industrial warehouse owner in dispute with former tenant over improper holdover tenancy and related damages
  • Counsel to industrial warehouse landlord in litigation and bankruptcy proceedings
  • Represents commercial landowner in dispute with neighboring property owner concerning easement issues and interference with property rights claims
  • Represented industrial property owner in lawsuit with tenant regarding contract dispute; successfully mediated case to resolution before trial
  • Served as counsel to food service logistics company and obtained summary judgment as to all claims asserted against client in action by warehouse landlord
  • Represented Georgia-based technology manufacturing company in successfully resolving contract dispute against former customer, including recovery of attorney’s fees
  • Represented Georgia-based technology manufacturing company in resolving contract dispute through arbitration
  • Represented provider of wireless telecommunications service in connection with cell site permit litigation
  • Served as litigation counsel to manufacturer of industrial storage products
  • Represented cold storage logistics company in connection with numerous lease and storage agreement disputes

Office Litigation

  • Serves as counsel to provider of co-working office space in connection with numerous litigation matters
  • Counsel to commercial office space landlord in connection with dispute with tenant concerning condition of premises upon surrender
  • Represented commercial piping supplier in lease dispute with landlord
  • Represented commercial office landlord in securing possession of premises and judgment for past due amounts owed under lease

General Business Litigation

  • Counsel to fringe benefit funds in commercial litigation
  • Represents Georgia wholesale alcohol distributor in litigation and administrative proceedings concerning distribution territory dispute
  • Represented non-party officers and directors in connection with business partnership dispute
  • Represents State of Georgia instrumentality in connection with coastal water well construction litigation
  • Represented international hunting club in dispute with former member concerning contract dispute and Georgia Fair Business Practices Act.  Successfully obtained summary judgment in trial court; judgment affirmed on appeal. Wright v. Safari Club Int’l, Inc., 322 Ga. App. 486 (2013)
  • Successfully represented Georgia-based food importer in connection with Argentinean litigation
  • Represented Georgia-based biological medical device company in complex contract-based litigation concerning global distribution agreement.  Successfully resolved case favorably to client prior to trial
  • Represented Georgia-based international furniture retail consulting firm in breach of contract lawsuit against former employee. Successfully resolved case favorably to client prior to trial
  • Served as litigation counsel to Georgia-based pawn company in variety of litigation matters
  • Obtained summary judgment in favor local television news affiliate in connection with defamation lawsuit
  • Defended local community bank in federal court action against claims for breach of contract and violation of Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. Prevailed on motion to dismiss
  • Represented Georgia electric power supply cooperative in connection with nuclear power plant construction dispute
  • Represented German machinery manufacturer in federal court products liability and personal injury lawsuit. Successfully resolved case favorably to client prior to trial
  • Represented background-screening company in defense of Fair Credit Reporting Act class action lawsuits
  • Represented local housing authority in multiple tenant disputes including claims for wrongful eviction
  • Successfully defended financial institution before trial court and Georgia Court of Appeals in lawsuit alleging wrongful foreclosure and wrongful eviction
  • Successfully represented asset based lender in lawsuits against loan guarantor and commercial account debtor
  • Represents numerous clients, including medical facilities, logistics companies, property owners, property managers, and developers in landlord-tenant disputes and real estate litigation
  • Counsel to numerous clients in post-judgment collection matters, including garnishment proceedings

    Credentials

    • University of Georgia School of Law, Juris Doctor,
      cum laude
    • University of Georgia, Bachelor of Business Administration - International Business,
      summa cum laude
    • State of Georgia 2005
    • United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia 2013
    • United States Supreme Court 2012
    • United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit 2008
    • Georgia Court of Appeals 2006
    • Supreme Court of Georgia 2006
    • United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia 2006
      • Marist Alumni Lawyers Association, Co-Founder, 2014
      • Marist School Alumni Association, President, 2011-13
      • Georgia State Bar, Young Lawyers Division (Litigation Committee Co-chair, 2012-13, District Representative, 2011-12; Litigation Committee War Stories Speaker Series Subcommittee Chair, 2010-11; Leadership Academy, 2010)
      • American Bar Association
      • Cobb County Bar Association
      • Henry Joseph Lumpkin Inn of Court, 2009-11
      • Lawyers Club of Atlanta
      • International Council of Shopping Centers
      • University of Georgia School of Law Student Bar Association, President, 2004-05
      • Journal of Intellectual Property Law, Managing Editor, 2005
      • Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation, Domestic Violence Program
      • Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation, Saturday Lawyers Program
      • Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation, Standing With Our Neighbors Program
      • Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism, Law School Orientation Professionalism Volunteer
      • University of Georgia School of Law, 1L Professional Mentor
      • Georgia State Bar Transition into Law Practice Program, Mentor

    Recognition

    • Rising Star Award, Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation, 2023
    • “Rising Star,” Georgia Super Lawyers, 2012-17
    • Father Hartnett Service Award, Marist School, 2015
    • Breaking the Cycle Award, Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation, 2010

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