Thomas J. Davis

Partner

Mr. Davis litigates employment and commercial disputes wherever they arise: state and federal trial courts, arbitrations, mediations, and courts of appeals. He has obtained numerous victories at the dispositive-motion stage, tried cases to verdict, and argued and won appeals in multiple federal and state courts of appeals, including in published decisions. His practice spans discrimination and retaliation defense, wage-and-hour litigation, noncompete and restrictive-covenant disputes, franchise and dealer litigation, and trade-dress and business-tort litigation, for clients ranging from Fortune 100 manufacturers and national retailers to media companies, hospitals, and private schools.

Mr. Davis holds an undergraduate degree in Economics from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. He graduated summa cum laude from Indiana University School of Law – Bloomington, and was selected to join the Order of the Coif. Following law school, Mr. Davis served as a law clerk to the Honorable Bruce M. Selya of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Prior to joining KHVPF as a partner, Mr. Davis was an associate attorney at the Jones Day law firm in Washington, D.C., in a practice group dedicated to appeals and difficult legal issues.

Trial Court Highlights

  • Won a no-cause jury verdict for Ford Motor Company in the Eastern District of Michigan on racial-harassment claims, later affirmed on appeal. (Johnson v. Ford Motor Co.)
  • Won summary disposition in Oakland County Circuit Court for Scripps Media (WXYZ-TV) on a former on-air journalist's Elliott-Larsen pay-discrimination claims, later affirmed on appeal.
  • Won transfer of a trade-dress and trademark suit against a Michigan-based manufacturer out of the plaintiff's chosen Texas forum to the Eastern District of Michigan. (Ledge Lounger, Inc. v. Global Lift Corp.)
  • Defeated an individual plaintiff's attempt to conditionally certify a nationwide FLSA collective action and toll the statute of limitations. (Hicks v. Great Lakes Caring)
  • Received summary judgment on failure-to-hire claims alleging age, race, and gender discrimination against a major accounting firm. (Sanford v. Deloitte)

Appellate Highlights

  • Won a published order dismissing an appeal against William Beaumont Hospital as untimely, establishing that motions under E.D. Mich. Local Rule 7.1(h) no longer extend the appeal deadline. Miller v. William Beaumont Hospital, 121 F.4th 556 (6th Cir. 2024)
  • Won an Eighth Circuit decision for Ford affirming dismissal of a dealer's statutory challenge to a new dealership under Minnesota's dealer act. Anderson & Koch Ford, Inc. v. Ford Motor Co., 142 F.4th 1114 (8th Cir. 2025).
  • Won affirmance of summary disposition for Scripps Media and its executives on a journalist's equal-pay and sex-discrimination claims, briefing and arguing the appeal. Ursing v. Scripps Media, Inc. (Mich. Ct. App. 2026).
  • Authored the post-trial motion for judgment as a matter of law that the Sixth Circuit held was wrongly denied, and served on the appellate briefing team that erased the jury's retaliation verdict against Ford Motor Company. Khalaf v. Ford Motor Co., 973 F.3d 469 (6th Cir. 2020).
  • Won a Seventh Circuit decision affirming judgment for Dunham's Athleisure Corporation on a store manager's ADA claims. Tonyan v. Dunham's Athleisure Corp., 966 F.3d 681 (7th Cir. 2020).

  • State of Michigan
  • District of Columbia
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit
  • U.S. District Court, District of Columbia
  • U.S. District Court, Western District of Michigan
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan
  • U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas

Professional Activities & Publications
Mr. Davis serves as a Council Member of the State Bar of Michigan’s Labor and Employment Law Section. He has also briefed and argued numerous pro bono federal appeals, including as court-appointed counsel in the Sixth, Seventh, and Ninth Circuits. He writes frequently on employment law and litigation, including one of the first practitioner analyses of AI-driven hiring discrimination: Workday Discrimination and Generative Bias — Who Is Responsible When AI Goes Bad?, Labor and Employment Lawnotes (Fall 2025).