Our client brought product liability claims.
Following the well blowout, our client, the Underwriters, paid over $48 million to its insured, the well operator. Together, the operator, other working interest owners, and Underwriters brought product liability claims against the company that had refurbished and remanufactured the blind shear rams used as part of the drilling rig’s blowout preventer.

The district court found in favor of the defendants.
The district court first held that all of plaintiffs’ claims were barred by the release and indemnity provisions of the drilling contract between the operator and drilling company. The district court also excluded the opinions of several plaintiffs’ experts. Based on these rulings, the court then granted summary judgment in favor of the defendant on the product liability claims, and also awarded the defendant and drilling company over $11 million against Underwriters and its co-plaintiffs. At that point, we were retained to pursue an appeal to the Fifth Circuit.

With over $50 million in controversy, our team won an appeal on behalf of Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s of London in connection with a catastrophic well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico.

Our team pursued a Fifth Circuit appeal — and won.
Because the district court held that our client’s claims were barred by the contractual release and indemnity provisions, had struck our client’s experts, and had awarded the opposing parties over $11 million, we had to persuade the Fifth Circuit that the district court erred on all of these issues. After extensive briefing and oral argument, the Fifth Circuit called this case a “byzantine dispute” and:

• Held that the operator did not have any duty to defend or indemnify the defendant or third-party defendant, and that the contract’s release and indemnity provisions did not bar the plaintiffs’ claims.
• Vacated the district court’s dismissal of all affirmative claims of our client and its co-plaintiffs.
• Reversed the district court’s judgment awarding the defendant and third-party defendant approximately $11 million based on their claims for indemnity.

The parties ultimately entered into a settlement agreement that fully resolved the case.

Marc Tabolsky led the Hicks Johnson Appellate team that delivered this favorable outcome for our client.