Trials

It takes experience, agility, and tenacity to prevail at trial. Our results speak for themselves, with dozens of successful jury trials over the past ten years.

Logan E. Johnson,Andrew S. Hicks

We try cases for both defendants and plaintiffs, from market-leading companies to venture funds, startups, and individuals. Widely regarded as formidable courtroom opponents, we are often called upon to take over complex, hard-to-win cases on the eve of trial. Because we routinely take cases to trial, we prepare every case for that eventuality. Through careful analysis, our trial lawyers develop arguments that lead to successful outcomes, either at the bargaining table or in the courtroom. Recent successes include two favorable settlements—both reached on the eve of trial—in a $300 million defense and indemnification obligations case as well as a multifaceted, eight-figure joint operating agreement dispute.

Our Chambers USA-ranked team has a strong record of success in state and federal courts in more than 20 states. Our verdicts have been profiled by the National Law Journal, Reuters, Bloomberg, CNBC, and Marketwatch.

True Trial Lawyers

Our trial team consistently wins cases at trial, in federal and state courts nationwide, and across a broad range of industries, including agriculture, petrochemical, shipping, pharmaceutical, and manufacturing. Widely regarded as formidable courtroom opponents, we have defeated billions of dollars in claims for defendants since the founding of our firm.

National Coordination and Trial Consulting

With decades of experience managing complex tort dockets and multidistrict litigations, we frequently serve as national coordinating and trial consulting counsel to develop, implement, and coordinate winning defense strategies across high-stakes dockets.

Because Hicks Johnson regularly goes to trial in complex civil cases, clients often ask our attorneys to serve as national coordinating counsel for tort dockets that feature dozens if not hundreds (or even thousands) of tort claims with billions in potential liability at stake, including nationwide dockets of workplace injury cases. We have a reputation for developing and consistently implementing both creative and effective national strategies to defend our clients. From developing best practices for factual investigation to coordinating common discovery, preparing common witnesses and experts, and supervising local defense counsel in the leadup to trial, our seasoned trial attorneys ensure that each case in the docket is prepared effectively.

Our trial attorneys also serve as trial consulting counsel, identifying cases with the highest value and potential risk, and directing trial counsel — either by stepping in as lead counsel on the eve of trial or developing effective and consistent thematic messaging for the local trial team.

Related Experience

Bankruptcy

Defended the reorganized debtors of a bankrupt oilfield services company in more than a dozen different adversary proceedings filed by various machine vendors. The claims related to roughly $50 million in custom fabricated frac’ing machinery parts that our client had ordered from various fabricators prior to its bankruptcy. In the first case teed up in the docket pending in bankruptcy court, we took numerous depositions spread across rural Texas, then persuaded the bankruptcy judge at the trial level that the equities, while favoring the claimant, did not override our legal arguments, ultimately obtaining a zero liability judgment for our client. We used the favorable outcome in this case as a strategic bellwether to force the additional claims into favorable settlements, including some where claimants sought in excess of $10 million. We obtained partial affirmance of the trial victory—with the first claimant receiving just 20 percent of what they initially sought in proof of claim—following appeal to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division. This decision affirmed most aspects of the trial court’s ruling, thus resolving the matter completely.
Representing the litigation trustee in the sprawling, multi-year bankruptcy case against a Texas-based auto dealership that was once a $700 million per year business. As special litigation counsel to the debtors, and now as counsel to the litigation trustee, we have been retained to pursue claims against the banks that participated in the scheme in order to recover funds for our client’s innocent creditors, seeking more than $100 million on behalf of the bankruptcy estate and creditors’ trust. To date, the CFO and 14 others have pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges. In addition to fraudulent conduct the banks are alleged to have participated in, the CFO’s fraudulent scheme also involved the auto industry’s largest ever floor-plan financing fraud.
Representing the litigation trust formed by the bankruptcy court after an investment firm that owned a controlling interest in two oil and gas companies pulled strings to force one company to buy the other, all so the investment firm and related individuals could avoid taking a significant loss. Firm-installed managers and directors at the acquiring company approved the purchase based solely on the target company’s own inflated valuation. While a third-party analyst and internal whistleblowers all concluded this self-valuation (in excess of $100 million) was nearly double what it should have been, the acquisition was foisted upon the first company—amounting to a forced bailout—and it went bankrupt. On behalf of the litigation trust, we filed a $40 million lawsuit against various officers, managers, and entities, alleging fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and breach of contract, seeking to claw back damages for the wrongful conduct of the investment firm and its affiliated directors and managers to help make the acquiring company’s creditors whole.
Represented a litigation trust pursuing claims for breach of fiduciary duty, corporate waste, and mismanagement against defunct coal mining companies’ former management and the court-appointed chief restructuring officer.
Retained by the debtors’ estate as special litigation counsel to evaluate and pursue lender liability claims.
Represented certain directors and officers in a multibillion-dollar preference action then pending in Delaware bankruptcy court.
Represented certain limited partners pursuing claims against auditors and the former CEO of a now-defunct midstream company in an Oklahoma state court action; the claims involved accounting malpractice, breach of fiduciary duty, and corporate waste. Over the course of a five-year contingency effort, we pursued causes of action in Oklahoma state court while responding to parallel proceedings in Delaware bankruptcy court and federal district court and, ultimately, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.

Construction

Represented a national, publicly traded engineering, procurement, and construction contractor, winning a substantial federal court jury verdict against the project owner. The verdict was recognized by the National Law Journal as one of its “Verdicts of the Week” and included on the “NLJ 100” list of the largest verdicts of the year.
Represented client in a $200 million expert determination concerning the construction of a gas processing plant in west Texas and the execution of a Gas Treatment and CO2 Delivery Agreement. Despite conceding liability for substantial penalties owing due to our client’s failure to deliver contractually required volumes of CO2, we obtained a reduction in liability of approximately $20 million by arguing offsets from a separate contract between the parties and compensation for CO2 deliveries from a time period not contemplated by the contract.
Represented an international, publicly traded engineering, procurement, and construction company in international arbitration concerning $30 million dispute related to turnaround of major international refinery. After a full hearing, the tribunal found for our client in majority of claims.
Represented an oil field equipment supplier in a dispute related to a substantial construction project in Canada. The claimant, a general contractor, alleged that late deliveries and deliveries of off-spec goods by our client caused in excess of $10 million in damages, including both delay damages and other liquidated damages. After extensive analysis and review of documents as well as significant negotiations with our opposition, we settled the case on very favorable terms prior to the filing of suit.
Represented an engineering and construction firm in a complex construction dispute in Halifax, Nova Scotia, seeking $170 million in damages for breach of contract arising from the construction by our client of an offshore gas production facility for a leading North American energy producer. The case involved more than nine million documents and numerous witnesses in Kuala Lumpur, Monaco, the Netherlands, Houston, Halifax, and Calgary, among others.
Represented a major government contractor in a breach of contract action related to a civil construction project in Iraq; obtained, with other lawyers, the dismissal of the case on jurisdictional grounds. Client subsequently reached a favorable settlement.
Represented the United States in $100 billion multidistrict product liability litigation featuring 40,000 plaintiffs who alleged injurious formaldehyde exposures due to the government’s provision of emergency trailers following Hurricane Katrina. Obtained the dismissal of tens of thousands of claims by drafting a series of motions based on never-before-used state emergency management statutes. Later argued before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and obtained a published affirmance.

Energy

Representing the operator of several oil and gas wells in the Permian Basin (a large sedimentary basin in western Texas and southeastern New Mexico) in a case with more than $40 million at stake. We alleged that a subsidiary of Shell Oil Company had improperly injected saltwater waste from some of their nearby wells into our client’s producing formation zone instead of its own, which flooded out our client’s zones of production, thus damaging the reservoir and the ability to recover minerals our client had the right to develop.
Representing one of the largest exploration and production companies in the U.S. in a far-reaching indemnity dispute regarding decommissioning costs for federal offshore oil and gas leases off the coast of Santa Barbara, California. With more than $200 million in controversy (the cost to decommission the leases), the case hinges upon 30-year-old, multimillion-dollar purchase and sale agreements for the transfer of the subject leases that contain intricate, multifaceted indemnity obligations. This litigation lies at the intersection of regulatory issues arising out of the BSEE’s decommissioning order and complicated indemnity provisions between the two parties’ predecessors.
Representing an energy company in a dispute with an oil purchaser after the latter contracted the purchase of oil from certain wells operated by our client. Within a few months, the purchaser began paying our client lower rates for the oil after its downstream purchaser had requested the use of a different pricing index. While the purchaser contends that this agreement was made orally, the parties’ contract requires any such amendment to be made in writing. Our client withheld the amount owed under another purchase agreement and was sued by the purchaser. We were retained to defend our client’s entitlement to the withheld sum and its reliance on carefully negotiated contract terms pertaining to how the parties can amend the contract. The amount in controversy exceeds $1 million and involves compelling questions of contract modification and the role of custom and practice.
Representing an oil and gas operator in a $20 million dispute with an exploration and production company that involves claims arising from failure to pay joint interest billing to the mechanics of horizontal drilling to construction of the Model Form Joint Operating Agreement (JOA) promulgated by the American Association of Professional Landmen. One of the main claims concerns novel issues of JOA construction and the ramifications of an Authorization for Expenditure’s noncompliance with the strict terms of the JOA. This case is on the vanguard of a new trend in oil and gas litigation whereby judges and juries will be forced to grapple with the complexities that arise when decades-old operating agreements meet new technologies.
Represented the operator and joint owner of a large-scale oil and gas construction project in South Louisiana who alleged that the other owner owed millions of dollars in unpaid joint interest billings related to their assets. In response, the other owner filed a counterclaim arguing that our client had been grossly negligent or engaged in willful misconduct in its role as operator, resulting in damages of over $90 million, and was awarded $62 million in damages (which grew to $80.4 million with interest) after a month-long jury trial in Harris County, Texas. We appealed the judgment, and the Fourteenth Court of Appeals in Houston slashed the award to about $13.5 million.
Represented a Fortune 100 oil and gas company in a $300 million breach of contract case related to the construction of major pipeline in west Texas and the producer’s failure to drill wells to supply gas to the pipeline. The case involved issues related to well economics, completion and fracking techniques, pipeline capacity, and pipeline construction. Settled on the eve of trial on highly favorable terms.
Represented one of the largest independent midstream companies in North America in a lawsuit related to the purchase of natural gas gathering and processing assets. Plaintiff asserted claims of breach of contract, fraud, tortious interference with contract, and tortious interference with prospective business relationship, and sought damages of $500 million. Obtained summary judgment on behalf of client, with court dismissing all of Plaintiff’s claims.
Led a lawsuit pending in Illinois state court arising out of declaration of force majeure at one of nation’s largest coal mines, with $80 million-plus in controversy.
Handled an $11 million-dollar matter brought against client related to the purchase of one of client’s portfolio companies and an alleged breach of an escrow agreement by client. Prevailed at the trial court level on a motion for summary judgment. Plaintiff appealed and we prevailed again in a published opinion.
Represented a Houston-based exploration and production company in a $20 million breach of warranty and product liability case against several steel manufacturing companies. Our client’s 18,000-foot horizontal well was rendered a complete loss when the defendant manufacturers’ casing separated during hydraulic fracturing operations. This case involved complex issues concerning the steel manufacturing process and attendant metallurgy, drilling and completions operations, and even the application of the laws of India to certain claims. After taking and defending over 30 depositions in roughly 45 days and defeating the defendants’ numerous dispositive motions, we settled favorably with all but one defendant.
Represented plaintiffs—two individuals and partners in a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project development company—in a usurpation of corporate opportunity and theft of trade secrets case. Filed suit in Texas state court against our clients’ former partners and the “new” company they had formed, alleging that they had improperly transferred the intellectual property and other assets created by the partnership for their benefit. Through extensive research, we were able to show numerous similarities between the original venture and the defendants’ “new” organization, including virtually identical business plans, marketing materials, and substantive work. We sought damages of $168 million; the case quickly resolved through a stock settlement that more than made our clients whole.
Retained just four months before trial, represented the defendant, an oil and gas exploration and development company, in a conversion and negligence case. Plaintiff sought $25 million in actual damages and unspecified punitive damages based on a claim that our client produced gas (through casing leaks) from zones owned by plaintiff. After an eight-week jury trial, the jury returned a verdict in our client’s favor on all counts.

Healthcare

Represented a Houston-based hospital against a national health insurer seeking to recover $15 million in claims payments for emergency care, alleging that it had been defrauded because freestanding emergency departments were not “hospital-based” for purposes of claim reimbursement. Our lawyers successfully invoked the Buckman preemption to argue that the insurer’s claims—which were based on alleged misrepresentations to Medicare—were precluded by our client’s Medicare designation as a provider-based entity (PBE). Won summary judgment on all claims and case was dismissed.
Represented a publicly traded healthcare company in a fraud and breach of contract action against the financial advisory firm that took the company public. The case settled on favorable terms after we obtained a temporary injunction preventing the defendants from trading or pledging the stock they held in our client company.
Defended a hospital against claims brought by a health insurer seeking the disgorgement of approximately $20 million in claims paid due to allegedly improper coding of claims. We represented our client in parallel proceedings in state and federal court and ultimately negotiated a favorable settlement prior to trial.
Defended a hospital management company and its two majority shareholders in a fraud and breach of fiduciary duty action brought by the estate of the company’s former CEO. The plaintiff’s estate sought millions of dollars in partnership distributions it claimed were owing to the decedent due to an alleged oral agreement to provide him an equity stake in the company. We negotiated an extremely favorable settlement for our client while our motion for summary judgment was pending.
Represented a freestanding emergency department in a dispute with a health insurer regarding underpayment of claims, simultaneously defending against insurer’s claim of improper coding and violations of Texas law. With approximately $7 million in controversy, we negotiated a confidential settlement for our client the weekend before trial.
Represented a medical staffing company in a breach of contract and fraud action and related shareholder oppression dispute with several minority shareholders. In addition to assisting our client in avoiding a shareholder’s attempt to place the company into receivership, we obtained a temporary restraining order precluding another of the company’s minority shareholders and former employee from competing against our client and otherwise using our client’s confidential and proprietary information.
Handled several matters for the nation’s largest ambulatory surgery provider, from multimillion-dollar ownership disputes to real estate disputes. Most recently, we defended our client against claims brought by a hospital landlord seeking approximately $5 million in damages related to licensure issues and client’s termination of the lease. We prevailed on our motion for summary judgment, obtaining dismissal of all of the plaintiff’s claims.