Career Highlights:

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*Trial lawyer with extensive experience in commercial litigation, business litigation, insurance issues, personal injury and toxic tort defense, underground utility damage cases, insurer bad faith, breach of contract, ERISA, and professional defense matters.

*Experience in complex and high dollar damages cases

*Experience in real estate, contract, business, and ERISA litigation.

*Experience in cases involving damages to underground utilities.

*Experience handling mass tort and MDL litigation, including acting as court appointed defense liaison counsel

*Trial experience in real estate, insurance, contract, fraud, personal injury, and property damage  cases.

*Successful defense of class action matters.

*Successful verdict in real estate limited partnership fraud case.

*Author of legal guide: The Insurance Adjuster's Essential Guide for Handling Texas Claims.

*Author and editor of The Texas Legal Liability Advisor.

*Lecturer and approved presenter of continuing education for insurance adjusters by the Texas Department of Insurance.

 

Education: Preparatory education, University of Notre Dame (B.A. cum laude, 1984); Legal education, Southern Methodist University School of Law (J.D., 1990); Dean's Advisory Council 1988-1989; Quarter finalist, 1988 Mock Trial Competition; Associate Justice, 1989 SMU Moot Court Program.

 

Admissions: Texas Bar in 1990; U. S. District Courts for the Southern District of Texas,  Northern District of Texas, Eastern District of Texas, and Western District of Texas; U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit. 

 

Memberships: State Bar of Texas; Houston Bar Association; Texas Association of Defense Counsel; Member of the Construction Law and Litigation Sections of the State Bar of Texas.

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Reported Decisions: Berry v. Missionaries of the Co. of Mary, Inc., 770 F. App'x 716 (5th Cir. 2019); Keough v. Cyrus USA, Inc., 204 S.W.3d 1, 4 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2006, pet. denied); Bodine v. Employers' Cas. Co., 352 F.3d 245 (5 th Cir. 2003); Doddy v. Oxy USA, Inc., 101 F.3d 448 (5th Cir. 1996); Barfield v. City of Houston, 846 S.W.2d 399 (Tex. App.- Houston [14th Dist.] 1992, writ denied); K & W Enterprises, Inc. v. Appolito, 804 F.Supp. 906 (S.D. Tex. 1992).

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Publications:

Texas Civil Causes of Action and Theories of Liability Reference Guide, 1998;
Texas Damages, 1998;

Texas Construction Claims, co-author, 1999;

​The Insurance Adjuster's Essential Guide for  Handling Texas Claims, 2005-2016; 
The Texas Legal Liability Advisor, author and editor of legal periodical.

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Other Positions: Juvenile probation officer and runaway shelter counselor, Dallas County Juvenile Department, 1984-1988; President, Notre Dame Club of Houston, 1996-1999; Board member of Houston homeless shelter, 1991- 1993; Cub Scout Den Leader, 2006 to 2008; Youth Baseball Coach, 2010 - 2017; Youth Basketball Coach, 2014 - 2019.

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