We represented a group of outside directors in a shareholder dispute over ownership of a closely held corporation. Disgruntled shareholders sued the outside directors, as well as a group of inside directors, for authorizing a transaction that saved the company but diluted the plaintiffs’ interests, accusing them of breach of fiduciary duty and conspiracy to commit fraud and seeking over $25 million in alleged damages and attorneys’ fees. A district court in Harris County first granted summary judgment for the outside directors based on Ware Jackson’s argument that they were protected by the business judgment rule. The court later granted a separate summary judgment filed by all defendants based on ratification of the challenged transaction. As a result, all claims against the outside directors were dismissed. The trial team included Don Jackson, Paul Smith, and Michelle Blair.

This victory was obtained after remand from the court of appeals following a full defense verdict in a jury trial led by Don Jackson, along with Paul Smith and Eileen O’Neill: Ware Jackson Wins Take-Nothing Verdict for Outside Directors in Family Business Dispute

A plaintiff who was incarcerated after driving while heavily intoxicated and causing a fatal collision sued Ware Jackson’s client that had worked on a project with the plaintiff’s employer. The plaintiff asserted claims of general and gross negligence, alleging that the client had contributed to causing his intoxication and the subsequent accident. The district court in Jefferson County, however, granted Ware Jackson’s motion to dismiss, which argued the plaintiff’s claims had no basis in fact or law because the client owed him no duty and did not cause the accident. Accordingly, all claims against the client were dismissed. The trial team included Paul Smith, Michelle Blair, and Jared Peloquin.

A Houston trial court has granted summary judgment in favor of Ware Jackson’s client, a major international energy company. The plaintiff company had claimed the client breached a settlement agreement from a prior patent infringement suit, which it asked the court to rescind, and sought over $11 million in alleged lost profits and expenses, as well as attorneys’ fees. Ware Jackson successfully argued on summary judgment that the client did not cause any injury to the plaintiff and that the plaintiff’s contract claim was barred by res judicata and the statute of limitations. The litigation team included Eileen O’Neill, Paul Smith, Michelle Blair, Tyler Henkel, and Jordan Parker.