On behalf of a Texas-based construction company in an international arbitration, Ware, Jackson, Lee, O’Neill, Smith & Barrow, LLP partners, Don Jackson and Dennis Barrow, obtained a $19 million settlement against the project owner based on breach of contract, productivity impairment, and misrepresentation claims. The case settled only days before hearing and after full briefing. The total initial claim was for approximately $19,000,000, to which respondent added in settlement a portion of claimant’s additional claim for fees and interest.
Archives
In Shell Trading (US) Company v. Lion Oil Trading & Transportation, Ware, Jackson, Lee, O’Neill, Smith & Barrow, LLP partners win summary judgment of no liability for breach of four crude oil buy/sell agreements defeating claims of nearly $15,000,000. Affirmed on appeal.
Partners Don Jackson and Eileen O’Neill represented our client, an independent oil refiner. Our client entered into 5 buy/sell agreements with Shell Trading to secure crude oil to run in its refinery in September 2008. The basic agreement was that Lion would swap barrels of West Texas Intermediate crude for barrels of Gulf of Mexico crude. Lion delivered the barrels it contracted to deliver, but due to disruptions caused by Hurricane Ike, Shell Trading was unable to deliver its barrels in September. Lion Oil, needing crude oil for its refinery, covered by purchasing crude on the open market. After September, the price of crude dropped dramatically. Shell Trading then took the position that the buy/sell agreements permitted it to deliver the barrels sometime in the future and obligated Lion Oil to take the barrels and to pay the September contract price. Lion Oil offered to accept those barrels at a lower current market price, but refused to accept the late-delivered barrels at the higher contract price. On four of the five contracts the trial court granted summary judgment in favor of our client. That was upheld on appeal. See, Shell Trading (US) Company v. Lion Oil Trading & Transportation, 2012 WL 3958029 (Tex. App. – Houston [14th Dist.], 2013, pet. denied). After the judgment was affirmed, the parties settled the remaining contract. Other team members included associate Michelle Meriam.
In McCollough v. Trek Safaris, et al., Ware, Jackson, Lee, O’Neill, Smith & Barrow, LLP partner Don Jackson won two defense verdicts in a wrongful death case in which our client was sued for negligent misrepresentation and negligent undertaking resulting in the death of a father of five from yellow fever.
Our client, Trek Safaris, is a travel agent specializing in exotic hunting and fishing trips. Trek arranged a trip to the Rio Negro in Brazil to fish for peacock bass, the hardest fighting fresh-water fish in the world. While on the trip, plaintiffs’ husband and father was bitten by a mosquito and contracted yellow fever. He died shortly after his return home, leaving a widow and 5 children. The family sued Trek for failing to adequately warn of the danger of yellow fever and failing to adequately instruct regarding the yellow fever vaccination. We tried the case twice. In the first trial, the jury found against our client but placed 70% of the fault on the plaintiff, 20% on our co-defendant, and 10% on our client. The court entered a take-nothing judgment, but that judgment was reversed on appeal. Upon retrial the jury found no negligence and the court again entered a take-nothing judgment. This time there was no appeal.
Ware, Jackson, Lee, O’Neill, Smith & Barrow, LLP obtained a $6,000,000 arbitration award on behalf of a construction company client, and the defendant ultimately paid the full $6,000,000 arbitration award without deduction.
Ware, Jackson, Lee, O’Neill, Smith & Barrow, LLP attorneys, Don Jackson, Dennis Barrow, and Eileen O’Neill, represented a large, multi-national construction company in an arbitration proceeding against a general contractor who refused to pay for work. The general contractor also sued our client for $5,000,000 in damages. The claims proceeded to arbitration. In the arbitrator’s award, our client received their $6,000,000 plus arbitration claim in the award down to the last penny. The defendant received nothing on its $5,000,000 claim.
Ware, Jackson, Lee, O’Neill, Smith & Barrow, LLP partners, Don Jackson and Dennis Barrow, obtained a $9.25 million settlement on behalf of a large construction company.
Our partners, Don Jackson and Dennis Barrow, represented a large multi-national construction company in a federal court lawsuit resulting from the failure of a general contractor to pay our client for construction services performed on an offshore rig. The case involved complex construction issues. Defendant paid our client $9.25 million in settlement, rather than proceeding to trial. The client received the full settlement payment.
Ware, Jackson, Lee, O’Neill, Smith & Barrow, LLP partners Don Jackson and Paul Smith Successfully represented a general contractor and additional subcontractors in a work place death.
This case involved a work place death resulting from a prefabricated stair falling on the truck driver who transported it to the worksite. On behalf of the wife and three minor children, Plaintiff’s counsel, John O’Quinn, demanded $38 million before trial. After three weeks of trial, the jury could not reach a decision, and a mistrial was declared. WJ represented the subcontracting crane company. They were the targets of the litigation accused of knocking the stair off the truck onto the decedent. After the mistrial, WJ represented both the general contractor and the crane company. WJ persuaded the court to grant summary judgment for the general contractor. A week into the second trial, WJ settled the case for a favorable confidential amount that had been offered two years earlier and remained on the table. Partners Don Jackson and Paul Smith were assisted by a team including partners Tim Lee and Eileen O’Neill.
Ware, Jackson, Lee, O’Neill, Smith & Barrow, LLP partners, Don Jackson and Eileen O’Neill, defended a partnership claim on behalf of a national cellular phone provider with a majority ownership interest in the partnership.
The plaintiffs were minority partners who sought forfeiture of the majority partner’s interest in a legacy partnership. The legacy partnership held a lottery-won FCC license to provide cellular phone services to a county in Texas. The minority partners asserted claims of breach of fiduciary duty and breach of contract against the majority partner. Plaintiffs sought forfeiture of the majority partner’s interest.
Approximately 10 months before trial of the case, this national cellular phone company replaced their lead counsel, a national law firm, with Don Jackson of Ware, Jackson, Lee, O’Neill, Smith & Barrow, LLP based on Jackson’s and the firm’s experience in complex and lengthy trials. Don Jackson and Eileen O’Neill began trial in a state district court in August, 2007. After nearly two months of trial, the case settled favorably for a confidential sum.
In Perez v. Sellers Bros. Ware, Jackson, Lee, O’Neill, Smith & Barrow, LLP partner Don Jackson won a defense verdict in a premises liability case involving a parking lot accident resulting in the loss of a leg.
Partner Don Jackson defended Sellers Bros. grocery stores in this premises liability case. Plaintiff was walking along the sidewalk between the parking lot and the store carrying her baby. A van driven by an elderly man jumped the curb and hit the plaintiff pinning her against the wall of the store. This resulted in the loss of the plaintiff’s leg above the knee. Plaintiff sued Sellers Bros. alleging that Sellers Bros. should have protected the sidewalk by placing bollards between the parking spaces and the sidewalk. The jury found that the lack of bollards did not render the premises unreasonably dangerous. The court rendered judgment on the verdict in favor of Sellers Bros.
Ware, Jackson, Lee, O’Neill, Smith & Barrow, LLP partner, Don Jackson, obtained as lead counsel a $26,000,000 settlement on behalf of two burn victims from a gas explosion.
The case was a claim for negligence, product defect and gross negligence. It involved a gas explosion that severely burned the two plaintiffs over most of their bodies. The defendants, after lengthy discovery and depositions, decided to settle the claim rather than taking it to trial. Plaintiffs received $15,300,000 net, after deduction of attorneys’ fees and expenses. Counsel received $10.7 million in fees and expenses.
Ware, Jackson, Lee, O’Neill, Smith & Barrow, LLP partner, Don Jackson, recovered $3.5 million on behalf of a plaintiff involved in a motorcycle and truck collision.
Our partners, Don Jackson and Dennis Barrow, represented Charles Mallet, Janet Mallet and LaTrecia Mallet in the 61st Judicial District Court of Harris County, Texas.
Our client suffered serious injury when he was hit by a DHL delivery van while riding his motorcycle. Mallet suffered a spleenectomy, dissected pancreas, internal jugular thrombosis, fractured elbow, ulna, femur, tibia, fibula, and ankle. He had to undergo several surgeries and physical therapy and claimed lost wages from his job as a constable.
The parties reached a $3.5 million lump sum settlement. Of this amount, plaintiffs received a net of $1.7 million after fees and expenses.