The complexities of commercial litigation require a law firm with the experience and the resources to protect the interests of its clients through the process of negotiation, and if necessary, successful litigation. For nearly two decades, our firm has litigated large commercial disputes on behalf of our clients.
Recently, the firm obtained a trial court judgment for Longview Energy Company. Longview had identified corporate opportunities in the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas, which were usurped by a member of its board of directors. Our firm obtained a jury finding of breach of fiduciary duty, a monetary verdict, and a constructive trust over more than 40,000 acres of highly valuable leases across south Texas. A divided en banc panel of the Fourth Court of Appeals in San Antonio reversed the verdict on a 4-3 vote, which was then appealed to the Texas Supreme Court.
A decade ago, the firm won for its client, Russell Grigsby, an arbitration award of more than $44 million. In that case, attorney’s fees were $9,546,011, litigation expenses withheld were $3,705,626, with net client recoveries of $29,224,646.Russell served as the CEO of a small day-trading company. His partners offered to buy him out for several million dollars. Later, Russell learned that his partners had sold the company for $150 million and that when they had approached him concerning their buy-out of him, a potential third-party purchaser had already approached his partners about buying their company. Russell brought an arbitration proceeding, and our firm and another proved that his former partners had breached their fiduciary duty to him by withholding this material information from him prior to the sale of his shares to them.
Almost two decades ago, the firm won a $20 million counterclaim judgment for BNP Petroleum. BNP had served as the operator on a drilling project in south Texas. Initial well data did not look promising, and BNP’s partners on the well, Edge Petroleum Corp. and Carrizo Oil & Gas Co., exercised their option to pull out of the well. On its own dime, BNP then chose to drill deeper and found a vast hydrocarbon deposit worth more than $100 million. Edge and Carrizo sued BNP in Duval County, with claimed damages of $99 million. Our firm defended BNP on a reverse contingency fee and filed a counterclaim on behalf of BNP. The trial court entered a take-nothing judgment as to the claims brought by Edge and Carrizo against BNP and entered a counterclaim judgment in BNP’s favor in the amount of $20 million.
The firm has handled numerous other large commercial disputes. We have represented franchise owners against national product manufacturers, insurance agencies against national insurers, thousands of medical providers against the health insurers, whistleblowers revealing fraud against the U.S. government, patent holders against those who have stolen their product ideas, and those who have relied upon their contracts with others only to see them breached. Whether it be Qui Tam/Whistleblower litigation, intellectual property litigation, fraud litigation, breach of contract litigation, oil and gas litigation, employment/FSLA litigation, breach of fiduciary litigation, or lender liability litigation, as referenced below, at Watts Guerra LLP, we have the experience, the expertise, and the resources to handle your commercial litigation case as well.
Our combined settlements of cases involving business disputes now exceed $235 million. Of these recoveries in commercial litigation cases, total attorney fees were $88,151,219, the litigation expenses withheld totaled $10,116,749, and net client recoveries were $137,485,816.
Case Type | Injury | Settlement Amount | Attorney Fees | Expenses | Net to Client |
Breach of Contract | Financial Loss | 42,476,283 | 9,546,011 | 3,705,626 | 29,224,646 |
Breach of Payment Contract | Financial Loss | 33,764,850 | 14,822,945 | 1,324,863 | 17,617,042 |
Breach of Fiduciary Duty | Financial Loss | 30,000,000 | 10,491,250 | 392,726 | 19,116,024 |
Sale of Credit Reports | Financial Loss | 27,836,348 | 12,526,357 | 2,132,003 | 13,177,989 |
D&O Negligence | Financial Loss | 25,310,633 | 8,659,153 | 525,179 | 16,126,301 |
Breach of Fiduciary Duty | Financial Loss | 11,175,414 | 4,470,166 | 242,500 | 6,462,748 |
Oil Well Damage | Financial Loss | 10,103,211 | 2,629,949 | 475,173 | 6,998,089 |
Patent Case | Financial Loss | 8,000,000 | 2,960,000 | – | 5,040,000 |
Patent Case | Financial Loss | 7,245,000 | 2,505,648 | 181,210 | 4,558,142 |
Patent Case | Financial Loss | 5,200,000 | 2,080,000 | 112,811 | 3,007,189 |
Business Dispute | Financial Loss | 4,420,000 | 1,768,000 | 577,561 | 2,074,439 |
Overtime Case | Financial Loss | 4,200,000 | 1,008,000 | 200,000 | 2,992,000 |
Business Dispute | Financial Loss | 4,000,000 | 1,540,000 | 177,552 | 2,282,448 |
Business Dispute | Financial Loss | 3,650,000 | 912,500 | 75,806 | 2,661,694 |
Business Dispute | Financial Loss | 3,500,000 | 1,400,000 | 161,581 | 1,938,419 |
Patent Case | Financial Loss | 3,000,000 | 1,200,000 | 180,663 | 1,619,337 |
Patent Case | Financial Loss | 2,900,000 | 1,073,000 | 1,827,000 | |
Patent Case | Financial Loss | 2,650,000 | 1,060,000 | 55,135 | 1,534,865 |
Patent Case | Financial Loss | 2,600,000 | 738,140 | 1,861,860 | |
Business Dispute | Financial Loss | 2,500,000 | 1,000,000 | 92,771 | 1,407,229 |
Patent Case | Financial Loss | 2,115,000 | 782,550 | 1,332,450 | |
Business Dispute | Financial Loss | 2,100,000 | 840,000 | 122,000 | 1,138,000 |
Patent Case | Financial Loss | 2,000,000 | 740,000 | 1,260,000 | |
Business Dispute | Financial Loss | 1,775,000 | 497,000 | 98,278 | 1,179,722 |
Business Dispute | Financial Loss | 1,375,000 | 461,744 | 138,274 | 774,982 |
Business Dispute | Financial Loss | 1,320,000 | 528,000 | 18,500 | 773,500 |
Business Dispute | Financial Loss | 1,290,639 | 254,924 | 3,203 | 1,032,511 |
Business Dispute | Financial Loss | 1,250,000 | 500,000 | 283,642 | 466,358 |
Business Dispute | Financial Loss | 1,000,000 | 400,000 | 43,537 | 556,463 |
Business Dispute | Financial Loss | 1,000,000 | 400,000 | 167,100 | 432,900 |
Business Dispute | Financial Loss | 1,000,000 | 400,000 | 41,313 | 558,687 |
Patent Case | Financial Loss | 1,250,000 | 200,000 | 375,000 | 675,000 |
Patent Case | Financial Loss | 1,450,000 | 429,200 | 1,020,800 | |
Breach of Contract | Financial Loss | 975,000 | 292,500 | 336,128 | 346,372 |
Breach of Contract | Financial Loss | 925,000 | 231,250 | 18,630 | 675,120 |
Patent Case | Financial Loss | 950,000 | 285,000 | 665,000 | |
Patent Case | Financial Loss | 950,000 | 285,000 | 665,000 | |
Patent Case | Financial Loss | 950,000 | 285,000 | 665,000 | |
Patent Case | Financial Loss | 950,000 | 237,975 | 712,025 | |
Patent Case | Financial Loss | 950,000 | 285,000 | 665,000 | |
Patent Case | Financial Loss | 950,000 | 285,000 | 665,000 | |
Qui Tam – Fraud | Financial Loss | 897,000 | 358,800 | 667 | 537,533 |
Patent Theft | Financial Loss | 875,000 | 130,903 | 347 | 743,750 |
Patent Case | Financial Loss | 4,000,000 | 2,000,000 | 2,000,000 | |
Patent Case | Financial Loss | 3,000,000 | 1,500,000 | 932,502 | 567,498 |
Patent Case | Financial Loss | 730,000 | 365,000 | 365,000 | |
Breach of Contract | Financial Loss | 805,000 | 108,540 | 104,502 | 591,958 |
Patent Case | Financial Loss | 793,250 | 237,975 | 555,275 | |
Patent Case | Financial Loss | 750,000 | 496,000 | 254,000 | |
Patent Case | Financial Loss | 750,000 | 447,500 | 302,500 | |
Patent Case | Financial Loss | 750,000 | 225,000 | 525,000 | |
Patent Case | Financial Loss | 750,000 | 225,000 | 525,000 | |
Patent Case | Financial Loss | 817,438 | 225,000 | 592,438 | |
Patent Case | Financial Loss | 675,000 | 249,750 | 425,250 | |
Patent Case | Financial Loss | 650,000 | 240,500 | 409,500 | |
Breach of Contract | Financial Loss | 300,000 | 120,000 | 29,592 | 150,408 |
Qui-Tam Fraud | Financial Loss | 630,000 | 252,000 | 378,000 |
Settlement Amount | Attorney Fees | Expenses | Net to Client | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Total | 235,753,783 | 88,151,219 | 10,116,749 | 137,485,816 |
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