Major Wins From Our Appellate Team You Should Know About

Texas Supreme Court Victory in Discovery Dispute

Dana Livingston

• Dana Livingston, head of our Appeals & Legal Issues Group, convinced the Texas Supreme Court to exercise its discretion to weigh in on a key discovery battle. The opinion sorts out the confused law about what discovery is allowed in connection with a special appearance. Earlier in the case, the Austin court of appeals had granted mandamus relief for our opponent and issued an opinion saying that jurisdictional discovery is not permitted if the discovery overlaps with the merits. The Texas Supreme Court agreed with our client that the court of appeals got it wrong. Put simply, the information sought must be essential to prove at least one part of the plaintiff’s theory of personal jurisdiction.  This case will be your guide if you face that situation from now on.

Cokinos | Young Successfully Defended One of the Largest Midstream Energy Companies in North America Against $100+ Million Claim

Gregory Cokinos, Rob Naudin, Russell W. Smith, Christopher Wan, Roger D. Townsend

• Cokinos | Young successfully defended one of the largest and most diversified midstream energy companies in North America against a contractor’s $100+ Million claim. The Appeals and Legal Issues department was brought in to handle pretrial briefing and preserve error during trial.

Significant Appellate Win in the Fourteenth Court of Appeals

Anthony T. Golz

• The Fourteenth Court of Appeals granted mandamus relief to our client ordering the trial court to dismiss the general contractor’s and subcontractor’s claims asserted against our client because they were brought in violation of the parties’ agreed forum-selection clause. Although the project is located in Texas, the forum-selection clause required that any litigation be brought in Oklahoma. The general contractor and subcontractor asserted Texas’s “home rule” statute (section 272.001 of the Texas Business & Commerce Code) as a bar to enforcement of the forum-selection clause. But the appellate court agreed with our client that the general contractor and subcontractor had contractually waived any rights they had under section 272.001 to avoid enforcement of the forum-selection clause. The operative contract language can be used for any of our clients to contract around a comparable “home rule” statute that purports to make “voidable” (rather than “void”) contractual forum-selection or choice-of-law provisions. 

Texas Supreme Court Clean Sweep in Deeded Property Dust Up

Dana Livingston

• Dana Livingston, head of our Appeals and Legal Issues Group, recently brought home a unanimous win from the Texas Supreme Court in a hotly contested dispute that read like a law school exam question about intergenerational transfers of lucrative property interests.  The Supreme Court of Texas agreed with Cokinos | Young principal Dana Livingston that the property interest had not been inadvertently conveyed.

Supreme Court of Texas Win in Challenge to RTP Procedure

Roger D. Townsend

• The Appeals and Legal Issues department successfully convinced the Supreme Court of Texas not to review a case challenging the responsible-third-party procedure as unconstitutional when applied to employers immunized by the Worker’s Compensation Act.

Cokinos | Young preserves win at Supreme Court of Texas in Contest over Real-Estate Ownership

Dana Livingston, Jim Ewbank, Stephanie Cook, and Anthony T. Golz

• Cokinos | Young came out on top in a years-long battle defending a national organization against a faction that tried to claim ownership of the organization’s valuable real estate.  Dana Livingston persuaded the Texas Supreme Court to rule in favor of our client in a win that helps the organization fend off similar battles in other jurisdictions.

Cokinos | Young Saves Approximately $60 million for Major Energy Company

Roger D. Townsend

• Roger D. Townsend led the effort in securing on appeal a savings of almost $60 million for a major energy company. The decision was the first to define the phrase “willful misconduct” that is used in Model Form Joint Operating Agreements throughout Texas.

About Cokinos | Young 

Cokinos | Young has led Texas construction and real estate law for over three decades. And today, our 100+ dedicated professionals operate coast to coast and proudly handle all aspects of construction law for owner/developers, project managers, general contractors, design professionals, subcontractors, sureties, and lenders. We provide both dispute resolution and transactional services to clients through all phases of commercial, industrial, pipeline, offshore, civil, and residential construction. Our reputation was built on relentless commitment to client service and the industries we serve, and that remains our primary driver. Dedicated. Resilient. Expertise. That’s Cokinos | Young. Learn more at cokinoslaw.com.