We were retained by the John M. O’Quinn Foundation, the sole beneficiary under the will of the late, legendary trial lawyer John O’Quinn, to represent its interests in over $400 million of property devised to it under O’Quinn’s will.  Darla Lexington, O’Quinn’s companion, claimed she was entitled to a substantial portion of O’Quinn’s Estate on […]

We represented Kinder Morgan in an arbitration against Myria Holdings, Inc.  Myria owns 80% and Kinder Morgan owns 20% of Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America LLC (NGPL).  Kinder Morgan is the operator of the pipeline pursuant to an Operations and Reimbursement Agreement (O&R Agreement).  NGPL is the largest pipeline operated by Kinder Morgan.  Myria […]

  Following a complex five-week trial, a Houston jury returned a verdict for client SourceGas Distribution LLC (SourceGas) against Noble Energy, Inc (Noble).  The jury determined that Noble breached its Gas Purchase Agreement (GPA) with SourceGas by selling SourceGas natural gas at above-market prices that SourceGas was not obligated to purchase under the GPA.  The […]

  Gibbs & Bruns represented Farouk Systems, manufacturer of the popular CHI hair care products, in an action against Costco concerning the sale of counterfeit products.  After a seven day trial, the jury determined that Costco had sold a counterfeit CHI hair iron.  The jury also awarded Farouk Systems the maximum statutory damages for non-willful […]

  The Honorable R.K. Sandill entered a $196 million judgment for Gibbs & Bruns client D. Bobbitt Noel, Jr. against Dallas billionaire Trevor Rees-Jones and Devon Energy Production Co., L.P. (DVN) on May 18, 2011.  The damages for fraud and breach of fiduciary duty judgment were based on a verdict reached by a Houston jury […]

We represented Kay Dobbs and ProStaff, Inc. in a lawsuit against American General Life Insurance Company and American International Group, Inc. to recover $25 million in benefits owed under two policies insuring the life of Mr. Jeffrey Dobbs.  Plaintiffs also sued for bad faith denial of benefits and other violations of the Texas Insurance Code. AIG […]

  We represented the former Chief Financial Officer of Franklin Bank Corporation, Russell McCann, in two class action securities lawsuits that were filed following Franklin Bank’s failure and bankruptcy in 2008.  In March 2011, the court granted our client’s motion to dismiss in both lawsuits.  The ruling dismissed all of Plaintiffs’ claims, with prejudice, and a final […]

  On March 16, 2011, Judge Daniels in the Southern District of New York approved the plan of distribution supported by Gibbs & Bruns client Carnegie Mellon University in the $815 million Westridge Capital receivership case, SEC v. WG Trading Investors, L.P. et al., 09-CIV-1750 (S.D.N.Y).  In a hearing on March 16th, Gibbs & Bruns […]

  We represented the Claimant, U.S. Pipeline, Inc., in an arbitration proceeding against Denbury Resources, Inc. and affiliated entities.   The dispute arose out of U.S. Pipeline’s construction of a 272-mile long carbon-dioxide transmission pipeline for Denbury.  The construction project, initially estimated at nearly $250 million, was beset with delays and additional work, which we contended […]

We defended the City of Houston in a lawsuit brought by Southern Crushed Concrete (SCC) challenging the constitutionality of the City’s Concrete Crushing Site Ordinance.  In October 2009, the court issued an order and final judgment granting the City’s motion for summary judgment, denying SCC’s motion for summary judgment, and dismissing SCC’s claims with prejudice.  […]