On May 14, 2025, after a two-week trial, a Texas jury in the 80th District Court of Harris County returned a take-nothing defense verdict in favor of Gibbs & Bruns client Hi-Crush Permian Sand LLC (“Hi-Crush”).
The lawsuit was filed on June 10, 2022, by plaintiff Universal Pressure Pumping, Inc. now known as Nextier Completion Solutions, Inc. (“Universal”). Hi-Crush and Universal were parties to a twelve-month frac sand supply contract effective from May 2021 to April 2022. In early 2022, Hi-Crush and Universal entered into negotiations, which later fell apart, to extend their contract beyond that twelve-month term. Universal argued that a binding amended contract was formed based on a series of emails on February 1, 2022 and that Hi-Crush later breached that amended contract. The amended contract would have covered 550,000 tons of frac sand over the remainder of the year 2022.
Hi-Crush argued that there was no amended contract formed based on the February 1, 2022 emails. In addition, Hi-Crush argued that even if there were an amended contract, Hi-Crush did not breach it.
The jury agreed with Hi-Crush that there no amended contract was formed based on the February 1 emails. The jury did find that Hi-Crush later “ratified” an amended agreement, but then went on to find that Hi-Crush did not, in any event, breach the alleged amended contract. That finding is dispositive of the entire case in Hi-Crush’s favor.
Universal’s damages expert had offered three alternative damage models at trial ranging from $8.8 million to over $13 million.
Hi-Crush was represented by Brian T. Ross, Jorge Gutierrez, Ross MacDonald and Conor McEvily of Gibbs & Bruns.
Universal was represented by Ahmad, Zavitsanos & Mensing, PLLC.
