Brice Wilkinson focuses his practice on complex commercial litigation. He has successfully represented clients in various industries, including oil and gas, computer software, healthcare, private equity, and automotive. Brice has experience in breach of contract, trade secrets, antitrust, fiduciary duty, products liability, class actions, federal computer statutes (including the CFAA, DMCA, and Copyright Act), and other business tort matters. Brice also has appellate experience in state and federal courts.
Following law school, Brice was a law clerk to Judge Raymond M. Kethledge, United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, from 2010 to 2011.
In college, Brice was a three-year starting offensive lineman on the Yale football team.
Jury Trial Win in High-Dollar Trade Secrets Case
FMC Technologies vs. Richard Murphy and Dril-Quip
Represented Richard Murphy, a subsea tree engineer, in a misappropriation of trade secrets case brought by FMC Technologies, his former employer, against Mr. Murphy and Mr. Murphy’s new employer, Dril-Quip. FMC Technologies sought almost $40 million in damages and an injunction against both Mr. Murphy and Dril-Quip. After a three-week trial, the jury ruled entirely in favor of Mr. Murphy and Dril-Quip, finding that FMC did not prove the existence of any alleged trade secrets. The take-nothing judgment was affirmed on appeal.
Arbitration Victory in Casing Failure Dispute
Jonah Energy LLC v. CTAP, LLC
Hired as replacement counsel two months before a 7-day arbitration hearing, at which we proved that the defendant’s casing was defective, causing it to fail during fracking operations and render our client’s new horizontal gas well largely inoperable. The arbitration panel awarded our client over $11M in damages for our breach of contract and warranty claims. We successfully defended the panel’s award against the defendant’s subsequent motion to vacate in Colorado state court as well.
Successful Motion to Dismiss in High-Profile Defamation Case
Michael Feinberg v. KIPP, Inc. et al.
Represented KIPP, Inc., a charter school network, and the KIPP Foundation, a nonprofit organization that raises funds for KIPP schools, in a defamation suit brought by Michael Feinberg, a co-founder and former executive of KIPP. Mr. Feinberg was terminated from both organizations following an independent investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct, and he alleged that KIPP made defamatory statements in connection with his termination. KIPP moved to dismiss pursuant to the Texas Citizens Participation Act (“TCPA”), and the trial court granted the motion and dismissed all claims.
Appellate Victories and Favorable Settlement in Oil & Gas Trade Secrets Case
Sanchez Oil & Gas et al. v. Terra Energy Partners et al.
Represented Sanchez in a trade secret and breach of fiduciary duty case against Terra and three individuals. Sanchez obtained a temporary restraining order and temporary injunction. We successfully obtained several favorable interlocutory appellate rulings, after which the case settled prior to trial:
Federal Multidistrict Litigation Involving Antitrust, Intellectual Property, and Computer Trespass Claims and Counterclaims
In re Dealer Management Systems Antitrust Litigation
Represented The Reynolds & Reynolds Company in antitrust MDL involving competing claims among and between various stakeholders regarding access to data and computer systems in the automotive industry. Prior to formation of the MDL, Reynolds successfully overturned the lead plaintiff, Authenticom’s, request for a temporary injunction before the Seventh Circuit. In addition to antitrust claims, our client asserted counterclaims under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Copyright Act, and various related state-law claims. The matter was successfully resolved on behalf of our client prior to trial.
Dispositive Motion Victories in Automotive Class Actions
Verde v. FTE Automotive USA, Inc. et al.
Royal v. FTE Automotive USA, Inc. et al.
Represented FTE, a tier-one automotive supplier, in a series of putative class actions in Texas and Oklahoma federal court alleging breach of warranty and other product liability theories. We successfully moved to dismiss the Oklahoma action (based primarily on timeliness issues), and we successfully moved for an early summary judgment in the Texas action (based primarily on successor liability issues related to the Chrysler bankruptcy).
Partial Summary Judgment in Breach of Contract Case for Oil and Gas Leases and Pipeline Assets
SM Energy Company, et al. v. Endeavour Operating Corporation
Represented SM Energy Company, Potato Creek LLC, Open Flow Gas Supply Corporation, and SJ Exploration LLC in an action against Endeavour Operating Corporation. The case arose from Endeavour Operating Corporation’s breach of two purchase and sale agreements to purchase our clients’ interests in oil and gas leases, a pipeline, and related facilities in the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania for a total purchase price of $110 million. After winning a significant partial summary judgment establishing the validity of the challenged leases, the case settled shortly before trial for a total value of $19.25M to our clients.
Successful Defense of Investors and Former Board Chair Following Medical Device Company Acquisition
Abbott Laboratories and Abbott Vascular, Inc. v. Christopher M. Owens, et al.
Represented three private equity healthcare funds and their managing director in a fraud case brought by Abbott Laboratories and Abbott Vascular, Inc. related to Abbott’s acquisition of IDEV, Inc., a medical device company specializing in vascular stents. We successfully moved to dismiss all of Abbott’s claims against our clients in Delaware court, and Abbott declined to appeal the dismissal of its claims against our clients.
Successful Motion to Dismiss on Antitrust Claims for Automotive Software Provider
The Reynolds & Reynolds Company v. Superior Integrated Solutions, Inc.
Represented a major provider of automotive dealership management systems in federal litigation involving claims of copyright infringement, complex antitrust issues, tortious interference with contracts and other issues. We successfully moved to dismiss the antitrust and other counterclaims alleged against its client and the case later settled amicably.
Successful Arbitration Defense of Healthcare Private Equity Organization
Represented several managing partners and directors of several private equity funds in an arbitration against another managing director with whom they had fallen out. Following roughly 8 months of discovery and a week-long arbitration, the arbitrator denied every claim against our clients and ruled in our favor on nearly all of our counterclaims. Among other things, the final award found that the opposing partner should be retroactively terminated for cause due to his willful misconduct, ordered that the partner pay back all compensation he had received during that period, and awarded our clients nearly all of their attorneys’ fees in the matter.
Favorable Settlement for Natural Gas Pipeline Client
Peregrine Pipeline Company, L.P. v. ETC Texas Pipeline, Ltd.
Represented the Texas subsidiary of a large natural gas pipeline company in an arbitration dispute brought by the seller of a pipeline against our client. At the end of a four-day arbitration hearing, the matter settled for a small fraction of the amount claimed on terms favorable to our client.
Summary Judgment Victory in Defense of Former Officers and Directors
Atrex, Inc. v. Balun et al.
Served as lead counsel representing several former officers and directors of a cable company, TVMAX. A service provider attempted to sue them, claiming that the company had forfeited its corporate charter due to failure to pay franchise taxes, rendering them individually liable for the debt. Expedited discovery established that the forfeiture and tax delinquency had occurred some time after our clients’ departure from the company, and we successfully moved for summary judgment on that basis.
University of Texas, J.D., with highest honors, 2010
Vice Chancellor
Order of the Coif
Texas Law Review, Editor in Chief
The University of Edinburgh, MTh in History, with distinction, 2007
Yale University, B.A., cum laude, 2006
Listed in The Best Lawyers in America
Litigation – Antitrust, 2024
Named in Benchmark Litigation, 2022-2024
”40 & Under” List, 2022-2024
Named to Lawdragon Guides
“500 Leading Energy Lawyers,” 2024
“500 Leading Litigators in America,” 2023-2024
“500 Leading Energy Lawyers,” 2024
Named in Legal 500 US, Recommended in Energy Litigation – Oil & Gas, 2019
Named a “Texas Rising Star” by Thomson Reuters’ Texas Super Lawyers, 2018-2020
State Bar of Texas
United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
Houston Bar Association, Member
Texas Law Review Association, Board Member (2020-2024)