NEWS
You can read about Peter Kelly’s win in Davis v. White on the front page of the January 12, 2015 Texas Lawyer (“Court Reinstates $2.8M Punitive Award
“).
KD&P is delighted to report a significant victory earned on December 29, 2014 in the Fort Worth Court of Appeals. In a breach of fiduciary duty case (a lawyer suing his former partner), the jury awarded $2,800,000 in exemplary damages (10 times the actual damages). The trial court applied Texas’s statutory cap and cut the award to $564,000 (2 times the actual damages). On appeal, the Fort Worth court reinstated the full amount when it found that the defendant waived application of the cap. Brad Parker tried a great case in the court below, and it was a privilege to work with him as we vindicated our client’s rights. Firm partner Peter Kelly handled the briefing and oral argument. A Law360 article regarding the case can be found here and a link to the opinion in Davis v. White can be found here.
Congratulations to Leigh Prichard Bradford who, on November 21, 2014, defeated a Petition for Review filed in the Texas Supreme Court in a medical malpractice case. The court of appeals opinion, Navarro v. Washington, No. 10-13-00248-CV, 2014 WL 1882763 (Tex. App.—Waco May 8, 2014, pet. denied) (mem. op.), upheld the qualifications and sufficiency of the patient’s expert doctor’s reports under Chapter 74. A link to the supreme court briefing and order denying the hospital’s petition can be found here: http://www.search.txcourts.gov/Case.aspx?cn=14-0499&coa=cossup
KDP is pleased to announce that Christy Wollin has been named a “Rising Star” in the Appellate category by Texas Monthly and Law & Politics Magazine. Congratulations Christy!
On October 15, 2014, Leighton Durham traveled to Lubbock to speak to the South Plains Trial Lawyer’s Association regarding “Common Mistakes Even the Best Lawyers Make.”
On October 15, 2014, Peter Kelly appeared again before the Texas Supreme Court in Austin, this time to present argument on behalf of the Respondent in Brown & Gay Engineering, Inc. v. Zuleima Olivares, No. 13-0605. The issue in Brown & Gay Engineering concerns whether a private engineering firm, working for governmental entity (a toll-road authority), has derivative governmental immunity in a wrongful death case. Further summary of the issue and Peter’s argument can be viewed at http://texassupremecourt.mediasite.com/mediasite/Play/bf4e8388f2854bdfa21a0745b79ece081d
On October 9, 2014, Peter Kelly appeared before the Texas Supreme Court, sitting in Lubbock at the Texas Tech School of Law, to present argument on behalf of the Respondent in Nabors Well Services, Ltd., et al. v. Asuncion Romero, et al., No. 13-0136. The issue in Nabors centers on whether evidence of a plaintiff’s nonuse of a seat belt should be admissible to mitigate damages. Further summary of the issue and Peter’s argument can be viewed at http://texassupremecourt.mediasite.com/mediasite/Play/403ba39bd9ff440c82716adb5aa339061d
Kelly, Durham & Pittard, LLP is pleased to announce that its partners, Peter Kelly, Leighton Durham, Kirk Pittard, and Thad Spalding have each been named a “Super Lawyer” in the Appellate category by Texas Monthly and Law & Politics Magazine.
Kelly, Durham & Pittard, LLP is pleased to announce that Kirk Pittard and Thad Spalding have been recognized by D Magazine as two of the best lawyers in Dallas for 2014 in the Appellate practice category. This is Kirk and Thad’s fourth year to be named to this list.
You can read about how D Magazine determines which lawyers make the list, here and there is a link to Kirk and Thad in the Lawyer List, here and the full Appellate list is here.
Have you ever had your dinosaur stolen? Mongolia did. In 2013, when a Tyrannosaurus Bataar dinosaur skeleton was looted from the country to be auctioned off in New York, Kelly, Durham & Pittard, along with trial counsel, helped the President of Mongolia get it back. One year later, an international dinosaur skeleton looting ring was broken up and numerous rare dinosaur skeletons were returned to Mongolia and are now displayed in a dedicated museum.
No matter how exotic your case, Kelly, Durham & Pittard is here to provide the litigation support you may need, including substantive legal briefing, analysis and argument in both trial and appellate courts in commercial, family, and personal injury cases.