Terry & Thweatt, P.C.

$20M

Commercial Litigation, Breach of Contract

Terry & Thweatt attorney Lee Thweatt teamed with Beck Redden Secrest attorneys Murray Fogler, Russell Post and Brad Coffey, and attorney Adib Eghterafi in representing a highly-respected chemist in arbitration against his former employer for breach of contract. The former employer failed to pay our client $20 million under a written agreement in exchange for relinquishment of his intellectual property rights in groundbreaking technology involving the oxidative coupling of methane gas. On August 13, 2010, a three-member arbitration panel found in favor of our client on his breach of contract claim, awarding him $20 million plus attorneys’ fees and costs. The panel rejected all counterclaims pursued by our client’s former employer. The case was later settled with court approval in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding forced by the arbitration award for $5,800,000 in cash consideration and assigning numerous patents and patent applications to our client.

$18.4M

Product Liability, Personal Injury

Joe Terry represented a young teenage girl whose right leg was severely injured when the American SportWorks UTV she was riding in as a passenger overturned in Rosenberg, Texas. Our client was a vibrant and active high school student who endured over 17 surgeries and is now faced with additional surgeries and an uncertain future given her limitations. The UTV was manufactured by ASW, LLC d/b/a American LandMaster, LLC, who failed to install basic safety measures such as a net door. The UTV was sold by Jamie Crandall Equipment Corporation d/b/a Richmond Equipment, who had previously leased the UTV to its commercial clients until it was inoperable and instead of properly scrapping the UTV, they sold it as “junk” with a regular vehicle title. These defendants spent years blaming other parties instead of taking responsibility for what had occurred. After three years of denial and two failed mediations, Terry & Thweatt attorneys Joe Terry and Lee Thweatt tried the case for over a week in the 434th Judicial District of Fort Bend County, Texas, where the jury awarded our client over $18 million in damages which will address all future medical needs as well as provide a secure financial future.

$10.4M

Oilfield Injuries, Wrongful Death

Terry & Thweatt, P.C. attorneys Joe Terry and Lee Thweatt represented the family of an oil field worker who suffered severe third-degree burns in a tragic oil well explosion in South Texas that eventually led to his death. We prepared the case for trial, taking over 50 depositions, and after several mediations, obtained a record settlement that will ensure the family’s financial future will be secure.

$8.1M

Catastrophic Injuries, Personal Injury

Terry & Thweatt attorneys Joe Terry and Lee Thweatt represented a 38-year-old woman born with profound mental and physical disabilities who sustained 2nd and 3rd degree burns over nearly thirty percent of her body when the adult care facility she resided in negligently failed to ensure her safety in a house fire operated by her care facility, Four J’s Community Living Center, Inc. One of the other adult residents of the house, who had a long history of mental instability from decades of documented physical, sexual, and mental abuse - all of which was known to Four J’s, was given a cigarette lighter by Four J’s staff for smoking. Four J’s failed to retrieve the cigarette lighter, and later, while she was unsupervised, she used it to set her mattress on fire in her bedroom when she became upset at a Four J’s staff member. The fire eventually consumed the house and destroyed it, badly burning our client. The suit was filed in the 269th District Court of Harris County, Texas. The case proceeded to trial in October 2011. Trial evidence demonstrated that the home was not equipped with overhead sprinklers, the Four J’s staff member made no attempt to use a fire extinguisher in the home after the fire started, and did not attempt to rescue our client (who was unable to see or walk because of her prior disabilities) from the fire. Further, one of the designated fire exits in the home was deadbolt locked from the inside, and the staff member on duty did not have a key to unlock it, thereby cutting off one avenue of escape from the fire for the residents of the home. Because of her injuries, our client was hospitalized in a burn trauma unit for over a month and required repeated, painful debridement of her burn wounds, along with several skin graft procedures. The jury awarded $91,600 for past medical bills and $8,000,000 for her permanent disfigurement, physical pain experienced, and mental anguish. The defendants are appealing the verdict.

$4.8M

Drunk Driving Accident, Personal Injury

Terry & Thweatt, P.C. attorney Joe Terry filed suit in Bastrop County, Texas on behalf of a crane operator that was severely injured as a passenger in a company truck driven by his intoxicated supervisor who was subsequently arrested for DWI. Our client had tried to prevent his supervisor from driving by taking the keys away but was unsuccessful and the truck veered off the road shortly thereafter. Our client was severely injured as a result and his treating physician had recommended neck and back surgeries to alleviate his ongoing pain. After many depositions and two mediations, unfortunately the insurance company for the defendant did not take our client’s claims seriously so the case proceeded to trial. Prior to trial, Terry & Thweatt, P.C. was successful in having the defendant’s medical expert struck for issuing unreliable opinions regarding Plaintiff’s medical condition. At trial, Terry & Thweatt, P.C. were able to prove that the defendant was negligent, that our client was not contributorily negligent and that punitive damages were warranted, and the Court agreed. Finally realizing the seriousness of the case and potential verdict, the insurance company for the defendant settled the case on the fourth day of trial just before closing arguments were set to begin for $4,750,000. This settlement will allow our client to get the recommended neck and back surgeries as well as provide a secure financial future.

$3.8M

Refinery Injuries, Oilfield Injuries, Personal Injury

Joe Terry obtained a $3,772,500 settlement for a South Texas oil field hand who was burned as a result of a natural gas pipeline explosion near Laredo, Texas. After being told he didn’t have a case by another law firm, the client came to Terry & Thweatt, who took the time to thoroughly investigate the cause of the explosion and the parties responsible. Our firm then conducted extensive discovery, took numerous depositions, and hired multiple experts to assist in identifying those contractors that contributed to causing the explosion. Days before trial, the negligent companies relented and paid a settlement that will take care of our client in the future.