Professional Negligence

• After a terrible rain event and flood in Central Texas, a local business hired an attorney to help navigate governmental foreclosure/condemnation/imminent domain issues. The attorney advised the company to reject FEMA’s flood-recovery grant and go to court to recover more from the government. When the attorney stopped returning the business’ phone calls, the business owner reached out to attorneys at HMH, who quickly found there was no condemnation and the money that had been offered—over $400,000—was now expired. HMH filed a professional negligence suit in Burnet County against the attorney and his law firm. After numerous contentious depositions, the case settled the week before trial.
• After the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion affirming a client’s case dismissal as being filed untimely, and finding that the client’s attorneys had a “fundamental misunderstanding of the relevant law,” the client hired HMH. The professional negligence suit, based on an alleged $100+ million antitrust dispute, was removed to federal court. However, HMH convinced the federal judge that Texas State Court was the appropriate venue. The case was appealed even before trial, but HMH also defeated those attempts and others to keep the case from a jury. Finally, during the fifth week of trial, the defendants decided it was time to settle the case.