Concentration

Appellate and complex commercial litigation

Summary

Stephen Tipps, who served as head of the firm's appellate practice group from 1999 to 2007, has handled a wide variety of civil litigation at both the trial and appellate levels. An experienced trial lawyer, Mr. Tipps has tried over 30 cases to a jury verdict and has represented clients in several major arbitrations.

As an appellate practitioner, Mr. Tipps has argued a number of significant cases before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, the Supreme Court of Texas, and a number of the intermediate Texas courts of appeals. He also handled the first proceeding before the Texas Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, which was established in 2003 and is one of the few lawyers to have appeared before that panel on multiple occasions.

Representative Engagements

• Merck & Co., Inc. – successful petition for review that resulted in reversal and rendition of take nothing judgment in second Vioxx case tried in Texas, Merck & Co. v. Garza, ___ S.W.3d ___, 2011 WL 3796364 (Tex. Aug. 26, 2011); successful mandamus petition limiting scope of discovery, In re Merck & Co., 150 S.W.3d 747 (Tex. App.—San Antonio 2004, orig. proceeding)
• Credit Suisse Securities – primary responsibility for briefing and error preservation during trial of multi-billion dollar lawsuit filed by Huntsman Corporation arising from failed merger
• Union Carbide Corp. – successful appellate defense of summary judgment addressing relationship of Texas Constitution, Texas Labor Code, and Texas Wrongful Death Act in action against employer of deceased for exemplary damages. Ross v. Union Carbide Corp., 296 S.W.3d 206 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2009, pet. denied) (en banc)
• Union Carbide Corp. – first proceeding under Texas multidistrict litigation rule that successfully transferred all asbestos litigation statewide to a single pretrial court. Union Carbide v. Adams, No. 03-0895 (Tex. 2003)
• First Oil PLC – interlocutory appeal of denial of special appearance based on waiver in lawsuit arising from oil and gas joint venture. First Oil PLC v. ATP Oil & Gas Corp., No. 01-07-00703-CV, 2008 WL 2186781 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] May 22, 2008, no pet. h.)
• Builders Transport, Inc. – conventional appeal that resulted in reversal of plaintiffs' wrongful death judgment based on charge error. Builders Transport, Inc. v. Grice-Smith, 167 S.W.3d 1, 18 (Tex. App.—Waco 2005, pet. denied)
• COC Services, Ltd. – conventional appeal and petition for review on behalf of franchisee of CompUSA stores in Mexico that had secured $121.5 million judgment. COC Servs., Ltd. v. CompUSA, Inc., 150 S.W.3d 654 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2004, pet. denied)
• Harrop Construction Co. – conventional appeal that secured affirmance of a multimillion-dollar judgment obtained by a government contractor put out of business by the wrongful conduct of a steel fabricator. United States ex rel. CMC Steel Fabricators, Inc. v. Harrop Construction Co., No. 01-41301 (5th Cir. 2003)
• Tubos de Acero de Mexico, S.A. – interlocutory appeal on behalf of a Mexican pipe manufacturer concerning a dispute arising from the lease of ultrasonic pipe inspection equipment. Tubos de Acero de Mexico, S.A. v. American International Investment Corp., 292 F.3d 471 (5th Cir. 2002)
• Judge Brent Gamble – multiple trial and appellate proceedings arising from Judge Gamble's initial exclusion from the Republican primary election ballot due to an error in his reelection application. In re Gamble, 71 S.W. 313 (Tex. 2002)
• Conoco Inc. – arbitration action on behalf of Conoco and NRG partnership arising from the termination of a tolling agreement concerning a co-generation facility, including successful prosecution and defense of mandamus actions in the Beaumont Court of Appeals and Supreme Court of Texas. In re SRW Cogeneration Ltd. P'ship, No. 09-01-124-CV, 2001 WL 468139 (Tex. App.—Beaumont 2001, orig. proceeding)
• Johnson & Higgins of Texas, Inc. – trial and appellate representation of an insurance broker in an action by an oil trader based on alleged misrepresentations concerning the coverage provided by a marine cargo policy, resulting in an opinion that altered Texas law concerning the recoverability of prejudgment interest in commercial disputes. Johnson & Higgins of Texas, Inc. v. Kenneco Energy, Inc., 962 S.W.2d 507 (Tex. 1998)
• Rice University – suits seeking modification of the Rice University trust indenture and charter under the doctrine of deviation to alter the number, tenure, and qualifications of university trustees and to eliminate the prohibition of incurring debt. In the Matter of William Marsh Rice University

Publications, Speeches and Presentations

Publications

• MDL Comes to Texas," South Texas Law Review, 2005
• "All-GOP Court Did Mean Business, but not Always," National Law Journal, September 1999 (Amy Douthitt Maddux, co-author)

Speeches and Presentations

• "MDL Discovery Issues," Advanced Evidence and Discovery Course, State Bar of Texas, Houston and San Antonio, April and May 2008
• "Impact of Technology on Appeals," 21st Annual Advanced Civil Appellate Practice Course, State Bar of Texas, Austin, September 2007
• "Strategies for the Court's Charge," University of Houston Law Foundation, Houston and Dallas, August 2007
• "Techniques for Excluding Evidence," How to Offer and Exclude Evidence, University of Houston Law Foundation, Houston and Dallas, January and February 2006
• "MDL Comes to Texas," 14th Annual Conference on State and Federal Appeals, The University of Texas School of Law, Austin, June 2004
• "Handling Complex Appeals," 17th Annual Advanced Civil Appellate Practice Course, State Bar of Texas, Austin and Dallas, September and October 2003
• "Appellate Procedure Update," 13th Annual Conference on State and Federal Appeals, The University of Texas School of Law, Austin, June 2003
• "Pursuing and Responding to a Mandamus: Ethical and Strategic Considerations," Advanced Civil Discovery Institute, University of Houston Law Foundation, Dallas and Houston, April 2002
• "Preservation of Error in State and Federal Court," Houston Bar Association, Houston, April 2002