Concentration

Products liability, pharmaceutical defense, commercial and insurance litigation

Summary

Travis Sales has extensive experience with pharmaceutical products liability as well as commercial and insurance matters. Mr. Sales served as President of the Houston Bar Association (2008-2009) and is a Director of the State Bar of Texas. Mr. Sales has represented pharmaceutical companies in defense of state Medicaid fraud claims brought by Attorneys General. He has represented defendants in a nationwide consumer class action suit involving claims of antitrust and RICO violations, fraud and deceptive trade practices in connection with alleged overcharges for a well-known prescription medicine. He represents pharmaceutical companies in product liability actions, including several mass tort actions and multi-district litigations. Mr. Sales has represented numerous large and small companies in commercial and contract disputes, both as plaintiffs and defendants.

Representative Engagements

• Merck & Co., Inc. – pharmaceutical product liability and state class action cases and commercial litigation, including defense of Vioxx litigation 
• AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals L.P. – pharmaceutical product liability cases, including defense of Seroquel litigation
• BASF Corporation – commercial disputes
• Other Leading pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers – product liability defense
• CenterPoint Energy, Inc., and its predecessors – numerous personal injury and commercial disputes
• State Farm Insurance Companies – commercial cases against automobile repair shops
• Science Applications International Corporation – commercial disputes in arbitration and litigation
• SourceNet Solutions Inc. – plaintiff representation in a commercial dispute with a major high-tech company
• Power Strategies, L.L.C. – plaintiff representation in a commercial dispute with Allied Waste, Inc.
• Pinnacle Natural Gas Corporation – personal injury defense and insurance matters
• Dow Chemical Corporation – commercial disputes involving complex chemical industry contracts
• Texas Farm Bureau Insurance Company – third-party and direct insurance defense

Publications, Speeches and Presentations

• "Defending Pharmaceutical State Medicaid Fraud Actions: Use of Medicaid Regulatory Framework, Government Knowledge and Other Defenses," BNA Health Care Fraud Report, November 2010 
• "The New Presumption of Adequate Warnings in Texas Pharmaceutical Litigation," Texas Bar Journal, July 2006
• Keeping Your Client's Confidential Documents Confidential: Document Production and Organization in Texas, Lorman Education Services, June 2001
• "Changes in the Rules for Discovery: The 1999 Texas Rules of Civil Procedure," Texas Association of Trial and Appellate Specialists, Houston, April 1999