Concentration

Environmental and toxic tort litigation, personal injury, insurance coverage and bad faith and general civil litigation

Summary

Ty Buthod is head of the trial department in the Houston office and the firm’s toxic tort litigation practice group. His practice focuses on toxic tort and other mass tort litigation, insurance coverage and insurance bad faith litigation, ERISA litigation and other general civil litigation. Mr. Buthod has tried cases involving employment law, insurance bad faith, defamation and various personal injuries. He has represented insurers and insureds in disputes over coverage, alleged violations of the Texas Insurance Code and bad faith. He has tried cases in state and federal courts in Houston and throughout Texas.

Mr. Buthod is a frequent lecturer in continuing legal education courses on insurance bad faith, toxic tort litigation and the admissibility of scientific evidence.

Representative Engagements

• Lead trial and appellate attorney in a citizen suit under the Solid Waste Disposal Act in Puerto Rico arising out of allegedly leaking underground storage tanks, Sanchez v. Esso, 572 Fd 1 (1st Cir. 2009). After successfully reversing preliminary injunction, case was tried to verdict in August 2010. Court found for client on all counts and awarded over $500,000 to client on a counterclaim based on CERCLA and for wrongfully obtained injunction
• Lead trial attorney in a benzene death case alleging acute myelogenous leukemia caused by exposure to benzene; obtained jury verdict in favor of defendant following a month-long trial: Cashiola v. Exxon Mobil, Dallas County State Court, November 2006
• Lead trial and appellate counsel in insurance coverage dispute arising out of allegedly defective product involved in natural gas wells in Texas and Oklahoma. Dispute turned on Missouri law, client awarded over $8 million following successful appeal to Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, 590 F.3d 316 (5th Cir. 2009)
• Defense of a dairy industry client in an environmental case alleging liability under CERCLA, the Clean Water Act, the Texas Solid Waste Disposal Act, nuisance, trespass, and other common law claims against dairy industry defendants brought by the City of Waco
• Representation as lead counsel for a major Texas co-generation facility in a breach of contract and coverage case, including statutory violations, against a London-based insurance syndicate that resulted in a significant eight-figure settlement for the client on the eve of trial
• Representation of an insured in a major coverage dispute with a Bermuda-based mutual insurance company arising out of an explosion
• Defense of the insurer for a professional athlete total disability policy which was purchased by a professional sports franchise
• Defense of a nuisance case brought by over 400 neighbors of southeast Texas chemical plants alleging personal injuries, diminution of property value and odor
• Defense of premise liability claims brought by over 600 contractors alleging hearing loss as a result of noise exposure in southeast Texas petrochemical facilities

Publications, Speeches and Presentations

• “Maintaining Ethical Standards when Settling Multiparty Cases,” American Conference Institute’s Chemical Products Liability and Environmental Litigation Conference, Chicago, April 2011 and April 2012
• “Legal Issues in Gas Exploration and Production: What To Do When Citizens Try To Take The Place Of The EPA,” Baker Botts Energy Litigation Breakfast Series, Houston, December 2010
• “Preparing for the Rise of Nuisance Claims, Including Defending Against Public, Private and Climate Change Nuisance Actions,” American Conference Institute’s Chemical Products Liability and Environmental Litigation Conference, Chicago, April 2010
• “Trial of a Benzene Case, From Jury Selection to Verdict,” HarrisMartin Benzene Case Conference, New York, December 2008
• “Jury Perceptions of Oil and Chemical Companies in the Era of Big Bucks at the Pump,” DRI Annual Meeting, New Orleans, October 2008
• “Understanding the Juror in a Toxic Tort Case,” HarrisMartin Benzene Litigation Conference, New Orleans, June 2008
• Legal Forum speaker on ERISA litigation, “Legal Minefields,” Houston Business Journal - Business Survival Guide, April 2008
• “Trial of a Benzene-Leukemia Case From Jury Selection to Verdict,” HarrisMartin Benzene Litigation Conference, New York, December 2007
• “Responding to Major Chemical Accidents: Managing the Legal Fallout,” client presentation, Florham Park, New Jersey, November 2007
• “Trying an AML Case in Texas,” Mealey’s Benzene Litigation Conference, Phoenix, November 2007
• “Of Swords and Shields: Using Epidemiology in a Benzene Case,” HarrisMartin Benzene Litigation Conference, Miami, November 2006
• “The Price of Admission: The Reliability Ticket for Experts in the Courtroom,” Houston Bar Association Experts Institute, Houston, October 2005
• “ERISA: Fiduciary Responsibility,” International Society of Certified Employee Benefit Specialists, Dallas, May 2005
• “Benzene Epidemiology,” HarrisMartin Benzene Litigation Conference, New Orleans, April 2005
• “Daubert, Robinson, and Havner: How to Exclude a Witness and Make It Stick on Appeal,” 16th Annual Advanced Evidence and Discovery Course, State Bar of Texas, Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio, Spring 2003
• “The Defense Litigation Perspective,” Managing Toxic Mold Liability, Institute for International Research, Atlanta, April 2002
• “Bad Faith Litigation Update: Important New Cases,” Advanced Insurance Seminar, University of Houston Law Foundation, Houston and Dallas, March 2002
• “Trying the Mold Case, Defense Perspective,” State Bar of Texas, Corpus Christi, Spring 2002
• “Bad Faith Litigation Update,” Advanced Personal Injury and Insurance Law, University of Houston Law Foundation, Houston and Dallas, June 2000
• “Bad Faith Litigation Update,” Advanced Personal Injury and Insurance Law, University of Houston Law Foundation, Houston, July 1999