Cornwell, Carl E.

My practice primarily involves the following industries: (1) power line and pipeline construction, (2) transportation, and (3) oil & gas. I handle a variety of disputes in the following areas: construction, employment, non-compete/confidential information, vendor/subcontractor, acquisitions, change orders/payment disputes, catastrophic injury & death, insurance coverage and indemnity. As a result of my work in these industries, I have strong experience with transmission & distribution lines and related equipment, pipelines, refineries, industrial facilities, and transportation matters. Cases listed below provide a sampling of my experience.

RECENT CASES:

Power Line Construction/Indemnity/Wildfire

Lead counsel for a power line contractor in state court in San Diego, California in which the damages exceeded $1.2 billion. In October 2007, a wildfire burned approximately 197,000 acres destroying over 1,100 homes and other structures near San Diego, California. The fire was allegedly started by excess slack in a transmission line on which my client worked several months prior to the fire. Thousands of property owners and insurers sued the utility, which then sued my client seeking indemnity and alleging my client's work on the line caused the fire. The lawsuits were consolidated into one court and then realigned into four master suits: (1) individuals and property owner plaintiffs, (2) government plaintiffs, (3) subrogating insurer plaintiffs, and (4) a class action. The defense of the cases required a strong understanding of the structural and electrical aspects of transmission lines and the utility industry. The case involved hundreds of depositions, millions of pages of documents, and over 100,000 audio files. While the resolution is complete and confidential, I can provide client references regarding our work on this matter.

Employee Raiding/Theft of Confidential Information

Lead counsel defending a corporation and several employees against claims of employee raiding, theft of confidential information, tortious interference and related claims. The allegations were that my clients had improperly recruited over 20 employees and secured confidential information causing damages of tens of millions of dollars. After a few key depositions, we tried a multi-day injunction trial where the judge granted my motion for directed verdict and denied any injunctive relief. The employee raiding claim was dismissed after I filed special exceptions. This case was later settled on favorable terms.

Oilfield Contamination

Defended oilfield service company in a case pending in Bastrop County, Texas in which the plaintiff claimed my client had improperly dumped oilfield waste on its property. Our position was that while some of our oilfield waste may have been dumped on this property, it was not toxic or harmful, it was placed there by a third party who was paid to dispose of the waste, and the waste made its way to the property because the former landowner sought it out to fill in gravel pits he had created. We also argued that limitations for the claims filed had expired. After we filed a motion for summary judgment, the plaintiffs dismissed their claims against my client without need of any hearing.

Sexual Discrimination & Retaliation

Lead counsel defending manufacturer of industrial equipment against claim that former employee was subjected to sexually harassing behavior and, shortly after reporting it, was terminated. This was a hotly contested case in which the plaintiff was fired shortly after her last report to the president of the company of the allegedly improper conduct. The client terminated both the plaintiff and the primary person allegedly responsible for the improper conduct. Issues involved plaintiff's own conduct on the job, her performance, and the extent of her alleged damages. This case was identified for early settlement to mitigate legal costs and was successfully resolved shortly after the plaintiff's deposition.

Acquisition of Electrical Contracting Business Dispute

Lead counsel in defending client in a $43 million arbitration in Los Angeles, California. The suit had numerous issues including employee fraud, disputes over contingent payments for the acquisition of an electrical contracting business, complicated financial transactions, and the economics of several proposed power plants in the mid-west. Successfully settled on the third day of trial.

Landfill-Gas-To-Energy Plant Construction Dispute

Represented contractor who installed three landfill-gas-to-energy power plants in the Chicago, Illinois area. The owner failed to pay approximately $45 million of the outstanding amounts due based on alleged construction defects and delays. The case was pending in the bankruptcy court in Chicago. Some of the funds were collected by enforcing a security interest in the proceeds of electricity sales from the plants. The case settled by having the plants sold with the proceeds paid to my client.

Power Plant Arbitration

Defended client in $33 million arbitration in Riverside, California involving a contractual right of first refusal for the sale of several landfill-gas-to-energy power plants. Won a defense award and recovered costs for my client.

Pipeline Construction

Defended a subcontractor in an $18 million construction case in Williamson County, Texas where a 28-mile raw water pipeline collapsed during testing. Issues included the exact cause of the failure and contractual issues of responsibility for work and indemnity. My client was released before trial for a de minimis settlement.

RICO

Lead counsel defending client in a RICO and fraud lawsuit involving the construction of cable television infrastructure. This case was pending in federal court in Atlanta, Georgia. Plaintiff was seeking $40 million based on commercial bribery allegations. Issues included the difference between client development and bribery and the quality of work performed on over $200 million in contracts. Mediation resulted in an excellent confidential resolution.

Letter of Credit Arbitration

Defended client in a $6.5 million arbitration in Los Angeles, California involving a letter of credit and two loan participation agreements related to electrical contracting business. After a full arbitration hearing, won a defense award and also recovered costs for my client.

Transportation Litigation

Defended transportation and logistics provider in federal court case in Houston, Texas where plaintiff (shipper) was a manufacturer who shipped goods from China to England. The goods were released to the ultimate purchaser who ultimately went bankrupt and failed to pay the shipper. The shipper sued the transportation company for breach of the bill of lading by releasing the goods without confirming payment. The shipper filed suit in federal court in Houston and also a parallel proceeding in England. The issues involved the interpretation of the bill of lading and several related documents, a determination of what law would be applied, and several fact issues. My client was dismissed from the suits under good terms.

Pipeline Construction Dispute

Conducted pre-suit negotiations to assist client in collecting the remainder of its invoices on a significant pipeline construction project. Owner claimed contractor caused delays, work not completed, and change orders not approved. Collected over $11.5 million which was nearly the entire outstanding claim including change orders.

Telecommunications Construction Dispute

Represented client in federal court in Dallas, Texas to collect over $10 million in mostly unapproved change orders relating to a large telecommunications facilities upgrade project. The project spanned several U.S. cities and thousands of sites. The parties had difficulty keeping track of billing and payment activities due to the large scope of the project and the urgency of the project. Ultimately, there were significant disputes about what work was in-scope, the change order approval process, alleged construction defects, and accounting issue discrepancies. The case was favorably resolved in mediation.

Employee Fraud

Represented employer in case in Douglas County, Colorado in which several employees left the company, took confidential information and started a competing business. Our investigation revealed that the leader of this group had been siphoning funds from a charity including funds donated from my client. We won a motion for summary judgment in which the court specifically found that the employee had committed fraud by taking the charitable funds.

Employment Agreements

Represent various employers in drafting and negotiating employment agreements and severance agreements.

BACKGROUND:

David is on the firm management committee and also coordinates the firm's hiring decisions. David is a native of San Antonio, Texas. He graduated in 1990 from Texas A&M with a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Economics. In 1995, he obtained his Doctorate of Jurisprudence from South Texas College of Law, summa cum laude. He was an articles editor of the South Texas Law Review and a member of the Order of Lytae. David received numerous academic awards and an academic scholarship at South Texas. He was a briefing attorney at the Texas Supreme Court for Justice Jack Hightower in 1995 and Justice Greg Abbott in 1996.

In 2006, David was recognized as one of Texas' Rising Stars (a Thomson Reuters service). He is also a Fellow of the Texas and Houston Bar Foundations.

David is married with five children. He is an active member of Grace Presbyterian Church and is or has been on the Board of Directors for: (1) Chapelwood Methodist Church School for Young Children, (2) Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program, and (3) Camp Cho-Yeh. David owns the Cross F Ranch and Finck Cattle Company LLC.