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News & Events |
December 2004 Our firm has relocated its offices to the Pennzoil Tower North. Our new address and contact information is below: Schirrmeister Diaz-Arrastia Brem LLP Pennzoil Place -- North Tower 700 Milam, 10th Floor Houston, Texas 77002 (713) 221-2500 (713) 228-3510 fax www.sdablaw.com Andrew C. Schirrmeister III.................... acs@sdablaw.com George Diaz-Arrastia........................... gdarrastia@sdablaw.com Mike Brem............................................. mbrem@sdablaw.com Carolyn Roch......................................... cdroch@sdablaw.com Dana S. Speer....................................... dspeer@sdablaw.com Jim C. Ezer............................................ jezer@sdablaw.com John T. Klug.......................................... jklug@sdablaw.com Joseph C. Matta..................................... jmatta@sdablaw.com Robert J. Flora...................................... bflora@sdablaw.com Ruth E. Shapiro.................................... rshapiro@sdablaw.com Iona Kaiser.......................................... ikaiser@sdablaw.com Harriet Moskowitz - Firm Administrator... hmoskowitz@sdablaw.com Robin Young, Legal Assistant................. ryoung@sdablaw.com Lady Guzman, Legal Assistant .............. lguzman@sdablaw.com Kristina Gates, Legal Assistant.............. kgates@sdablaw.com Marie Jeudy, Legal Assistant................. mjeudy@sdablaw.com Guillermo Mejia, Legal Assistant Case Clerk... gmejia@sdablaw.com November 2004 George Diaz-Arrastia and John Klug obtained a summary judgment on all claims made against our client in a suit pending in state district court in Cameron County (Brownsville), Texas. We represented an international manufacturer of high-performance resins that was sued in a third-party action by two molders who had been retained by the client’s customer to mold parts for a tank-less water heater. The client’s customer had sued the molders claiming that improper molding had caused water heaters to fail in the field, leading to damage to commercial reputation, lost sales and profits and business opportunities exceeding $40 million. The molders asserted third-party claims against our client, claiming that the failures were the result of the properties of the resin or incorrect instructions given by the client’s field technical representatives. The molders also asserted statutory causes of action for contribution and indemnity under Chapters 33 and 82 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code. The court entered summary judgment for our client on all these claims. The molders were represented by the Houston office of Fulbright & Jaworski and the Dallas office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. October 2004 Working closely with Ramon Noyola of Houston, Arnulfo Gonzalez of Laredo and his former colleague Mark Strawn, Andrew Schirrmeister obtained a $3.8 million settlement for the family of a worker killed at a construction site. The case involved multiple Defendants, multiple procedural and venue challenges, and multiple theories of liability against premises owners, product manufacturers and insurers. October 2004 In an opinion authored by Justice Gladwin, the Arkansas Court of Appeals affirmed an unanimous jury verdict in favor of DuPont. The underlying case which was tried by Andrew Schirrmeister and Jim Ezer was the first case involving allegations of trace benzene exposure and leukemia from aromatic hydrocarbon solvents used in automotive paint applications. Appellees/Plaintiffs represented by Provost Umphrey of Beaumont and Odom & Elliott of Fayetteville, Arkansas raised five evidentiary issues and one issue concerning the trial court’s refusal to submit a jury issue on negligence. The Arkansas Court of Appeals concluded that it was not error to prohibit Dr. Gregory Oakhill, the Plaintiffs’ treating physician from testifying on specific causation, that it was not error to prohibit the Plaintiffs from cross examining Dr. Bernard Goldstein on the "one molecule" theory, that it was not error to allow Dr. Phillip Guzelian to testify that the absence of the deletion of the 5 and 7 chromosome made it less probable that the Plaintiffs’ leukemia was benzene related and finally that the trial court did not err in refusing to allow a trial amendment for a negligence submission. September 2004 The Texas Monthly has chosen Andrew Schirrmeister as one of its Texas Super Lawyers. Andrew was selected following a general survey mailed to more than 66,000 practicing attorneys in Texas, an intensive screening process, a review by a Blue Ribbon Panel and a final selection process. September 2004 Andrew Schirrmeister appeared before the Arkansas Court of Appeals to defend a unanimous jury verdict in favor of DuPont in the first trial of a trace benzene case defended by the paint industry. The Appellants, represented by Provost* Umphrey of Beaumont, Texas and Odom & Elliott of Fayetteville, Arkansas, contended that it was error for the trial court to have excluded the testimony of the treating physician on specific causation and further that it was error for the trial court to have prevented the Plaintiffs from cross-examining Dr. Bernard Goldstein on the "One molecule theory" Appellants further argued that it was error for the trial court to allow Dr. Phillip Guzelian to testify that the absence of a deletion of the 5,7 chromosome made it less likely that exposure to benzene caused the decedent's acute myelogenous leukemia and finally that it was error for the trial court to have refused to allow a trial amendment after the close of evidence to include a negligence theory. The underlying case which was tried by Andrew Schirrmeister and Jim Ezer was the subject of a front page article in the December 2002 issue of the National Law Journal. September 2004 The firm welcomes two new clients: Oregon Steel Mills, Inc. of Portland, Oregon and Westlake Chemical Corporation of Houston, Texas. Oregon Steel Mills, Inc. manufactures specialty and commodity steel products including steel pipe, rails, plate, structural tubing, and wire rod and bar. Westlake Chemical Corporation is a vertically integrated manufacturer and marketer of basic chemicals, vinyls, polymers and fabricated products. We appreciate the confidence these two clients have shown in engaging Schirrmeister Diaz-Arrastia. September 2004 Andrew Schirrmeister, George Diaz-Arrastia and Dana Speer represented DuPont in In Re Van Waters & Rogers, Inc., No. 03-0777, (Tex. Sup. Ct., September 3, 2004) (per curiam), a mandamus proceeding before the Texas Supreme Court brought to overturn a Hidalgo County State District Judge's Order consolidating the workplace toxic tort claims of twenty of 454 plaintiffs. Based on its analysis of the Maryland factors adopted by the Texas Supreme Court in In re Ethyl Corp., 975 S.W.2d 606, 611 (Tex. 1998) and in In re Bristol-Myers Squibb, 975 S.W.2d 601, 603 (Tex. 1998), the Supreme Court found that significant juror confusion and undue prejudice would result from a trial of this particular group of twenty plaintiffs and found that the trial court abused its discretion in consolidating this group for trial. Given the totally unrelated claims of plaintiffs exposed at different times and for different lengths of time in different work areas of the plant to entirely different chemicals or combinations of chemicals produced by different defendants, juror confusion and prejudice was almost certain. The Court concluded that in such circumstances, the consolidation of these twenty plaintiffs claims against the defendants was an abuse of discretion without adequate remedy on appeal and granted mandamus relief. The firm also represented DuPont in the two earlier mandamus proceedings in this ten year old case. August 2004 Carolyn Roch was a recent speaker with Governor Howard Dean at a political fundraiser for Richard Morrison. Richard Morrison is running for a seat in the United States Congress. "Saving our Democracy in Texas" was the theme of the event that approximately 400 people attended. The brunch was held in Houston, Texas on August 22, 2004. (For a photograph of Carolyn with Gov. Dean, click here.) August 2004 John Freeman has accepted a position at the Baker Hughes Corporation as Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer, and Senior Deputy General Counsel. John will be sorely missed by his colleagues here at Schirrmeister Diaz-Arrastia and all of us congratulate him on his new position and wish him and his family the very best success in this new endeavor. June 2004 Andrew Schirrmeister and Ruth Shapiro recently made a presentation to a group of attorneys from the Riverstone Claims Management Litigation Group and the Risk Management Unit in Manchester, New Hampshire. Andrew's presentation was titled "Preparing for the Wave of Benzene Litigation." It provided an overview of the benzene and trace benzene litigation, including a description of the key benzene cases; the new focus by the plaintiffs' bar on trace benzene litigation involving exposure to solvents; efforts by plaintiffs' experts to influence regulatory agencies; the National -Scale Air Toxic Assessments for EPA Region 1 and particularly for the states of New Hampshire and Massachusetts; a chronology of the regulatory history of benzene; a summary of the toxicity of benzene, including a medical overview of the effect of benzene on the red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets; and a summary of the epidemiology of benzene, including the Pliofilm cohort studies and their respective updates, the refinery worker studies by Wong, the Chinese studies by Yin and Hayes, and the Austrialian Health Watch Studies. June 2004 Ruth Shapiro spoke on insurance coverage and benzene litigation explaining the original coverage provided by standard CGL policies and the contraction of coverage, specifically the qualified pollution exclusion, the absolute pollution exclusion and the total pollution exclusion clauses. Ruth discussed cases involving these exclusions in the context of litigation arising over lead paint, asbestos fibers, paint and glue emanating from walls and flooring, insecticides, ammonia, spills, and other releases. June 2004 Joe Matta attended a luncheon program sponsored by the Houston World Affairs Council which featured Roel C. Campos, Commissioner of the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In his presentation entitled, "The Global Market Place: Regulations in the International Business Environment," SEC Commissioner Campos, who is often referred to as the SEC's "International Commissioner," discussed his recent activities in representing the SEC at meetings held by the International Organization of Securities Commissions and by representatives of foreign nations. He pointed out the European Commission's efforts to develop common rules for the EU financial services market, as well as the SEC's support of the memorandum of understanding entered into by the US Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), whereby the FASB and the IASB agree to work together toward the goal of convergence between U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and International Accounting Standards. Commissioner Campos also touched upon the role the Sarbanes-Oxley Act has had in strengthening investor confidence in US markets. As a member of the firm's Securities Practice Group, Joe represents clients in securities and corporate matters. Prior to joining the firm, Joe was employed with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission for over seventeen years where he rose to Assistant Regional Administrator in the SEC's Fort Worth Region supervising and directing litigation conducted by the SEC's Houston office. In addition to his extensive SEC experience, Joe possesses a thorough knowledge of federal and state securities laws and the regulatory and enforcement operations of the SEC, Texas Securities Board, NASD and NYSE. May 2004 Carolyn D. Roch has joined the firm as “Of Counsel.” Carolyn was formerly a partner at Lapin & Landa, L.L.P. in Houston. Carolyn concentrates on products liability and commercial litigation, including employment and securities litigation. May 2004 George Diaz-Arrastia and Joe Matta obtained a dismissal with prejudice of a suit against our clients, Pepsi Bottling Group Mexico, S. de R. L. de C. V. ("PBG Mexico") and a number of its subsidiaries in the Dallas division of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas. The suit had been brought by a Cayman Islands company seeking to enforce a foreign arbitration award entered against companies that had been acquired by and merged with a PBG Mexico subsidiary. In his Memorandum Order, Chief Judge A. Joe Fish accepted our arguments that the plaintiff lacked standing to enforce the award because the award had previously been validly assigned to a PBG Mexico subsidiary. Click here for a PDF version of Chief Judge Fish's opinion. May 2004 In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, and in connection with the Houston Bar Association’s celebration of Law Day 2004, Ruth Shapiro will present Linda Brown’s story to Houston elementary school classrooms and discuss how Brown v. Board of Education ended the “separate but equal” doctrine in our educational system. Ruth is co-chair of the Houston bar Association’s Lawyers for Literacy Committee, and has been active for years promoting and providing resources for literacy efforts in the greater Houston area. Ruth has also presented other Law Day programs to young children with an emphasis on diversity, tolerance and equality. May 2004 As part of the firm's commitment to diversity, Bob Flora attended the State Bar of Texas Minority Attorney Program 2004 held in Houston on May 7, 2004. This program is committed to helping and furthering the opportunities available for small firm and solo practitioner minority lawyers. April – May 2004 The firm has been active in support of Harris County Civil District Judges seeking reelection this November. The firm has acted as underwriter for campaign receptions for Judge Lamar McCorkle of the 133rd District Court, Judge Grant Dorfman of the 129th Civil District Court and Judge Bill Burke of the 189th Civil District Court. Judge Burke was a former partner of Andrew Schirrmeister at Baker & Botts. April 2004 Andrew Schirrmeister, George Diaz-Arrastia and Joe Matta represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in an adversary proceeding against Bank of America arising out of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Texas Petrochemical, L.P. Working with the New York firm of Strook & Strook & Lavan, we brought a lawsuit alleging fraudulent inducement, fraud and negligent misrepresentation arising out of Texas Petrochemical’s refinancing of certain pre-existing bank debt in 2002. The entire bankruptcy proceeding settled and the firm received a performance-based bonus as a result of its successful work in this matter. April 2004 George Diaz-Arrastia moderated a panel discussion on “Privilege: Are you Sure it is Preserved?” at the Third Annual CLE Symposium for In-House Counsel sponsored by the Delaware Valley Corporate Counsel Association in Philadelphia on April 16, 2004. Members of the panel were Kimberly Rhodes, Vice President and General Counsel of Primavera Systems, Inc., Eugene FitzMaurice of Towers Perrin, L.L.P. and Bryant Spann of Allen Guthrie McHugh & Thomas, L.L.P. Andrew Schirrmeister and Joe Matta also attended the conference. April 2004 George Diaz-Arrastia and Joe Matta attended the Minority Corporate Counsel Association Diversity Dialogue held in Houston on April 14, 2004. The event featured a panel discussion of local MCCA award winners offering information about building award winning diversity initiatives. April 2004 George Diaz-Arrastia was interviewed by The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel magazine in connection with its Diversity Part III Special Report. Entitled “Enhancing Diversity In A Small, Sophisticated Practice”, the interview was published in the April 2004 Edition of the magazine. Click here for a PDF version of the interview. February 2004 Andrew Schirrmeister, John Klug and Joe Matta were responsible for obtaining a $2,625,000.00 settlement payment from Akin Gump in a case involving breach of fiduciary duty and professional legal malpractice. Our clients were a group of investors who bought stock in E-Court, a defunct internet start-up company. We established that Akin Gump failed to provide Chadwick with the necessary private placement memorandum for a meeting of investors in the Rio Grande Valley and then subsequently failed to inform the investors that Chadwick had a criminal record when Akin Gump lawyers prepared a recision agreement to remedy the problems created by improprieties in the original private placement documents. The case appeared on the front page February 9, 2004 edition of the Texas Lawyer. Ramon Garcia of the Law Office of Ramon Garcia in Edinburgh, Texas referred this matter to our firm. Click here for a PDF version of a Texas Lawyer" article on this case February 2004 The firm sponsored a table at the Minority Corporate Counsel Association regional Diversity Dinner that was held in Houston on April 14, 2004. The Minority Corporate Counsel Association was founded in 1997 to advocate for the expanded hiring, retention, and promotion of minority attorneys in corporate law departments and the law firms that serve them. Among the awards given at the dinner was the Thomas L. Sager Award, named for DuPont’s Vice President and Assistant General Counsel, Litigation, given to law firms that have demonstrated sustained commitment to improve the hiring, retention and promotion of minority attorneys. The firm also hosted Mr. Sager at its table at the 2003 Diversity Dinner in Dallas.http://www.mcca.com. January 2004 John M. Freeman has joined the firm as “Of Counsel.” John was formerly Vice President – Legal of Pennzoil-Quaker State Company, where he served as primary counsel to the senior management team and each of the operating business groups. John has had extensive experience in antitrust, product liability, commercial and intellectual property litigation, as well as antitrust and regulatory compliance matters. |
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