business litigation

Dallas’ Law Offices of Brad Jackson Ranked Among Nation’s Best for Business Disputes, Commercial Litigation

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DALLAS – The publishers of U.S. News & World Report and The Best Lawyers in America are recognizing Dallas’ The Law Offices of Brad Jackson on the 2023 Best Law Firms list for the firm’s work in lawsuits involving businesses. Earlier this year, Mr. Jackson and firm attorney Cheryl Mann were named in the 2023 edition of The Best Lawyers in America based on their wins for clients in significant business lawsuits.

This marks the eighth year in a row that The Law Offices of Brad Jackson has earned selection among the country’s leading business litigation firms. The exhaustive research behind the exclusive annual list is based on nominations from other attorneys who handle the same types of lawsuits, a survey of law firms from across the U.S., and a series of in-depth interviews with firms’ clients and individuals familiar with the honorees’ work.

Expertise in Business Disputes

The Law Offices of Brad Jackson represents businesses and individuals from various industries in all types of civil lawsuits with a focus on business law. The firm’s victories include cases involving fraudulent transfer claims, contract disputes, product defects, property disputes, fraud and breach of contract allegations, and partnership dissolutions.

Experienced attorney Brad Jackson founded the firm more than 30 years ago, and he is among a select group of lawyers who are Board Certified in Civil Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

Based in Dallas, The Law Offices of Brad Jackson provides decades of experience representing clients in Texas and across the nation. Brad Jackson is Board Certified in Civil Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. The firm handles practically every type of business dispute, as well as cases involving serious personal injury and wrongful death.

Dallas Attorney Brad Jackson Once Again Named Among City’s Best

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Photo of attorney Brad Jackson sitting down while wearing glasses, a sports coat and a blue shirt with no tie.

Experienced attorney Brad Jackson of The Law Offices of Brad Jackson in Dallas once again has been named to the annual listing of the Best Lawyers in Dallas by the publishers of D Magazine based on his work for clients in business litigation, tort lawsuits and products liability cases.

Mr. Jackson’s appearance on the 2020 list marks his tenth consecutive selection among the best attorneys in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. He is widely known for his work protecting clients’ financial interests in courtrooms throughout Texas. Mr. Jackson has been Board Certified in Civil Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization for more than 25 years.

D Magazine’s exclusive listing of the city’s best lawyers is based on nominations submitted by Dallas attorneys who were asked to name those “whose work you have witnessed firsthand.” Mr. Jackson and other lawyers who received multiple nominations were then vetted by D Magazine’s editors and an anonymous panel of the city’s most respected attorneys.

Recent Accomplishments by Law Offices of Brad Jackson

Since last year’s list, The Law Offices of Brad Jackson won a $1 million arbitration award for a Bosque County couple whose home suffered extensive damage based on a failed roofing system.

The firm also secured a key appeals court victory in a real estate dispute against the City of Dallas. In that case, the Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas found that Mr. Jackson’s clients should be allowed to go to trial based on their claims that the city wrongly took more than $300,000 in property for public use.

Mr. Jackson and fellow firm attorney Cheryl Mann also published a legal commentary for Texas Lawyer newspaper about the common causes and best ways to prevent legal malpractice.

Based in Dallas, The Law Offices of Brad Jackson provides decades of experience representing clients in Texas and across the nation. Brad Jackson is Board Certified in Civil Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. The firm handles practically every type of business dispute, as well as cases involving serious personal injury and wrongful death.

Law Offices of Brad Jackson Wins Appeal in $1M Partnership Dispute

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Last week, the 5th District Court of Appeals in Dallas affirmed an earlier summary judgment won by The Law Offices of Brad Jackson in a $1 million dispute partnership dispute.

While Brad Jackson and Cheryl Mann are best known for their work helping plaintiffs and defendants at the trial level, this case demonstrates their ability to make those results stand up if the case reaches the court of appeals.

Partnership Turns Into Lawsuits

The dispute began in 2012 when our clients voted to remove their business partner (who was a fellow shareholder) as president of a Dallas-based company that manufactures printed labeling for various products.

The business partner responded by filing a lawsuit, which he later dismissed, nonsuiting all his claims. He continued to threaten our clients and sent a letter indicating that he intended to file a new lawsuit. We responded by filing our own lawsuit for declaratory judgment seeking a court declaration that our clients had acted appropriately in dealing with the terminated partner, who then launched a series of counterclaims seeking more than $1 million in damages from our clients.

In addition to asking the court to appoint a receiver to oversee the company, the business partner also accused our clients of breach of fiduciary duty, conspiracy, and misappropriation and conversion of corporate funds, allegations that our clients denied.

We also prevailed in a mid-case appeal after the trial court refused to dismiss an out-of-state client (one of our clients’ relatives), who was also sued. The appellate court agreed with us and dismissed the relative from the lawsuit.

After contentious litigation in the partnership dispute (including a series of depositions, court motions and hearings) the trial court issued a summary judgment in our clients’ favor in late 2016. The court’s ruling dismissed all claims against our clients and granted a declaratory judgment that helped them avoid a costly trial. In the final judgment, the court concluded that our clients were within their rights to terminate the partner as president of the company.

We Know How to Handle Legal Appeals

After losing in the trial court, the terminated partner went on to file an appeal at the 5th District Court of Appeals based on 13 different areas where he claimed the trial court had erred.

In oral arguments before the appeals court, Brad Jackson defended the trial court judge’s reasoning and successfully argued that none of the terminated business partner’s claims should withstand legal scrutiny.

The 5th District Court of Appeals agreed in a 15-page opinion that affirmed the trial court in full and ordered the terminated business partner to pay for the costs of the appeal.

Good Companies Not Immune from Lawsuits

Lawsuits like this one shouldn’t happen to honest people who are trying to operate a successful business, but a partnership dispute is more common than you might think. Even though they were in the right from day one, our clients still faced the potential of over $1 million in damages.

Thankfully, they were protected by the law and we were able to prove it at both the trial and appellate level based on the facts and our many years of work in similar cases.

In the end, our clients are grateful they can now continue to operate their company without the distractions that caused them to remove their former partner as president in the first place.

 

14 Dallas Gas Stations to Pay for Hurricane Harvey Price Gouging

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price gouging

Last year’s catastrophic Hurricane Harvey dumped more than 50 inches of rain on the Houston area and claimed more than 80 lives. Many people stepped up to help their neighbors in the aftermath, but there were others who turned the community’s shared distress into a moneymaking enterprise through price gouging.

Immediately following the worst of the storm, both the Texas governor and attorney general warned businesses against price gouging. However, there were numerous reports of hurricane victims being charged ridiculous amounts for everything from bottled water to hotel rooms to gasoline.

The fears over supply shortages hit hard in Dallas, where hundreds of gas stations ran out of fuel and thousands of customers waited in line for hours.

Texas AG Files Price Gouging Claims

The AG’s office responded to reports of price gouging by asking those who believed they had been overcharged to provide copies of their receipts. In the months that followed, the AG filed a series of lawsuits and issued more than 125 notices of violations.

Now, several of those businesses have agreed to a legal settlement that includes more than $160,000 in refunds for customers. According to published reports, 48 Texas gas stations signed off on the agreement, including 14 in Dallas. Overall, 42 of the stations are in North Texas.

The AG says all the stations in the settlement charged gas prices of at least $3.99 per gallon after Harvey. Some stations reportedly charged as much as $8.99 per gallon. Gas prices in Texas averaged roughly $2.20 per gallon at the time.

The two biggest payouts reportedly are coming from the Old Town Store in Garland, which agreed to refund $14,870, and Bob’s Exxon in Dallas, which will pay $12,000. In an odd twist, the Old Town Store recently was in the news for selling a $1 million winning scratch-off lottery ticket. Based on the Texas Lottery’s bonus program, that means the owners of Old Town are in line for a $10,000 bonus, which should help offset their settlement payment.

Protecting Clients’ Money

Although the legal actions above were filed by the state, the facts are not that different from what I regularly see in cases involving fiduciary litigation and business disputes.

The gas stations that agreed to the price gouging settlement saw an opportunity to grab some extra cash and thought they could get away with it. Fortunately, the state was there to help.

At the Law Offices of Brad Jackson, we have spent decades helping individuals and companies who similarly have been ripped off through no fault of their own. The unfortunate truth is that there are people in all walks of life who are looking for the chance to line their pockets even if it means violating the law. That’s why we are here to protect clients’ interests and make sure that responsible parties are held accountable under the law.