Mills Shirley has practiced law for over 150 years. In that time we have assisted clients with a wide spectrum of interest. Over time clients and legal issues have changed and our firm has change to meet the needs of our clients. The following are some of the recent cases that represent the work our firm is handling.

Litigation:

Environmental and Toxic Torts:

• Successfully defended a major chemical manufacturer in the claims of 25 contract workers alleging exposures to a highly toxic chemical, with potentially fatal consequences at extremely low concentrations.
• Successfully prosecuted contract and indemnity actions against designers and consultants who constructed the facility where contract employees were injured.
• Successfully defended claims against a chemical plant maintenance contractor by more than 50 hydroblasters contending exposure to heavy metals contained within spent catalyst being cleaned from company reactors.
• Successfully defended a major Texas Gulf Coast petrochemical company against claims of 6,000 plaintiffs alleging personal injuries and property damages arising from an accidental release of chemicals. The defense plan, developed and executed in partnership with the client, included the collective arbitration of some 2,000 individual claims, and a separate four-month jury trial with 40 representative claimants.

General Negligence:

• Obtained a defense jury verdict for a premises owner in a case brought by a worker who was totally disabled from a slip and fall alleged to have resulted from insufficient maintenance of loading dock.
• Convinced a federal court jury to render a no liability finding against a tetra-plegic who was injured while working for a company hired by the client, on the client's property. The multi-million dollar award requested was denied. Judgment affirmed on appeal.
• Successfully tried products case in defense of allegedly defective welding regulator.
• Secured a defense verdict in a wrongful death case where an electrical worker fell from a pole.
• Successfully defended an electrical utility from a wrongful death case involving crane contact with overhead power lines.
• Received summary judgment in federal court in a premises liability case involving a lifting injury, affirmed by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Professional Liability:

• Obtained "not negligent" jury findings for all 6 physicians who had cared for a patient who died from an undiagnosed tumor.
• Secured a defense jury verdict for an oral surgeon in a case brought by a patient who suffered a broken jaw and years of subsequent medical treatment as a result of a routine procedure. Also obtained dismissal of the complaint to State Board of Dental Examiners.
• Convinced a jury to return a no liability finding in favor of a lawyer accused of negligence and fraud. Also obtained dismissal of 4 separate State Bar complaints against the lawyer.
• Successfully tried to a jury verdict in favor of the defendant dentist, a case brought by a patient who claimed to have sustained partial facial paralysis from a dental procedure.
• Secured "back to back" defense verdicts for 2 separate family lawyers, each charged with professional misconduct.
• Successfully defended civil engineers from claims of several hundred homeowners flooded during a significant rainfall event.
• Successfully defended an engineering firm from contractor claims stemming from project overruns due to alleged inadequate plans and specifications.
• Successfully defended an architect from a contractor's claim of liability where the architect approved substitute construction materials selected by the contractor which subsequently failed.

General Business and Commercial:

• Prosecuted a multi-million dollar claim by a petrochemical manufacturer for deficient process and mechanical design of a chemical manufacturing facility by an international engineering firm.
• Successfully defended sellers of a business from claims of alleged violations of a non-competition agreement when a large corporation sought to enjoin them from current business activities.
• Successfully obtained injunctive relief for a corporation when the director and officer left, opened competing a business, and pirated intellectual property.
• Successfully defended claims and prosecuted a counterclaim for sellers of a family-owned business who were sued by the purchaser for breaches of contract, breaches of warranty, and fraud.
• Obtained summary judgment, upheld by courts of appeal, in a declaratory judgment action holding that a sub-tenant held no rights under a primary lease agreement between a property owner and primary tenant.

Employment:

• Benton v. Kroger Co., No. C.A. G-85-207, United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Galveston Division, 640 F.Supp. 1317; 1986 U.S. Dist., Lexis 21505; 46 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 1356, August 15, 1986 (sexual harassment).
• Winchester v. Galveston Yacht Basin, Civil Action No. G-95-677, United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Galveston Division, 943 F.Supp. 776; 1996 U.S. Dist., Lexis 16675; 72 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 919, November 5, 1996 (sexual harassment).
• Willson v. Shannon, Civil Action No. G-93-051, United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Galveston Division, 857 F.Supp. 34; 1994 U.S. Dist., Lexis 9307; 84 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 866, July 5, 1994 (gender discrimination).
• Dorothy J. Fine v. GAF Chemical Corp., et al, No. 92-2824, United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, 995 F.2d 576 (5th Cir. 1993) (gender discrimination).
• O'Quinn v. Chambers County, C.A. No. G-85-308, United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Galveston Division, 650 F.Supp. 25; 1986 U.S. Dist., Lexis 18907; 106 Lab. Cas. (CCH) P34,927; 27 Wage & Hour Cas. (BNA) 16, August 15, 1986 (Fair Labor Standards Act).
• Gonzales v. Methodist Retirement Communities, No. 14-99-01212-CV, Court of Appeals of Texas, Fourteenth District, Houston, 33 S.W.3d 882; 2000 Tex. App. Lexis 7998, November 30, 2000, Petition for Review Denied April 19, 2001.