International law firm, Greenberg Traurig LLP, recently obtained a favorable outcome for an independent oil and gas exploration and production company. The Greenberg Traurig team headed by Tony Guerino, a shareholder in the energy litigation practice in the firm’s Houston office, settled an oil and gas suit involving breach of contract and fraud claims brought against the client for virtually no damages against the client. The case involved overriding royalty interests in the highly valuable Eagle Ford Shale and damage claims against the client in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Guerino led a team of attorneys in defending a Houston-based oil and gas exploration and production company against almost a billion dollars’ worth of claims for breach of contract and fraud relating to the rights of a contractor to overriding royalty interests in the Eagle Ford Shale.

“Tony is an excellent energy litigation attorney,” said Doug Atnipp, co-managing shareholder of Greenberg Traurig’s Houston office. “His hands-on experience in the business as a former petroleum engineer for a major oil company gives him a unique perspective and comprehension of the facts and issues involved in energy litigation.”

The Greenberg Traurig team succeeded in having a rural Texas county action brought by plaintiff abated in favor of a declaratory action the firm brought on behalf of its client in Harris County (Houston).

After extensive discovery involving millions of pages of documents (reviewed by a document review team managed by Laura Gleen and Jacob Goddard, both associates in Greenberg Traurig’s Houston office), numerous depositions, an attempt at mediation, and numerous pre-trial hearings and motions, the Harris County judge expressed his doubt that the parties could reach a settlement, and scheduled the case for trial.

On the eve of trial, Guerino and his team were able to secure a very favorable result for the client. By working closely with the client and astutely assessing the motivation and interests of the claimant, the Greenberg Traurig team put together a creative settlement proposal that was accepted by all parties. Through the settlement agreement, the firm’s client paid the claimant a nominal sum, and received valuable concessions in return.

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