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Bailey Brauer Quarterly Newsletter – March ’15

Firm News - March 2015 Bailey Brauer client JBS USA LLC and Swift Pork Co. won the dismissal of a nuisance lawsuit filed by multiple plaintiffs over the JBS Louisville Pork Plant’s use of a parking lot near the processing plant in the Butchertown area of Louisville, Kentucky. Attorney Clayton Bailey was a guest speaker at the 2015 Louisiana Poultry Seminar held in Shreveport, Louisiana. Attorney Alex Brauer was named to the 2015 Texas Rising Stars list, marking the sixth consecutive year that attorney Brauer was selected by the publisher of Rising Stars. Attorney Ben Stewart was featured in articles published by the Dallas Morning News and The Texas Lawbook addressing shadow banking and a recent decline in Texas business bankruptcy filings. Texas law may be changing regarding the ability to recover attorney’s fees in breach of contract cases. In the past, successful plaintiffs in breach of contract cases were able to recover their reasonable attorney’s fees from defendants under Section 38.001 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code. Recent decisions from the Houston Court of Appeals and a Dallas federal district court may limit this ability if the defendant is a partnership or limited liability company. Texas law follows the “American Rule” when it comes to recovery of attorney’s fees in a litigation matter. The American Rule provides that each party must pay its own attorney’s fees. You may have heard that despite the American Rule, parties in Texas can recover their attorney’s fees if they are the prevailing plaintiff in a breach of contract case. This ability generally arises in one of two ways: (1) the contract at issue contains a clause providing that the prevailing party in a dispute can recover its

March 25th, 2015|Categories: Cases, News|

Bailey Brauer Client JBS USA Wins Dismissal of Complaint against Kentucky Pork Processor

DALLAS – JBS USA LLC and Swift Pork Co. on March 2 won the dismissal of a complaint filed over JBS Louisville Pork Plant’s use of a parking lot near the processing plant in the Butchertown area of Louisville, Kentucky. Click here to see news coverage of the lawsuit’s dismissal. The suit by Butchertown Neighborhood Association Inc. (BNA) and individual area residents was filed in 2006 against Swift and the Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government, which leased the parking lot to Swift. The company used the lot as a staging area for trucks awaiting pickup by grocery stores and other buyers of Swift brand processed pork. Neighbors complained about noise and diesel emissions from truck engines, among other issues. The lawsuit sat mostly dormant until 2013 when the plaintiffs amended their filing to include Swift’s parent company, JBS USA, as a defendant. Around this time, Swift and JBS brought in their longtime litigation counsel Clayton Bailey from the Dallas complex litigation boutique Bailey Brauer PLLC to serve as co-counsel with attorneys Glenn Price and Bart Greenwald from the Louisville office of Frost Brown Todd LLP. After the plaintiffs amended their petition, JBS USA and Swift filed a motion asking the plaintiffs to substantiate their allegations. JBS and Swift later served written discovery and sought to depose BNA President and Butchertown resident Andrew Cornelius seeking information supporting the plaintiffs’ claims. The plaintiffs responded on Feb. 25 by filing a motion for dismissal. Circuit Court Judge A.C. McKay Chauvin of Louisville approved the motion on March 2, dismissing the case against JBS, Swift and the county with prejudice. “Clearly, my clients are pleased with this turn of events,” says Mr. Bailey. “And in return for the dismissal, JBS

March 11th, 2015|Categories: Cases, News|

Alex Brauer from Dallas’ Bailey Brauer Named to Texas Rising Stars List

DALLAS – Attorney Alexander M. Brauer, a name partner in the Dallas trial and appellate boutique Bailey Brauer PLLC, has been recognized on the 2015 Texas Rising Stars list for his work in litigation matters. This is the sixth consecutive year that Mr. Brauer has been selected by the publishers of Rising Stars, which honors young legal leaders. To be eligible for the exclusive annual listing, a candidate must be either 40 or younger or in practice for 10 years or less. No more than 2.5 percent of Texas lawyers are selected to Rising Stars, which is published by Thomson Reuters’ legal division. To compile the list, the publication conducts a statewide survey of lawyers. Mr. Brauer represents individual and corporate clients in high-stakes litigation at both the trial and appellate levels. Mr. Brauer and his colleagues have a track record of delivering exceptional results for clients, including: • Obtaining dismissal of a lawsuit filed against a Florida-based company after challenging the jurisdiction of Texas courts; • Obtaining a favorable ruling in bankruptcy court for the former parent of Furr’s Cafeteria against the purchaser of the company’s assets; • Defeating antitrust and deceptive trade practices claims filed by nearly 200 plaintiffs from Louisiana, Arkansas and Texas in one of the nation’s most challenging venues; • Successfully resolving claims of an alleged fraudulent investment scheme during a federal jury trial, and; • Defeating fraud and contract claims alleged against a technology company officer in a complex multi-party dispute stemming from the issuance of preferred stock. “Alex is an extraordinary lawyer who achieves great results for his clients,” says Bailey Brauer co-founder Clayton Bailey. “He has had great success over his past 10-plus years of practicing, so

March 11th, 2015|Categories: Cases, News|