Successes
After being retained by the National Right to Work Foundation to act as trial counsel, Pryor & Bruce obtained a jury verdict in excess of $4,000,000 for a Southwest Airlines flight attendant against Southwest Airlines and TWU Local 556 for wrongful termination in violation of her Railway Labor Act rights (right to engage in anti-union activities) and Title VII (exercise of her religious freedom). The case garnered national attention.
https://www.cbsnews.com/dfw/news/fired-southwest-flight-attendant-charlene-carter-wins/
Pryor & Bruce are successful in defeating defendants efforts to avoid depositions of key persons and related effort to disqualify Pryor & Bruce.
Pryor & Bruce obtain mandamus relief in favor of their clients preventing overreaching discovery.
Colorado Court of Appeals unanimously affirms lower court decision in favor of Pryor & Bruce’s client on land use allowing conversion of hotel to rehabilitation center. Court rejects argument that the 2009 PUD Amendment was inadequate and holds there was sufficient evidence in the record to support the Board’s conclusion that an outpatient facility was a permitted use. The Court also holds the Rule 57 declaratory judgment claim was barred by the statute of limitations. The Court also rejects Homeowners’ efforts to amend their claim because of quotes in local papers appearing after the Board made its determination stating that the rehabilitation center would be an inpatient facility holding such attempt was mooted because of the Board’s previous determination that an inpatient facility was not permitted.
Pryor & Bruce obtains dismissal of all counterclaims against their clients in state court in Colorado.
Pryor & Bruce defeats summary judgment in claims for fraud, breach of contract, promissory estoppel and defamation on behalf of independent contractor/agent for national real estate firm.
Pryor & Bruce obtain dismissal of all counterclaims asserted by defendant.
Pryor & Bruce obtain ruling allowing their client to sell property to rehabilitation clinic which was opposed by various individuals and a homeowner’s association.
Plaintiff seeking to prevent a Pryor & Bruce client from closing a major real estate transaction in Colorado attacked the sale under CPCR 57. Pryor & Bruce obtained a dismissal of the Rule 57 claim in its entirety.
Plaintiff, purporting to represent a class, sought a temporary injunction in federal court in Denver, Colorado to prevent a property owner from completing a $10 million sale of property. After a preliminary injunction hearing, Pryor & Bruce obtained an order denying the requested relief and a finding that Plaintiffs’ were unlikely to prevail on the merits. Plaintiffs’ appealed and sought emergency relief from the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. This relief was also denied.
In an appeal, Pryor & Bruce overturn a summary judgment in favor of Defendants and create new law in the area of attorney barratry.
In a Texas federal lawsuit filed by a REIT against a broker-dealer who had marketed its shares to enforce a provision requiring indemnification and payment of attorney’s fees for claims based upon the broker-dealer’s actions, Pryor & Bruce defeated a motion to dismiss asserting a variety of theories, with the court quoting and agreeing with Pryor & Bruce’s arguments.
In a case filed by TIC investors against multiple defendants alleging fraud in connection with a real estate investment, after the case had been pending for over 2 ½ years, and following an unsuccessful appeal of a pretrial matter, Pryor & Bruce took over the representation of one defendant. Two months after Pryor & Bruce entered a notice of appearance, Plaintiffs dismissed Pryor & Bruce’s client with prejudice. Pryor & Bruce forced the dismissal by a multifaceted attack on Plaintiffs’ case, including the filing a motion to dismiss lack of jurisdiction, third party discovery via letters rogatory, and pressing for other discovery in the case. No money was paid to obtain the dismissal with prejudice.
In a case in federal court in Missouri, Pryor & Bruce successfully defeat a motion to remand.
In a series of 5 plaintiffs’ cases originally filed in Louisiana state court seeking to nullify and rescind purchases of shares of a real estate investment trust, Pryor & Bruce obtained orders compelling arbitration of the claims and narrowing the causes of action to exclude derivative matters, which were dismissed with prejudice. Once the narrowed cases were filed in FINRA arbitration, Pryor & Bruce obtained dismissals with prejudice of claims against its client in all of the cases with Pryor & Bruce’s client paying nothing to the plaintiffs or co-defendants.
Pryor & Bruce obtain TRO allowing client to remove manager from iconic Chase Park Plaza Hotel in St. Louis.
In a case of first impression under the Fair Housing Act, Pryor and Bruce recently obtains summary judgment from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Orlando Division finding a subsequent purchaser of a multifamily apartment complex without knowledge of design violations at the time of purchase was not liable to a disabled tester for discrimination due to design and construction violations allegedly existing at the apartments.
UPDATE: In a case of first impression, Pryor & Bruce obtained an 11th Circuit opinion affirming summary judgment and holding third party purchasers of multi-family apartments are not liable for FHA discrimination where the discrimination alleged is the failure of the original owners and/or architects’ to design and construct the apartments in accordance with Fair Housing Act Design Manual. Harding v. Behringer Harvard District REIT, LLC (11th Cir. 2014).
Pryor & Bruce obtain jury verdict in favor of clients in excess of $300,000 against Seller for failure to close on residential property.
Pryor & Bruce successfully defend on appeal a summary judgment obtained in state court in Kansas in favor of their clients in litigation in which Plaintiffs sought millions in damages.
UPDATE: Kansas Supreme Court denies Petition for Review leaving in place appellate victory obtained by Pryor & Bruce.
Pryor & Bruce successfully defeat Plaintiff’s attempt in FINRA arbitration to obtain investor information.
Pryor & Bruce successfully defeat effort to deem admissions.
Pryor & Bruce successfully defeat effort to extend scope of lawsuit alleging FHA violations.
In a wrongful termination case filed by an ex-employee, the summary judgment obtained by Pryor & Bruce on behalf of its Fortune 500 company is affirmed by the 2nd District Court of Appeals.
In a breach of contract case for failure to perform a property condition assessment and prepare a sufficient property condition & assessment report, Pryor & Bruce obtains a settlement for its client in the amount of $2.3 Million.
After being retained by a client against whom a default judgment had been entered, Pryor & Bruce are successful in having the default judgment vacated.
In a complex multi-state litigation involving the laws of four states and FINRA rules, and legal actions in a Texas state court and Boston federal court, in less than a 30-day period of time, Pryor & Bruce successfully defended a senior executive from claims filed by his former employer seeking a temporary restraining order.
Pryor & Bruce successfully represented a REIT and numerous Tenant-in-Common investors in litigation in which the REIT was initially sued for millions of dollars. On behalf of its clients, Pryor & Bruce counterclaimed and filed third party claims and obtained millions of dollars in cash settlements as well as property. All claims against the REIT were dismissed with prejudice and no payment of any kind was made by the REIT.
Pryor & Bruce successfully removes Class Action Petition suit to federal court pursuant to Class Action Fairness Act and, after filing Motion to Dismiss, Plaintiff dismisses case.
Pryor & Bruce obtain summary judgment on all claims in a lawsuit in which a former employee charges our client, a Fortune 500 Company, with improperly garnishing his wages and then terminating him for filing a lawsuit against it.
Pryor & Bruce obtains mandamus relief for client opposing appointment of a special master.
Pryor & Bruce obtain summary judgment in Kansas state court in favor of their clients in complex litigation in which Plaintiffs’ sought millions in damages.
In a plaintiffs’ class action case, Pryor & Bruce represented a national class of Farmers Agents against Farmers Insurance Exchange, and certain other companies in Farmers Insurance Group of Companies, and was designated as class counsel to represent a class certified by the trial court. The trial court’s certification order was upheld on appeal to the court of appeals and by the Texas Supreme Court. After more than six years of litigation, the class action was successfully settled by Pryor & Bruce, and approved by the Court, for a total estimated settlement recovery of $16,420,920 (the estimated value of the vested retrospective relief of the settlement is $8,420,900 and the present day value of the ascertainable prospective relief of the settlement is $8,000,000) plus up to $4,700,000 in attorneys’ fees and expenses. Such amounts do not include the value of additional life issued and paid credits to one of the subclasses that the Court found would further add to the total value of the settlement.
In a retaliation case brought in Texas by a highly compensated former employee seeking over $11 million in back and front pay alone against our client, a Fortune 500 Company, Pryor & Bruce obtains summary judgment on all claims.
In a real estate dispute in Florida involving millions of dollars, Pryor & Bruce successfully obtains summary disposition at the trial level. Summary Judgment ruling in favor of Pryor & Bruce client upheld on appeal.
In a sexual harassment case in Texas before a jury, Pryor & Bruce obtains a verdict in favor of the Plaintiff for in excess of the statutory cap, plus attorneys’ fees and a finding of gross negligence supporting punitive damages.
In a Sarbanes-Oxley case, Pryor & Bruce obtains a finding of “no merit” in favor of their client.
In a race discrimination case in which the former employee sought millions of dollars against our client, a Fortune 500 Company, Pryor & Bruce obtains summary judgment on all claims.
Pryor & Bruce recently successfully defended a Fortune 500 Company in an employment matter and obtained a $10,000 sanction against opposing counsel for asserting groundless causes of action.
Mr. Pryor spoke to the General Counsel Section of the Dallas Bar Association at the Belo Mansion in Dallas on the topic of “Alternative Dispute Resolution Pros and Cons.” The materials prepared for this presentation are attached.
Mr. Pryor spoke in Houston to Pitney Bowes managers and human resource specialists on the subject of “Employment Litigation.”
Mr. Pryor spoke in Dallas at the Northern American Petroleum Accounting Conference on the topic of “Top Ten Mistakes in Hiring, Managing and Firing Employees.”
Mr. Pryor and Mr. Bruce spoke in Las Vegas to the national conference of United Farmers Agent’s Association.