Case Results
MISUSE OF PUBLIC MONEY
In a District Court of Harris County, Texas, Michael West was lead counsel for the Plaintiff. This case garnered much media attention due to the allegations of the willful and illegal destruction of public records, and misuse of public money by a quasi-governmental entity. The lawsuit resulted in Michael West successfully obtaining, on behalf of his client, a permanent injunction against the entity, and its chief executives, to not destroy public records and to develop a plan, along with a court-approved policy on records retention. The lawsuit also brought about the resignation of the Defendant’s Chief Executive Officer.
BANK DISPUTE
In a District Court of Harris County, Texas, Michael West was lead counsel for a regional bank in a lawsuit involving claims of alteration and violation of several Uniform Commercial Codes (UCC). This case was significant because of the amount of Plaintiff’s claimed damages was over $1 million, and the case involved complicated UCC issues involving relationships of customer-to-bank and bank-to-bank. Mr. West was successful in his defense of this lawsuit, and it was dismissed by Plaintiff without his client paying any money damages.
WRONGFUL DEATH OF A HUSBAND
Michael West represented the Plaintiff as lead counsel in the wrongful death of her husband. This was a complicated case that involved the property owner, a tenant, architect, general contractor and three sub-contractors over the construction and ultimate collapse of a grocery store’s roof. After a couple of years of litigation, the lawsuit settled for a confidential amount but which sum was sufficient to financially take care of the Plaintiff for the rest of her life.
BREACH OF FIDUCIARY DUTY
In a District Court of Harris County, Texas, Michael West was lead counsel for the Plaintiff in a legal malpractice lawsuit. It was alleged that the Defendants breached their fiduciary duty by actively working against the Plaintiff, their client’s, interest, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages. After a lengthy litigation, the case was settled for a confidential amount, but which amount was significant and compensated Plaintiff for his damages.
STOLEN CHEESE
In a District Court of Harris County, Texas, Michael West was lead counsel for all of the Defendants in this lawsuit, which involved allegations of theft of trade secrets. The Defendants manufactured cheese which is similar to the cheese made 6,000 years ago by Abraham. This particular type of cheese (white cheese) has been made for thousands of years and the recipe for such can be found in any book on how to make cheese. This is the “beginners” cheese of choice. However, the Plaintiff was a competitive cheese maker and wanted to make a corner on the market. The Plaintiff spent over $600,000 to prosecute this lawsuit in order to monopolize this market. After a very difficult litigation and expansive process, Mr. West’s client was able to settle the case and allow his client to be able to continue making cheese.