Texas Oil and Gas Litigation Lawyer | Business Torts

Texas is a rich state for oil and gas production, and the technology and competition driving the latest oil boom have also created opportunities for officers, partners, employees, and competing businesses to fraudulently take wealth and assets from oil and gas companies, mineral owners, and investors. Jason Coomer represents oil and gas companies, mineral owners, and investors in business litigation against corporate officers, business partners, employees, competing businesses, or other wrongdoers who steal, embezzle, or fraudulently take business assets, misrepresent oil exploration information, steal trade secrets, or otherwise breach a duty owed to the business.

If you need a Texas oil and gas litigation attorney to advise you on a business dispute, contact Texas oil and gas litigation lawyer Jason Coomer or call 866-474-1477.

Trade Secret Theft and Breach of Fiduciary Duty

Officers and employees who wrongfully steal intellectual property, including trade secrets, customer lists, patents, and copyrights, can be held liable by Texas courts for breach of fiduciary duty, conversion, fraud, and other business torts. As the intellectual property owned by an oil and gas company becomes more valuable and easier to steal through technology, protecting that property, and holding officers, business partners, contractors, and employees accountable when they steal it, has become increasingly important. Officers, interest holders, and employees are the most common defendants in these cases.

Pursuing a breach of fiduciary duty or theft of trade secrets lawsuit against a former corporate officer or a former employer's new company requires an experienced business litigation lawyer able to review and prosecute the case.

Negligent and Fraudulent Misrepresentation

Texas has business tort laws against both fraudulent and negligent misrepresentation that can be brought against businesses and individuals whose misrepresentations cause significant damages. Under Texas negligent misrepresentation law, a business or individual "who, in the course of his business, profession or employment, or in any transaction in which he has a pecuniary interest, supplies false information for the guidance of others in their business transactions, is subject to liability for pecuniary loss caused to them by their justifiable reliance upon the information, if he fails to exercise reasonable care or competence in obtaining or communicating the information," as described by the Restatement (Second) of Torts § 552. See Federal Land Bank Ass'n of Tyler v. Sloane, 825 S.W.2d 439, 442 (Tex. 1991).

The burden of proof is lower for negligent misrepresentation and breach of fiduciary duty claims, but punitive damages are typically not available. Many oil and gas business tort lawsuits include allegations of negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, and fraud together. Pursuing a fraudulent or negligent misrepresentation lawsuit against a corporation, partnership, LLC, professional corporation, individual, or other business requires an experienced business litigation lawyer able to review and prosecute the case.

Unfair Business Competition

Unfair business competition actions arise when a company uses unfair practices to damage another business or put it out of business. Examples include a competing business intentionally stealing trade secrets, releasing false press releases, using short-term predatory pricing, demanding exclusive contracts from suppliers, forcing lenders to call in loans, stealing business, or spreading false information to damage a competitor. Because of the size of many small oil and gas businesses, losing a major contract, having a supplier stop providing supplies, having a lender call in a loan, or one false press release can cause significant damage and even bankruptcy.

If you're a Texas oil and gas business owner who has been damaged through the illegal actions of another business and suffered a significant loss of revenue or profits, contact Jason Coomer. He works with Texas oil and gas business owners to recover losses caused by unfair business competition.

Recovering Business and Partnership Assets

Protecting corporate and partnership assets, including investment capital, mineral rights, intellectual property, water rights, stock, real estate, trade secrets, customer lists, and revenues, is an important part of running a successful oil and gas business. Recovering assets that were wrongfully taken generally involves three steps: first, obtaining evidence of the fraudulent act, commonly through computer hard drives, e-mail messages, and accounting records; second, calculating the assets taken and any additional damages the fraud caused; and third, identifying all potential defendants who allowed the fraud to occur and determining their liability and ability to pay.

In these situations, it's often valuable to have a skilled business litigation team familiar with accounting forensics, computer forensics, asset searches, and federal and Texas law investigate and prosecute corporate and partnership fraud lawsuits.

Eagle Ford Shale Oil and Gas Disputes

The Eagle Ford Shale is a large deposit of black calcareous shale with a high organic carbon content that outcrops in a northeast-southwest trending band through central Texas. Since 2008, new drilling technologies, including horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, have driven an economic boom in the region for mineral right owners, royalty interest owners, and working interest owners. That boom has also created ongoing business disputes over oil and gas profits and revenues, as companies compete for large profits and some use unfair or unlawful tactics to take income and wealth from other businesses.

Why Choose Jason Coomer for Your Oil and Gas Litigation Case

Jason Coomer represents oil and gas companies, mineral owners, and investors in business litigation across Texas, working with other business litigation lawyers in Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, and Austin to handle cases throughout the state. As a business litigation attorney who has handled commercial litigation between former business partners battling for patents, trademarks, copyrights, websites, domains, buildings, real property, customer lists, trade secrets, and other business assets, he is familiar with negotiations, mediations, arbitrations, Texas state courts, and federal courts.

If you need a Texas oil and gas litigation attorney to advise you on a business dispute, contact Jason Coomer. Call 866-474-1477 (toll free).