Resolve Disputes
A dispute is a business decision. We treat it like one.
A business dispute is a business decision before it's a legal one, and the question is rarely whether you can sue but whether the recovery justifies the cost. Hank has litigated more than 600 matters over 29 years, for companies enforcing contracts, defending claims, and recovering money they're owed, so you get counsel who can assess early what a case is worth and whether to fight it.
Hank handles contract and partnership disputes, business torts, noncompete and trade-secret claims, real estate and construction disputes, intellectual property litigation, and commercial collections. He carries each case from the first demand letter through pleadings, discovery, hearings, trial or arbitration, and appeal, and evaluates settlement at every stage where resolution may cost less than continued litigation.
Whether a dispute ends up in court or in arbitration depends on what the contract requires. When an arbitration clause governs, the dispute goes to a private arbitrator under the rules the parties agreed to. Everything else goes to court, where Hank pursues injunctions, temporary restraining orders, and other emergency relief to prevent harm while the case proceeds. He tries cases and argues appeals, but most resolve before a verdict, because the demonstrated willingness to go to trial is what produces a settlement worth accepting.
A judgment is only worth what you collect. Hank carries cases past the verdict into post-judgment recovery, converting a paper win into money through abstracts of judgment, writs of execution, garnishment, and turnover proceedings. Across industries from energy and software to construction and entertainment, every engagement works toward the same result, a dispute resolved on terms you can accept and a recovery you can deposit.
Services Include
- Litigation and arbitration
- Business litigation
- Construction litigation
- Commercial collections
- IP litigation
- Post-judgment collections
- Settlement strategy
- Injunctions and enforcement
Resolve Disputes Insights
Commercial Litigation
Breach of Contract in Texas: Elements, Defenses, and How Courts Decide Who Broke the Deal
Breach of contract is the most common business dispute in Texas courts. Every vendor disagreement, every failed partnership, every unpaid invoice, and every undelivered service starts with the same question: did someone fail to do what the contract required?
Read articleBusiness Fraud and Misrepresentation in Texas: When a Deal Goes Beyond Breach of Contract
A breach of contract means someone didn't do what the agreement required. Fraud means someone lied to get the agreement signed in the first place. Both can produce financial harm, but the legal claims, the burdens of proof, the available defenses, and the recoverable damages are different.
Read articleBreach of Fiduciary Duty: When Partners, Officers, or Managers Violate Their Obligations
A fiduciary duty is the highest obligation the law imposes on one person's conduct toward another. When a partner, corporate officer, LLC manager, or director owes fiduciary duties and violates them, the remedies go beyond what contract law provides.
Read articleTortious Interference in Texas: When a Competitor or Third Party Disrupts Your Business
Texas encourages vigorous competition. Offering a better price, a superior product, or a more attractive deal to win a customer away from a competitor is lawful, even if the competitor loses revenue as a result. But when a third party goes beyond competition and intentionally disrupts an existing contract or prevents a prospective business relationship from forming through wrongful conduct, the injured party has a cause of action for tortious interference.
Read articleTemporary Restraining Orders and Injunctions: When Your Business Needs the Court to Act Before Trial
Some business disputes can't wait for trial. A departing employee who's downloading your customer database while packing their desk. A former partner who's soliciting your clients in violation of a noncompete. A vendor who's about to liquidate assets that secure your receivable.
Read articlePartnership and Ownership Disputes: Deadlock, Buyouts, and Dissolution Under Texas Law
When business co-owners can't agree, the business can't function. A 50/50 LLC where the two members disagree on every decision is paralyzed. A closely held corporation where the majority shareholder diverts profits to personal compensation while the minority receives nothing is oppressive.
Read articleThe Texas DTPA in Business Litigation: When It Applies, When It Doesn't, and Why It Changes the Calculus
A breach of contract claim provides the prevailing party expectation damages and attorney's fees under CPRC Chapter 38. A common law fraud claim adds exemplary damages but doesn't guarantee attorney's fees. A claim under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act (Texas Business and Commerce Code Chapter 17) can produce treble damages and mandatory attorney's fees, which is why the DTPA is the most powerful litigation tool available to plaintiffs in Texas commercial disputes and the most feared by defendants.
Read articleCalculating Damages in Texas Business Disputes: What You Can Recover, What You Can't, and How to Prove It
Proving liability is only half of a business lawsuit. Proving damages is the other half, and in many cases it's the harder half. A plaintiff who proves breach of contract, fraud, or fiduciary duty but can't prove damages with sufficient certainty recovers nothing (or next to nothing).
Read articleArbitration Versus Litigation for Texas Business Disputes: How the Forum Affects the Outcome
Every business contract with a dispute resolution clause forces a choice: arbitration or litigation. That choice, made at the drafting stage when no dispute exists, determines how the dispute will be resolved years later when the stakes are real.
Read articleCommercial Collections
The Collection Demand Letter: How to Structure a Demand That Produces Payment, Not Silence
A business that's owed money has usually sent invoices, followed up by email, made phone calls, and waited. By the time the conversation turns to a collection demand letter, the informal efforts have failed. A demand letter from an attorney transforms the dynamic because it communicates two things the prior communications didn't: someone with legal authority is now involved, and a specific consequence follows if payment isn't made.
Read articleSworn Accounts in Texas: The Fast-Track Collection Procedure for Unpaid Business Debts
Most business creditors pursue unpaid invoices through a standard breach of contract lawsuit, which requires proving the existence of the contract, performance by the plaintiff, breach by the defendant, and damages. Each element must be proven at trial with admissible evidence, and the defendant can contest every element with a general denial.
Read articlePrejudgment Remedies: Securing the Debtor's Assets Before You Have a Judgment
A judgment you can't collect is just a piece of paper. If the debtor spends the money, transfers the assets, or removes property from the state between the date you file suit and the date you obtain a judgment, your judgment may be worth nothing.
Read articleSettlement and Structured Payment in Collections: When Taking Less Now Is Worth More Than Chasing a Judgment
A $150,000 judgment against a debtor who can pay produces a $150,000 recovery (plus interest, fees, and costs). A $150,000 judgment against a debtor who can't pay produces a piece of paper and years of enforcement costs.
Read articleCollecting on a Defaulted Promissory Note: What the Note Says, What the UCC Requires, and How Enforcement Differs from a Contract Suit
When a borrower signs a promissory note and stops paying, the creditor's enforcement rights depend on whether the note is a negotiable instrument under UCC Article 3 (Texas Business and Commerce Code Chapter 3) or an ordinary contract. If the note is negotiable, the creditor benefits from streamlined enforcement, a narrower set of available defenses, and the potential for holder in due course protection that insulates the creditor from most claims the borrower could raise against the original payee.
Read articleDefending Against a Collection Action: What to Do When Your Business Is the Debtor
Not every collection claim is valid. Creditors file suit on debts that have been paid, on amounts that include unauthorized charges, on contracts the debtor has defenses to, and sometimes on debts the creditor doesn't even own. A business that receives a demand letter or a collection lawsuit shouldn't assume the claim is correct and write a check.
Read articleConstruction
Texas Mechanic's and Materialman's Liens: Deadlines, Notice Requirements, and How to Perfect Your Lien
If you furnished labor or materials on a Texas construction project and didn't get paid, a mechanic's lien is the most powerful tool you have. It attaches to the property itself, not to the person who owes you, which means the owner can't sell or refinance without dealing with your claim first.
Read articlePayment Bond Claims on Texas Public Projects: How to Collect When You Can't Lien the Property
You can't file a mechanic's lien against government-owned property. On a private project, an unpaid subcontractor or supplier perfects a lien under Texas Property Code Chapter 53, and the lien attaches to the property itself, forcing the owner to address the claim before selling or refinancing.
Read articleConstruction Contracts: What Every Contractor and Subcontractor Should Negotiate Before Starting Work
A construction contract allocates risk. Every provision in it determines who bears the cost when something goes wrong, who gets paid and when, who's responsible for delays, who carries insurance, and who indemnifies whom. Contractors and subcontractors who sign contracts without negotiating these provisions accept the drafter's allocation of risk, and in most cases the drafter is the owner or the general contractor, which means the risk flows downhill.
Read articlePay-When-Paid and Pay-If-Paid Clauses in Texas: What They Mean and Whether They're Enforceable
Most construction subcontracts contain a provision that ties the subcontractor's payment to the general contractor's receipt of payment from the owner. These clauses come in two forms that sound similar but produce very different legal consequences.
Read articleRetainage in Texas Construction: When It Must Be Released and What Happens When It Isn't
Retainage is the portion of each progress payment that the paying party withholds as a performance guarantee during construction. On a $1 million contract with 10 percent retainage, the owner pays 90 cents of every dollar earned and holds back the remaining 10 cents until the project is complete.
Read articleTexas Prompt Payment Act: Deadlines, Penalties, and Interest When an Owner or Contractor Pays Late
Texas has two prompt payment statutes for construction, and which one governs your project depends on who owns it. Private projects are governed by Texas Property Code Chapter 28. Public projects (state agencies, counties, cities, school districts, and other governmental entities) are governed by Texas Government Code Chapter 2251.
Read articleConstruction Trust Fund Claims Under Chapter 162: When Diverting Payment Becomes a Criminal Offense
A general contractor receives a $500,000 progress payment from the owner. Instead of paying the subcontractors and suppliers who performed the work, the contractor uses the money to cover payroll on another project, make a truck payment, or fund personal expenses.
Read articleConstruction Defect Claims in Texas: Liability, Standards, and the RCLA Notice Requirement
When construction work is defective, responsibility is only the first question. You also need to know what process to follow before you can pursue a claim, what damages you can recover, and how long you have to bring the action. Texas applies different rules to residential and commercial defect claims, and the distinction affects every stage of the dispute from pre-suit notice through trial.
Read articleConstitutional Liens Versus Statutory Liens in Texas: Two Lien Rights and Why Both Exist
Texas is one of the only states where a mechanic's lien right is written into the state constitution. Article XVI, § 37 of the Texas Constitution provides that "mechanics, artisans, and material men, of every class, shall have a lien upon the buildings and articles made or repaired by them for the value of their labor done thereon, or material furnished therefor." It then instructs the legislature to provide for the enforcement of those liens, which the legislature did through Chapter 53 of the Texas Property Code.
Read articleIP Litigation
Copyright Infringement Litigation: What the Plaintiff Must Prove and What's at Stake
Copyright infringement is a federal claim. It's filed in federal district court under 28 U.S.C. § 1338, which grants federal courts exclusive jurisdiction over cases "arising under" the Copyright Act. A plaintiff asserting copyright infringement must prove two elements: ownership of a valid copyright and copying by the defendant of protectable expression from the copyrighted work.
Read articleTrademark Infringement and the Likelihood of Confusion Test: How Courts Decide Whether One Mark Infringes Another
Trademark infringement occurs when someone uses a mark in commerce that's likely to cause confusion among consumers about the source, sponsorship, or affiliation of goods or services. Under the Lanham Act, a plaintiff asserting trademark infringement of a registered mark (15 U.S.C. § 1114) or an unregistered mark (15 U.S.C. § 1125(a)) must prove that it owns a valid, protectable mark and that the defendant's use of a similar mark in connection with goods or services creates a "likelihood of confusion."
Read articleTrade Dress Protection: When the Look of a Product or Business Is Protectable Intellectual Property
Trade dress is the overall commercial image of a product or business that identifies its source to consumers. Where a trademark protects a logo, a word mark, or a slogan, trade dress protects the total visual impression created by the combination of design elements that, taken together, tell a consumer where the product comes from.
Read articleUnfair Competition Under the Lanham Act and Texas Common Law: When the Claim Goes Beyond Trademark Infringement
Trademark infringement protects registered marks. But competitive misconduct doesn't always involve a registered trademark. A competitor may copy your unregistered brand identity, misrepresent its own products in advertising, sell repackaged versions of your goods under its own name, or make false claims about your products to divert your customers.
Read articleDamages and Remedies in IP Litigation: What You Can Recover When Someone Infringes Your Rights
Five separate damages frameworks govern IP litigation. Copyright, trademark, trade dress, trade secret, and cybersquatting claims each carry their own statutory remedies, their own damage measures, their own prerequisites, and their own enhancement mechanisms.
Read articleTrade Secret Protection Starts Before the Lawsuit
Texas law protects trade secrets, but only when the owner protects them first. Courts decide many misappropriation cases on that requirement alone. Companies that ignore it find out in litigation that a court will refuse to protect information the company itself treated as casual, no matter how valuable that information was to the business.
Read articleAnatomy of a Copyright Infringement Case: Defenses to Allegations of Copyright Infringement
Below is the third excerpt from a presentation I gave at the State Bar of Texas' 16th Annual Entertainment Law Institute entitled "Legal & Business Aspects of Music, Film and Digital Entertainment" in October 2006. Again, this was written for a court in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and other circuits treat some of these defenses differently.
Read articleAnatomy of a Copyright Infringement Case: Theories of Secondary Liability
Below is the second excerpt from a presentation I gave at the State Bar of Texas' 16th Annual Entertainment Law Institute entitled "Legal & Business Aspects of Music, Film and Digital Entertainment" in October 2006 on the topic of copyright infringement. This was written for a court in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and other circuits may treat some of these issues differently.
Read articleAnatomy of a Copyright Infringement Case: Elements of a Copyright Infringement Claim
I thought I'd post some excerpts from a paper that I co-wrote for a presentation I gave with a friend of mine, Buck McKinney, at the State Bar of Texas' 16th Annual Entertainment Law Institute entitled "Legal & Business Aspects of Music, Film and Digital Entertainment" in October 2006. The first excerpt is entitled "Elements of a Copyright Infringement Claim" and is one of my contributions to the paper.
Read articlePost-Judgment Collections
From Judgment to Collection: How Post-Judgment Enforcement Works in Texas
A judgment is a court order establishing that one party owes another a specific sum of money. It's also, by itself, just a piece of paper. Courts don't collect the money they award. Once the judgment is entered, the creditor must take affirmative steps to enforce it, and if the creditor doesn't act, the judgment remains on the docket, accruing post-judgment interest while the debtor spends, transfers, or hides the assets that could have satisfied it.
Read articlePost-Judgment Discovery: How to Find the Debtor's Assets Before You Can Seize Them
Before a creditor can garnish a bank account, levy on personal property, or appoint a receiver, the creditor needs to know what the debtor owns and where it's located. A writ of execution served on a constable who can't find non-exempt property produces a nulla bona return and a wasted filing fee.
Read articleWrits of Execution, Abstracts of Judgment, and Turnover Orders: The Three Core Enforcement Tools
Post-judgment enforcement in Texas uses three primary tools, each designed to reach a different category of assets. An abstract of judgment creates a lien on real property. A writ of execution directs law enforcement to seize and sell personal property.
Read articleTexas Property Exemptions: What the Creditor Can't Touch
Texas provides some of the broadest debtor protections in the country. A judgment creditor with a valid, final money judgment can pursue the debtor's non-exempt assets through writs of execution, garnishment, and turnover orders, but the creditor can't touch property that Texas law designates as exempt.
Read articleDomesticating and Enforcing Out-of-State Judgments in Texas: How to Collect When the Debtor's Assets Are Here
A judgment from a California court, a New York arbitration confirmation, or a federal court order entered in Illinois can't be enforced against assets located in Texas until it's been domesticated. Domestication is the process of filing the out-of-state judgment with a Texas court so it becomes a Texas judgment, entitled to the same enforcement tools (writs of execution, abstracts of judgment, garnishment, turnover orders) as a judgment originally rendered in Texas.
Read articleFraudulent Transfers and the Texas Uniform Voidable Transactions Act: When the Debtor Puts Assets Out of Reach
A judgment creditor who discovers through post-judgment discovery that the debtor transferred a rental property to a family member for $10 six months before the judgment was entered, or that the debtor moved $200,000 from a personal bank account into a newly formed LLC owned by the debtor's spouse, has encountered the most frustrating obstacle in collection practice: the debtor who anticipated the judgment and moved assets beyond the creditor's reach before enforcement could begin.
Read articleRelated Work
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