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Dwaine M. Massey, founder of the Massey Law Firm, PLLC, represents plaintiffs and defendants in complex business litigation and serious personal injury cases. Prior to forming the firm, he spent three years with a successful litigation boutique specializing in high stakes commercial litigation, generally for the plaintiff. While there, he worked on numerous commercial and business litigation cases, including class actions, securities and RICO matters for individual and corporate plaintiffs.
Starting his legal career with Vinson & Elkins, Mr. Massey represented both plaintiffs and defendants in complex business and serious personal injury litigation involving millions of dollars. While there, he represented some of the firm's major health care, accounting, insurance and oil and gas industry clients.
Before law school, Mr. Massey worked as a Certified Public Accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers. His financial background makes him well-suited to handle complex commercial litigation. His background enables him to decipher financial data, cut through complicated transactions, and analyze financial information in order to evaluate commercial claims and prepare them for trial in an efficient, cost-effective manner. His keen understanding of financial information is extremely useful in his personal injury cases as well.
- Law School and Undergraduate Education
- Bar Admissions
- Professional Memberships
- Past Professional Employment
- Represented corporate and individual plaintiffs in complex commercial litigation
- Represented corporate and individual clients in cases involving partnership and contract disputes, personal injury and property damages, professional malpractice, securities fraud, antitrust and other complex litigation
- Directed the audit field work in a variety of client assignments, often concurrently, as a supervising member of the audit staff and resolved technical accounting and auditing issues
- Professional Achievements
- Community Activities
- No. 2005-03251; Michelle P. Jackson, Individually and as Next Friend of Cordell J. Jackson v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., et al., in the District Court of Harris County, Texas, 269th Judicial District.
- Case Type: Personal Injury
- Role: Lead Counsel
- Party Represented: Plaintiff
- Opposing Counsel: Kenneth Scott, Knight & Scott
- Dispute: Client sued Defendants for the severe injuries sustained by her then 14 year old son when Defendants negligently allowed him to operate a security cart on the premises.
- Result: Confidential settlement reached during mediation.
- No. 2008-32360; Steven Wayne Bowman As the Personal Representative of the Estate of William C. Bowman v. Richard Sewing and Patricia Sewing, in the District Court of Harris County, Texas, 270th Judicial District.
- Case Type: Partnership Dispute
- Role: Lead Counsel
- Party Represented: Plaintiff/Counterclaim Defendant
- Opposing Counsel: Latosha L. Payne, Joseph Scrieber, Tiffany Briscoe, Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease
- Dispute: Client sued Richard Sewing for redemption of partnership interest. Sewing counterclaimed for breach of contract.
- Result: After a three day trial, jury awarded a take-nothing verdict on Sewing's counterclaim and awarded Client $282,000 in damages and attorney's fees.
- No. 2006-72603; Ergos Technology Partners, Inc. v. Xvand Technology Corp., in the District Court of Harris County, Texas, 269th Judicial District.
- Case Type: Breach of Commission Agreement
- Role: Lead Counsel
- Party Represented: Plaintiff
- Opposing Counsel: Eugene B. Wilshire, Wilshire, Scott & Dyer
- Dispute: Client sued Xvand for breach of written commission agreement.
- Result: After a bench trial, Client awarded $179,000 including $120,000 in future lost profits.
- No. 2008-01276; Bryanna O'Mara and Crystal M. Washington v. Mark Sessions and Comcast of Houston, LLC, in the District Court of Harris County, Texas, 133rd Judicial District.
- Case Type: Personal Injury
- Role: Lead Counsel
- Party Represented: Plaintiffs
- Opposing Counsel: Alma Aguirre, Powers & Frost
- Dispute: Clients sued Defendants for the severe injuries sustained in a five car vehicle collision.
- Result: Confidential settlement reached during mediation.
- No. 2005-79482; In re: Petition of Nadia A. Shike, in the District Court of Harris County, Texas, 165th Judicial District.
- Case Type: Personal Injury
- Role: Lead Counsel
- Party Represented: Plaintiff
- Opposing Counsel: David Miller, Miller, Scamardi & Carraba; Wade Williams, Lewis & Williams
- Dispute: Clients sued Defendants for the severe injuries sustained in an auto-pedestrian accident.
- Result: Confidential, pre-suit settlement was reached.
- No. 814708; Ocean Blue Pools, Inc. v. Karen Jammer, in the County Court No. 2 of Harris County, Texas.
- Case Type: Breach of Contract
- Role: Lead Counsel
- Party Represented: Defendant/Counterclaim Plaintiff
- Opposing Counsel: Sean K. McPherson, Attorney at Law
- Dispute: Plaintiff sued Client for breach of pool construction contract for alleged non-payment of $900 and attempted to foreclose on her home. Client counterclaimed.
- Result: After a three day trial, jury found that Plaintiff, not Client, breached the contract. In awarding Client $46,000 on her counterclaim, the jury also found that Plaintiff knowingly violated the deceptive trade practices act.
- National Association of Securities Dealers Case No. 96-01187; George W. Hawkins v. The Westcap Corporation and National Western Life Insurance,
- Case Type: Defamation
- Role: Lead Counsel
- Party Represented: Defendant National Western Life
- Opposing Counsel: Chris Bell, Bell & Murphy
- Dispute: Defended defamation action by former broker dealer.
- Result: After a three day arbitration, panel awarded zero damages to dealer on his $500,000 defamation claim against Client.
- American Arbitration Association Case No. 70 460 00421 04; Andrew C. Kyriakides v. Atlantia Offshore Limited,
- Case Type: Injunction/Covenant Not to Compete
- Role: Co-Lead Counsel
- Party Represented: Defendant/Counterclaim Plaintiff
- Opposing Counsel: William Helfand, Chamberlain Hrdlicka
- Dispute: Defended offshore platform engineering firm against wrongful termination claim by executive and prosecuted counterclaim against executive for enforcement of covenant not to compete.
- Result: After five days of arbitration, panel: (1) awarded zero damages to executive on his $300,000 claim; (2) awarded $107,000 in attorney's fees and expenses to our client, the entire sum we asked for; and (3) upheld a previously entered temporary injunction and enjoined the executive from accepting employment with our client's primary competitor for the remainder of the non-compete period.
- Other Representative Cases
- Bolton v. City of Dallas, 472 F. 3d 261 (5th Cir. (Tex.) 2006)
- Deleon v. Lloyd's London, Certain Underwriters, 259 F. 3d 344 (5th Cir. (Tex.) 2001)
- Delgado v. Methodist Hosp., 936 S.W. 2d 479 (Tex.App.--Houston (14 Dist.) 1996)
- Efting v. Tokai Corp., 75 F.Supp. 2d 1006 (W.D.Mo. 1999)
- Mayo v. Hartford Life Ins. Co., 220 F.Supp. 2d 714 (S.D.Tex. 2002)
- Sandwich Chef of Texas, Inc. v. Reliance Nat. Indem. Ins. Co., 319 F. 3d 205 (5th Cir. (Tex.) 2003)