Gil Ramirez Group v. Houston Independent School District

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Siegel served as co-counsel for appellant the Gil Ramirez Group, a family-owned construction company denied contracts by the Houston Independent School District allegedly because it refused to pay bribes to an HISD trustee.  The district court dismissed GRG's case as speculative, but the Fifth Circuit agreed with Siegel and held that GRG properly alleged injury under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.  The Court also reinstated one of GRG's state law claims.  The case was widely covered in Houston media and Law360. See 786 F.3d 400 (5th Cir. 2015).

 

Preston v. Dyer

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Siegel was asked to defend an arbitral decision worth over $2 million in this divorce case.  The arbitrator awarded spousal support payments pursuant to a pre-nuptial agreement, and the district court confirmed the arbitral award following briefing by Siegel.  The court of appeals agreed with Siegel, upholding the award, and the Texas Supreme Court denied review. See 2012 WL 5960193 (Tex. App. -- Beaumont 2012, pet. denied).  The brief is here.

 

Robert Kinney v. BCG Attorney Search

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BCG sued Kinney claiming he breached an employment contract by divulging negative and allegedly confidential information about BCG's legal recruiting operations online.  The trial court denied Kinney's motion to dismiss the contract claim under Texas's new SLAPP law, enacted in 2011, but Siegel persuaded the court of appeals to reverse, granting Kinney full dismissal of BCG's case. The court also sided with Kinney in affirming the dismissal of other claims asserted by BCG.  The decision was among the first construing several provisions of the SLAPP statute.  See 2013 WL 1432012 (Tex. App. -- Austin 2013).  Siegel's brief is here.

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