Representative Cases Handled by Our El Paso, Texas, Lawyers

When you work with any of the experienced attorneys of Windle Hood Alley Norton Brittain & Jay, LLP, you can be confident in capable representation should your case go all the way to trial. We are accomplished negotiators and arbitrators, but our work in corporate defense and other complex areas of civil law necessarily means we must always be prepared to defend and represent your interests aggressively in the appropriate Texas or New Mexico courts.

Please review our attorneys' profiles and backgrounds for more information on our body of work accomplishing favorable outcomes for our clients. Here is an overview and small sampling of representative cases handled by our lawyers.

• Represented El Paso affiliates of Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp. in connection with execution of search warrants at 11 separate facilities and in spin-off litigation from criminal investigation.
• Represented Tenet Healthcare Corporation in qui tam litigation arising out of its hospitals' claims for outlier payments and relationships with physicians. See United States ex rel. Lam v. Tenet Healthcare Corp., 481 F. Supp. 2d 689 (W.D. Tex. 2007) (dismissing kickback claims with prejudice); United States ex rel. Lam v. Tenet Healthcare Corp., 481 F. Supp. 2d 673 (W.D. Tex. 2006) (dismissing kickback claims).
• Represented Merrill Lynch in numerous customer arbitrations following the firm's regulatory settlement relating to research analyst reports. In one such case, Kaizad and Freny Rajkotwala et al. v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, NASD No. 03-0841, we successfully defended the firm in a case brought by seventeen claimants seeking a total of more than $3.7 million. In another, Fernando and Gilma Rivas v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, NASD No. 03-08671, the Panel dismissed the claimants' case, recommended expungement of the claim from our individual clients' CRD records, and award Merrill Lynch attorneys fees and costs incurred in defending the case.
• Successfully defended Service Corporation International and its affiliates in putative consumer class action relating to pricing disclosures for funeral services under Federal Trade Commission Funeral Rule and related Texas laws. See In re SCI Texas Funeral Services, Inc., 236 S.W.3d 759 (Tex. 2007) (vacating discovery sanctions issued by trial court); SCI Texas Funeral Services, Inc. v. Hijar, 214 S.W.3d 148 (Tex. App.--El Paso 2007, pet. denied) (dismissing class damage claims and decertifying class). Following the court of appeals' decertification of the class and dismissal of the named plaintiffs' damage claims, the named plaintiffs voluntarily non-suited their claims with prejudice. David Hijar et al v. SCI Texas Funeral Services, Inc., et al., Cause No. 2002-740 in the County Court at Law No. Three of El Paso County, Texas.
• Successfully defended Philips Electronics North America and obtained a counterclaim judgment of $1 million in a suit brought by a former executive accused of breaching his fiduciary duties to the company. See Piratello v. Philips Electronics N. Am. Corp.,2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3592 (W.D. Tex. 2003) (denying executive's motion for new trial).
• Successfully defended Ford Motor Company in civil penalty action brought by the Department of Justice to recover $42 million NAFTA record-keeping penalty assessed by Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection. See United States v. Ford Motor Co., 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 72149 (W.D. Tex. 2007) (denying motions to dismiss). After the completion of discovery, the government voluntarily stipulated to the dismissal of the case with prejudice.
• Successfully challenged rules adopted by a Chapter 36 groundwater district which effectively deprived certain landowners of the ability to produce groundwater. See Guitar Holding Co., L.P. v. Hudspeth County Underground Water Conservation Dist. No. 1, 263 S.W.3d 910 (Tex. 2008).

Please see our representative cases reported page for more case information, including the accomplishments of our other partners, or contact our firm for additional information on our work in your legal area of interest.