Thomas Wright

Ranked in 1 Practice Areas

Band 2

Litigation: Appellate

Texas

9 Years Ranked

About

Provided by Thomas Wright

USA

Practice Areas

Thomas C. Wright is a Founding Partner of Wright, Close, Barger, LLP and is Board Certified in Civil Trial Law (since 1992) and Civil Appellate Law (since 1993) by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Mr. Wright has argued many cases in the Texas Supreme Court, most of the regional appellate courts in Texas, and in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. He regularly appears in trial courts as appellate counsel to argue legal issues and preserve the record for appeal. He has tried and appealed a variety of cases including oil and gas, breach of contract, trade secret, serious personal injury, and fiduciary litigation. He has been involved in over 150 cases over thirty years in the Texas Supreme Court, and has argued some of the most important cases during that time, including:

Rocor Int’l, Inc. v. National Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh, Pa., 77 S.W.3d 253 (Tex. 2002), setting the standards for analyzing statutory “failure to settle” claims.

Qwest Int’l Comms., Inc. v. AT&T Corp., 167 S.W.3d 324 (Tex. 2005), refining the standard for the award of punitive damages in a business case.

Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee v. American Home Assurance Co., 261 S.W.3d 24 (Tex. 2008), holding insurers could use staff counsel to defend their insureds where there is no conflict.

Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. v. Sevcik, 267 S.W.3d 867 (Tex. 2008), holding that the mention of defendant’s gross revenues where no punitive damages were sought was reversible error.

Ditta v. Conte, 298 S.W.3d 187 (Tex. 2009), holding that there is no statute of limitations for the removal of a trustee of a trust.

MCI Sales & Service, Inc. v. Hinton, 329 S.W.3d 475 (Tex. 2010), holding the trial court committed harmful error by not allowing the jury to consider whether the bus driver and his employer were responsible for the accident.

LAN/STV v. Martin K. Eby Construction Co., 435 S.W.3d 234 (Tex. 2014), applying the economic loss rule to a claim of negligent performance of a construction contract.

JAW the Pointe, LLC v. Lexington Ins. Co., 460 S.W.3d 597 (Tex. 2015), holding that a property insurer who paid a reasonable amount to settle a claim and exhausted the policy was not liable to another property owner who also had a claim.

In re J.B. Hunt Transp., Inc., 492 S.W.3d 287 (Tex. 2016), overruling a previous case saying that mandamus relief was not available to enforce a claim of dominant jurisdiction.

Centerpoint Builders GP, LLC v. Trussway, Ltd., 496 S.W.3d 33 (Tex. 2016). In a case of first impression, the Texas Supreme Court held that a general contractor is not “engaged in the business of selling” the components incorporated into a finished apartment complex and was not entitled to indemnity under the product liability statute.

Berkel & Co. Contractors, Inc. v. Lee, 612 S.W.3d 280 (Tex. 2020), rejecting a less stringent standard for proving intentional injury as a way to avoid the worker’s compensation bar.

Gregory v. Chohan, 670 S.W.3d 546 (Tex. 2023), holding that “anchoring” non-economic damages in a personal injury case to artwork, aircraft, sports salaries, and similar analogies was improper.

Tom has also had significant wins in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, including:

Wellogix, Inc. v. Accenture, LLP, 716 F.3d 867 (5th Cir. 2013), sustaining a $50 million verdict in a theft of trade secrets case.

Campbell Harrison v Hill – enforcing a large arbitration award against Al Hill III, an heir to oil tycoon H.L. Hunt.

He has earned industry respect for the highest-level of professional excellence and is both a contributing author to the chapters on Discovery and Liability Insurance to Professor Dorsaneo’s Texas Litigation Guide and is an Editorial Consultant for Appleman’s Texas Insurance Law Practice Guide. Tom is also a former Captain in the United States Army, having served as an Assistant to the General Counsel of the Army, and is a member of the prestigious American Law Institute.

Career

Founding Partner, Wright, Close & Barger, (2002-present); Partner, Campbell Harrison & Wright, (1991-2001); Associate and Partner, Miller Keeton Bristow & Brown, (1985-1991); Captain, United States Army, Assistant to the General Counsel of the Army (1981-1985); Law Clerk to the Hon. Charles Clark, United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (1980-1981)

Professional Memberships

Fellow, Houston Bar Foundation

State Bar of Texas

Houston Bar Association

American Bar Association

American Law Institute

Publications

Mr. Wright is the editorial consultant for the New Appleman Texas Insurance Law treatise, and a contributing author to Professor William Dorsaneo's Texas Litigation Guide.