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S. Barrick

J. Stephen Barrick
Senior Counsel, Hicks Thomas LLP

Education: University of California at Berkeley (B.A. 1989); University of Houston Law Center (J.D., magna cum laude, 1996), Notes and Comments Editor of the Houston Law Review, Order of the Coif, Order of the Barons; Judicial Clerkship, Honorable John D. Rainey, United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

Areas of Specialty:  Appellate law and business litigation, including contracts, fiduciary duties, business torts, property rights, insurance bad faith, trade secrets, employment discrimination, qui tam claims, and class actions.

Representative Trials and Arbitrations:

  • Lead counsel for public oil company in multi-million dollar arbitration against foreign business partners over production rights under a joint operating agreement - arbitration panel unanimously awarded the full amount of the claim, including over $1 million in interest.
  • Counsel for public oil company in defense of an aggressive, multi-million dollar garnishment action to seize bonus payments owed to a foreign state - prevailed on all claims and recovered the largest award of attorneys' fees known to have been awarded in a Texas garnishment case.
  • Counsel for public internet company in defense of a challenge to its ownership of its namesake domain name - obtained summary judgment on all claims, then settled a subsequently reinstated claim for an immaterial sum.
  • Counsel for large oil company in arbitration over the client's right to withdraw from a joint operating agreement - prevailed on all claims with a substantial award of attorneys' fees.
  • Counsel for foreign chemical company in defense of a $250 million dollar claim for breach of contract - obtained summary judgment dismissing all claims.
  • Counsel for public pharmaceutical supply company in action against former employees for misappropriation of trade secrets and breach of non-compete and non-solicitation agreements - obtained a permanent injunction against the former employees.
  • Counsel for public gas processing company in defense of a multi-billion dollar qui tam action alleging industry-wide violations of the False Claims Act.

Representative Appeals:

  • Chu v. Hong, 249 S.W.3d 441 (Tex. 2008).  Counsel for the appellant on appeal of a final judgment awarding over $1.7 million in actual and punitive damages against an attorney for conspiracy to fraudulently transfer property.  The Texas Supreme Court unanimously reversed and rendered judgment that the plaintiff take nothing.
  • BACM 2001-1 San Felipe Rd. L.P. v. Trafalgar Holdings I, Ltd., 218 S.W.3d 137 (Tex. App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2007, pet. denied).  Counsel for the appellant on appeal of a $13 million judgment for breach of contract.  The court of appeals reversed and rendered judgment that the plaintiff take nothing.
  • Moon v. Lesikar, 230 S.W.3d 800 (Tex. App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2007, pet. denied).  Counsel for the appellee on appeal of a summary judgment holding the plaintiff lacked standing to challenge a transaction by the settler of a family trust.  The court of appeals affirmed the judgment.
  • TH Investments, Inc. v. Kirby Inland Marine, L.P., 218 S.W.3d 173 (Tex. App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2007, pet. denied), cert. denied, 129 S. Ct. 899 (2009).  Counsel for the appellee on appeal of a judgment determining ownership of partially submerged land near the Houston Ship Channel.  The court of appeals unanimously affirmed the judgment and the Supreme Court denied review.
  • Lesikar v. Moon, 237 S.W.3d 361 (Tex. App.-Houston [14th Dis.] 2007, pet. denied).  Counsel for the appellant on appeal of a judgment dividing the assets of a family trust.  The court of appeals affirmed in part and reversed in part.
  • Texas Mutual Ins. Co. v. Ray Ferguson Interests, Inc., No. 01-02-0807-CV (Tex. App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 2006, pet. denied).  Counsel for the appellant on appeal of a $13 million judgment for violation of the Texas Insurance Code.  The court of appeals reversed and rendered judgment for Texas Mutual.
  • Citgo Refining & Marketing, Inc. v. Garza, 187 S.W.3d 45 (Tex. App.-Corpus Christi 2005, pet. dism'd by agr.).  Counsel for the appellant on appeal of a multi-million dollar judgment for breach of a class action settlement agreement.  The court of appeals reversed the judgment awarding damages and attorneys' fees and remanded for trial on the underlying claims.
  • Walker Int'l Holdings, Ltd. v. Republic of Congo, 415 F.3d 413 (5th Cir. 2005).  Counsel for the appellee on appeal of a judgment awarding over $500,000 in attorneys' fees.  The court of appeals affirmed the judgment in full.  
  • Walker Int'l Holdings, Ltd. v. Republic of Congo, 395 F.3d 229 (5th Cir. 2004), cert. denied, 544 U.S. 975 (2005).  Counsel for the appellee on appeal of a judgment dismissing the plaintiff's garnishment action.  The court of appeals affirmed and the Supreme Court denied review.

Publications and Presentations:

  • Case Study - Chu v. Hong: Formulating a Winning Appeal, TexasBarCLE Course on Practice Before the Texas Supreme Court, April 17, 2009.
  • Enforceability of Judgments Against Foreign States, ABA Energy Litigation Journal, Spring 2009.
  • Temporary Injunctions, HBA-CLE Course, June 9, 2006.
  • Foreign Sovereign Immunity from Execution, HBA International Section CLE, October 26, 2005.  
  • Punitive Damages, TexasBarCLE Advanced Civil Appellate Practice Course, September 9, 2005.  
  • When a Creditors' Committee Dies, Does Its Pending Appeal Die Too?, ABI Journal, vol. XXIII, no. 10, at 1 (Dec/Jan 2005), reprinted in The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, vol. 13, no. 1, at 15 (Jan 2005), and in The Houston Lawyer, July/August 2005, at 36.  
  • Moriel and the Exemplary Damages Act: Texas Tag-Team Overhauls Punitive Damages, 32 Hous. L. Rev. 1059 (1995).

Admissions: State Bar of Texas; U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Southern and Eastern Districts of Texas; U.S. Courts of Appeals for the 5th and 10th Circuits.

Honors: Selected as one of Texas's 'Rising Stars' in Texas Monthly magazine and Texas Rising Stars magazine (2004-2007).

Community Involvement: Chairman of the Board of Directors for Career and Recovery Resources, Inc., a non-profit, United Way member agency

Direct Line: 713.547.9167
Email: sbarrick@hicks-thomas.com