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Home > Lawyers
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D. Ferguson McNiel, III
D. Ferguson McNiel, III
Experience | Education | Recognition | Activities | Publications
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Biography
An accomplished lawyer with over 30 years of experience, Ferguson has a broad-based litigation practice. He has extensive trial experience in commercial, construction, product liability, toxic tort, and energy cases. His clients include Fortune 150 corporations and other major companies in a variety of industries, such as consumer products, pharmaceuticals, chemical, oil, manufacturing, and professional services. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and is certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in the fields of Personal Injury Trial Law and Civil Trial Law. Ferguson also handles general negligence, contract, and statutory claims. His litigation expertise has earned Ferguson recognition by Chambers USA as one of its leading lawyers in general commercial litigation in 2003 - 2011; and by The Best Lawyers in America® in commercial litigation 2005 - 2012 and construction law 2008 - 2011; "Texas Super Lawyers" 2003 - 2011; and Legal 500 U.S. 2008 - 2011. Ferguson currently serves as V&E's Construction Practice Specialty Leader.
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Representative Experience
Commercial
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- Represented a racing company and individual in an attempted dissolution of the corporation in the Chancery Court of the state of Delaware
- Represented individual landowner against claims involving the constructive trusts of various properties in state court in Texas
- Represented a foreign manufacturer of wind turbines used in the generation of electricity
Construction/Professional Malpractice
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- Representing a major engineering firm against claims of negligence and misrepresentation pertaining to the evaluation of a chemical plant project in the state court of Texas
- Represented major EPC contractor in claims arising from the renovation of two Gulf Coast refineries
- Represented the owner of a major arts facility in claims against the contractor
Product Liability
- Represented a Fortune 100 multi-national consumer products company as its national trial counsel in vinyl chloride litigation in state and federal courts in a number of different states
- Representing a leading pharmaceutical company as Texas counsel in diet drug litigation filed by plaintiffs opting out of related class action
- Represented a major chemical company against claims filed in Texas by nationwide plaintiffs against multiple defendants for property damage resulting from defects in polybutylene plumbing systems; in four separate jury trials and one arbitration, only a small portion of the overall liability to plaintiffs was assessed against our client
Toxic Tort
- Currently serving as trial counsel in the state of Texas for a major oil company in its asbestos litigation, representing a product manufacturer in asbestos cases throughout the state of Texas
- Represented a major chemical company in agricultural product toxic tort cases involving approximately 25,000 non-U.S. workers who filed suit in various Texas state and federal courts; currently representing same company in similar cases filed by non-U.S. workers in Louisiana and Hawaii federal courts and in the courts of the Philippines, Nicaragua and Panama; involved in similar cases dismissed from U.S. courts and then refiled in Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, Panama, The Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, and St. Lucia, all of which were resolved by settlement
- Represented a major chemical company in 8,000 claims arising from alleged chemical emissions from a plant; the case was tried to a jury with a defense verdict for our client
Energy
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- Represented a major oil company involving claims of breach of contract, fraud and misappropriation of trade secrets pertaining to leases in a South American country
- Represented plaintiffs in two suits involving a West Texas wind farm project; in one suit, our client was the general contractor of the project seeking amounts owed under the wind tower construction contract; in the second suit, our client was a non-U.S. supplier of equipment suing a distributor for breach of contract and incidental damages arising from the defendant's failure to deliver equipment that the supplier then obtained at higher cost from alternative source
- Represented a Texas energy company in a property damage suit arising from the drilling of a well
Fraud
- Defended a national insurance company in fraud and securities fraud cases filed in three South Texas counties; all resolved by favorable settlement
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Education and Professional Background
- University of Arkansas, J.D., 1980 (Phi Delta Phi; Arkansas Law Review)
- The University of Texas School of Law, 1978-1979 (Summer programs)
- University of Arkansas, B.S.B.A. with honors, 1977 (Beta Gamma Sigma; 3-year letterman in baseball)
- Admitted to practice: Texas, 1980; United States Supreme Court; Fifth and Ninth Circuit Courts of Appeal; U.S. District Courts for the Southern, Eastern, Western, and Northern Districts of Texas
Professional Recognition
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- Recognized as a "Top Lawyer" in construction law, Corporate Counsel, 2011
- Legal 500 U.S. in environment litigation, 2008 - 2009; in construction litigation, 2010 - 2011
- Chambers USA: America's Leading Business Lawyers in general commercial litigation, 2003 - 2011
Activities and Affiliations
- Fellow: Texas Bar Foundation; Houston Bar Foundation
- Member: Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, International Society of Barristers; American Board of Trial Advocates; International Association of Defense Counsel; American Bar Association; Texas Association of Defense Counsel; Defense Research Institute; Houston Bar Association
Publications and Presentations
- Inside The Minds: Managing Construction Litigation — Leading Lawyers on Organizing Documentation, Developing a Case Strategy, and Overcoming Common Challenges,
Thomson Reuters/Aspatore, 2009, "Preparing for Construction Litigation" (co-author)
- "The Surface Destruction Test as Applied in Reed v. Wylie and Its Possible Effect on Arkansas Law," 33 Ark. L. Rev. 422, 1979
- Lecturer on litigation seminars on civil litigation, evidentiary issues, architect and engineer liability, and insurance law
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Full Biography
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First City Tower
1001 Fannin Street
Suite 2500
Houston, TX 77002-6760
Tel +1.713.758.3882
Fax +1.713.615.5493
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