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Home > Lawyers
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Penelope Elizabeth Nicholson
Penelope Elizabeth Nicholson
Experience | Education | Recognition | Publications
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Biography
Penny concentrates her practice on matters relating to appeals in civil cases, including issues that arise at the trial court level and those relating to the court's charge. She has participated in preparing numerous cases for appeal before the Supreme Court of Texas, various state and federal courts of appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. Such appeals have included cases where the amount in controversy was hundreds of millions of dollars. Penny is certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in civil appellate law.
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Representative Experience
Texas Supreme Court Cases
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- Obtaining, in the Supreme Court of Texas, reversal and rendition of a bad faith judgment against an insurance company in a case in which the Texas Supreme Court announced the important legal rule that an insurer does not owe an insured a duty of good faith while a case is pending on appeal
- Obtaining, in the Supreme Court of Texas, reversal of a multi-million dollar judgment against two individuals and two closely held corporations in a commercial dispute involving a business venture
- Obtaining, in the Supreme Court of Texas, reversal of a so-called “agreed judgment” of $2 million against a restaurant based on a personal injury claim in which the restaurant had withdrawn its consent to settlement after learning that the plaintiff, who had testified that she was confined to a wheelchair, could in fact walk without assistance
State and Federal Courts of Appeals
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- Obtaining, in the U.S. District Court in Dallas, reduction of a $336 million verdict to a $33 million judgment and then obtaining, in the U.S Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, reversal and rendition of the remaining $33 million judgment in a defamation case against a hospital and its former Chair of Internal Medicine involving important issues relating to immunity under the Health Care Quality Immunity Act
- Obtaining, in the U.S. District Court in Dallas, reduction of a judgment in a commercial dispute from $50 million to $10 million and then obtaining, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, reversal and rendition of the remaining $10 million judgment
- Obtaining, in the Dallas Court of Appeals, reversal and rendition of a $15 million judgment on the ground that the defendant did not owe the plaintiff a duty with respect to second hand asbestos exposure from asbestos fibers allegedly brought home on the clothes of the plaintiff’s former husband
Jury Charge Matters
- Handling jury charge preparation and charge objections for the defendant in a large toxic tort case in Corpus Christi state court in which the jury returned a verdict favorable to defendant
- Handling jury charge preparation and charge objections in significant mass tort litigation in various Texas state courts
- Handling jury charge preparation and charge objections in various commercial cases in various courts
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Education and Professional Background
- University of Texas School of Law, J.D. cum laude, 1980 (Order of the Coif; Texas Law Review)
- Yale University, B.A. Russian and East European Studies summa cum laude, 1977 (Phi Beta Kappa)
- Judicial clerk to The Honorable Robert O'Conor, Jr., of the Southern District of Texas, Houston, 1981-1983
- Admitted to practice: Texas, 1981; United States Supreme Court; Texas Supreme Court; U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ; U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit; U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas
Professional Recognition
- Recognized in Texas Super Lawyers, 2009 - 2011
- Member of the Texas State Bar Oversight Committee on Pattern Jury Charges, 2007 - present
Publications and Presentations
- "Appellate Practice in Texas State Courts," University of Houston Advanced Civil Litigation, 1993 - 1997, 1999
- Speaker for various teaching seminars sponsored by the State Bar of Texas, the University of Houston, South Texas College of Law, and the Louisiana Attorney General's Office
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Full Biography
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First City Tower
1001 Fannin Street
Suite 2500
Houston, TX 77002-6760
Tel +1.713.758.1096
Fax +1.713.615.5631
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