Robert K. Wise

Marietta College, B.A., summa cum laude

College of William & Mary, J.D.

• Symposium Editor of the William and Mary Law Review

Texas

All Texas federal district courts

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

Bob has tried tens of lawsuits and arbitrations and has argued tens of appeals and mandamus proceedings in most Texas and federal appellate courts, including the Texas and Oklahoma Supreme Courts.  Some of his trial and appellate accomplishments include:

• In a case of first impression, reversed a trial court’s order granting the plaintiff’s motion to increase juror pay beyond that set by the county’s Commissioner’s Court.  See In re Oncor Elec. Delivery Co., No. 05-23-00298-CV, 2023 Tex. App. LEXIS 2154, 2023 WL 2726739 (Tex. App.—Dallas Mar. 31, 2023, orig. proceeding).
• Obtained affirmation of a summary judgment in favor of a large oil and gas company in an environmental action alleging surface and groundwater contamination by the company’s operations.  See Lahijani v. Merit Energy Co., No. 14-20-00393-CV, 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 6045, 2022 WL 345894 (Tex. App. — Houston [14th Dist.] Aug. 18, 2022, no pet.).
• In a case important to all regulated electric utilities in Texas and one that resolved a split among the courts of appeals, LWS persuaded the Texas Supreme Court that the Public Utility Commission of Texas has exclusive jurisdiction over breach-of-contract claims involving electric-utility rates, operations, or services. The Court’s decision resulted in the reversal of a substantial monetary judgment against LWS’s client, Oncor Electric Delivery Co. LLC, the largest transmission and distribution utility in Texas.  See Oncor Elec. Delivery Co. v. Chaparral Energy, LLC, No.  16-0301, 546 S.W.3d 133 (2018).
• In a case of first impression, convinced the Oklahoma Supreme Court to affirm a trial court’s application of non-Oklahoma law to the determination of the validity of a noncompete entered by Oklahoma residents in connection with the sale of a business, to (1) affirm the trial court’s holdings that the noncompete was valid under Texas law and breached by the sellers, injunctive relief was warranted, and a company owned by the sellers tortiously interfered with the noncompete, and (2) reverse and remand the case to the trial court for a determination of actual and punitive damages. See Berry & Berry Acquisitions, LLC v. BFN Props. LLC, 2018 OK 27, 461 P.3d 1016 (2018).
• Convinced the Texas Supreme Court to reinstate a summary judgment in favor of one of the nation’s largest midstream energy companies in a highly publicized case in which a small town and many of its residents sued the owners of several compression stations for nuisance and trespass. See Town of Dish v. Atmos Energy Corp., 519 S.W.3d 605, 606 (Tex. 2017).
• Obtained a summary judgment and the upheld it on appeal in a million-dollar lawsuit by a Fort Worth used-car dealership against a floor-plan financing company for alleged breaches of the parties’ floor-plan financing agreement, DTPA violations, fraud, and defamation. See KW Ministries, Inc. v. Auction Credit Enterprises, LLC, No. 05-14-01392-CV, 2016 Tex. App. LEXIS 2930 (Tex. App.—Dallas Mar. 21, 2016) (mem. op.).
• Defeated appeal from a summary judgment in favor of a major electric transmission and distribution company in a $25,000,000 negligence action arising out of a wildfire that destroyed a lake resort and many houses allegedly caused by an employee’s careless smoking. See Club Vista Dev. II, Inc. v. Oncor Elec. Delivery Co., No. 05-12-01727-CV, 2014 Tex. App. LEXIS 9081 (Tex. App.—Dallas Aug. 15, 2014, pet. denied) (mem. op.).
• Successfully defended a major electric transmission and distribution company in a personal-injury lawsuit seeking more than $90 million in damages for injuries sustained by two minor children who allegedly contacted a downed power line.
• Obtained a zero-liability judgment after a two-week bench trial in deceptive-advertising action brought by the FTC against three debt-settlement companies and their officers and directors in which the FTC sought more than $58 million dollars in damages, and then upheld the judgment on appeal. See FTC v. Financial Freedom Processing, Inc., et al., No. 3:10-CV-2446-N (N.D. T Mar. 12, 2012), aff’d, No. 12-10520, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 16766 (5th Cir. Aug. 12, 2013).
• Obtained ruling clarifying the law on the proper calculation of administrative penalties under Section 15.023 of the Public Utility Regulatory Act. See PUC Docket No. 37634, Agreed Notice of Violation and Settlement Agreement Relating to Luminant Energy Company LLC’s Violation of PURA § 39.151(j) and PUC Subst. R. 25.503(f)(2), Relating to Failure to Adhere to ERCOT Protocol 6.10.5.4(1) Concerning Load Acting as Resource Service Requirements, Order on Certified Issue at 3 (Feb. 25, 2010).
• Successfully defended a major electric generating company in an administrative proceeding seeking the largest fine ($171 million) ever imposed by the Public Utility Commission of Texas.
• Obtained judgments clarifying Texas law on standing to sue accounting firms for negligent misrepresentation. See Compass Bank v. King, Griffin & Adamson, P.C., No. 3:01-CIV-2028-N, 2003 WL 22077721 (N.D. Tex. Sept. 5, 2003), aff’d, 388 F.3d 504 (5^th 2004); Abrams Ctr. Nat’l Bank v. Farmer Fuqua & Huff, P.C., 225 S.W.3d 171 (Tex. App.—El Paso 2005, no pet.).
• Successfully tried and handled many complex commercial disputes for a variety of corporate clients, including obtaining a favorable jury verdict against Enron after a six-week jury trial.
• Successfully handled an ERISA class action for major electric utility.
• Successfully handled a derivate litigation for major electric utility
• Published opinions in appeals and mandamus proceedings: Oncor Elec. Delivery Co. v. Chaparral Energy, LLC, No. 16-0301, 546 S.W.3d 133 (Tex. 2018); Berry & Berry Acquisitions, LLC v. BFN Props. LLC, 2018 OK 27, 461 P.3d 1016 (2018); Town of Dish v. Atmos Energy Corp., 519 S.W.3d 605, 606 (Tex. 2017); In re Oncor Elec. Delivery Co., LLC, No. 05-23-00298-CV, 2023 Tex. App. LEXIS 2154, 2023 WL 2726739 (Tex. App.—Dallas Mar. 31, 2023, orig. proceeding) (mem. op.).Lahijani v. Merit Energy Co., No. 14-20-00393-CV, 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 6045, 2022 WL 345894 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] Aug. 18, 2022, no pet.) (mem. op.); In re Wildcat Midstream Holdings, LLC, No. 13-17-0552-CV (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi Nov. 15, 2017, orig. proceeding); KW Ministries, Inc. v. Auction Credit Enterprises, LLC, No. 05-14-01392-CV, 2016 Tex. App. LEXIS 2930 (Tex. App.—Dallas Mar. 21, 2016) (mem. op.); Club Vista Dev. II, Inc. v. Oncor Elec. Delivery Co., No. 05-12-01727-CV, 2014 Tex. App. LEXIS 9081 (Tex. App.—Dallas Aug. 15, 2014, pet. denied) (mem. op.); CQ Inc. v. TXU Mining Co., 565 F.3d 268 (5th Cir. 2009); Metromedia Energy, Inc. v. Enserch Energy Servs., Inc., 409 F.3d 574 (3d Cir. 2005); Friberg v. Kan. City So. Ry., 267 F.3d 439 (5th Cir. 2001); Abrams Ctr. Nat’l Bank v. Farmer Fuqua & Huff, P.C., 225 S.W.3d 171 (Tex. App.—El Paso 2005, no pet.); Larue v. Genescreen, Inc., 957 S.W.2d 958 (Tex. App.—Beaumont 1997, pet. denied).    

• “Texas Super Lawyer:” 2011-2024.
• Recipient of the Texas Bar Foundation’s 2015 “Outstanding Law Review Article Award” for his St. Mary Law Journal article, “A Guide to Properly Using and Responding to Requests for Admission under the Texas Discovery Rules.”
• Named “Appellate Lawyer of the Week” in the November 24, 2014 edition of the Texas Lawyer for winning the appeal in Club Vista Dev. II, Inc. v. Oncor Elec. Delivery Co., 05-12-01727-CV, 2014 Tex. App. LEXIS 9081 (Tex. App.—Dallas Aug. 15, 2014, pet. denied) (mem. op.).
• Named “Litigator of the Week” in March 25, 2012 edition of the Texas Lawyer for beating the FTC in FTC v. Financial Freedom Processing, Inc., et al. in the United States District Court for the North District of Texas.

• Member, State Bar of Texas
• Member of Dallas Bar Association; Former Chairperson and Vice Chairperson of its Legal-Ethics Committee and former member of its Business Litigation Council
• Member, College of the State Bar of Texas (2009-10, 2015-16, 2024).
• Member, Pro Bono College of the State Bar of Texas (2009-2010).

• Co-Author, Texas Discovery: A Guide to Taking and Resisting Discovery under the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure (1st ed. 2016, 2d ed. 2019, 3d ed. 2021).
• Co-Author, Avoiding Obstructionist Discovery Practices: How to Respond Properly to Production Requests and Eliminate Improper Boilerplate and Other Common Improper Objections, 10 The Advocate 12 (2022).
• Author, Texas Written Discovery: Drafting and Responding under the Texas Discovery Rules (2015).
• Co-Author, The Practitioner’s Guide to Properly Responding to Requests for Disclosure under the Texas Discovery Rules, 50 St. Mary’s L.J. 601 (2019)
• Co-Author, The Practitioner’s Guide to Properly Taking and Defending Depositions under the Texas Discovery Rules, 68 Baylor L. Rev. 399 (2016)
• Principal Author, A Guide to Properly Using and Responding to Requests for Admission under the Texas Discovery Rules, 45 St. Mary’s L.J. 655 (2014)
• Author, Ending Evasive Responses to Written Discovery: A Guide for Properly Responding (and Objecting) to Interrogatories and Document Requests under the Texas Discovery Rules, 65 Baylor L. Rev. 510 (2013)
• Author, Administrative Penalties against Electricity Market Participants under the Texas Public Utility Regulatory Act, 62 Baylor L. Rev. 788 (2010)
• Co-Author, First Refusal Rights under Texas Law, 62 Baylor L. Rev. 433 (2010)
• Co-Author, Of Lies and Disclaimers―Contracting Around Fraud under Texas Law, 41 St. Mary’s L.J. 119 (2009)
• Principal Author, Negligent Misrepresentation in Texas: The Misunderstood Tort, 40 Tex. Tech L. Rev. 845 (2008)
• Author, Mediation in Texas: Can the Judge Really Make Me Do That?, 47 S. Tex. Law Rev. 849 (2006)
• Author, Demand Futility in Shareholder-Derivative Litigation under Texas Law, 28 Tex. Tech L. Rev. 59 (1997)
• Author, The Lawyer-Witness Rule: A Comparison of a Lawyer’s Ability to be Both Witness and an Advocate under the Texas Code of Professional Responsibility and the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct, 31 S. Tex. L. Rev. 651 (1990)
• Speaker, various bar association clinics on various subjects, including October 2019, September 2019, April 2019, August 2016, and March 2015 presentations on discovery under the Texas discovery rules to the Fort Worth Bar Association, the Austin Bar Association, and the Dallas Bar Association’s business litigation section.
• Co-presenter of a live CLE program for the University of Texas’ Continuing Legal Education on the “Do’s and Don’ts of Discovery in Texas Civil Proceedings” on October 18, 2019. Education, Honors, and Miscellaneous