Brandon Allen
Brandon Allen focuses his practice on complex commercial litigation in a broad array of areas, including securities, energy, construction, oil and gas, legal malpractice, and intellectual property matters.
Brandon was a law clerk to Judge Royce C. Lamberth, United States District Court for the District of Columbia, from 1998 to 1999. Brandon joined Gibbs & Bruns LLP in 1999 and became a partner in 2005. In 2009, after ten years of practice, Brandon left Gibbs & Bruns to become a founding partner in Reynolds, Frizzell, Black, Doyle, Allen & Oldham, L.L.P.
Education
University of Texas, J.D., with high honors, 1998
Order of the Coif
Editor in Chief, Texas Law Review
Research Assistant to Prof. Charles Alan Wright
University of Texas, B.A., with honors and with special department honors, 1995
Recognition
Named a “Texas Rising Star” by Texas Super Lawyers; 2005, 2006, 2008-2010.
Named one of “Houston’s Top Lawyers” by H Texas magazine; 2010.
Significant Cases
Zachry Construction Corp. n/k/a Zachry Industrial, Inc. v. Port of Houston Authority of Harris County, Texas
Served as trial counsel for plaintiff, Zachry Construction Corporation of San Antonio, in its breach-of-contract suit against the defendant, Port of Houston Authority of Harris County, Texas. The dispute centered on Zachry's construction of the Port of Houston's 2000-foot Bayport terminal wharf facility. The lawsuit arose out of the Port's last-minute rejection of a contractually approved construction method that Zachry intended to use to build the wharf facility, which thereby led to multi-million dollar losses on the project. Successfully briefed and argued against numerous defense motions to stay the case, delay the trial, and dismiss Zachry's lawsuit in its entirety, all of which were denied. Successfully tried the case to verdict. Following a three-month trial, the jury rendered a verdict entitling Zachry to $23,443,719 in actual damages on its breach of contract claim and denying the Port's $15 million counterclaim for attorneys' fees.
In re National Century Financial Enterprises, Inc. Litigation
Substantially participated in the representation of a variety of holders of $1.6 billion in notes issued by National Century Financial Enterprises in connection with their claims against indenture trustees, underwriters, and accountants connected with the sale of the notes. Also substantially participated in representing the post-litigation trust arising from the NCFE bankruptcy in claims brought against the indenture trustees, underwriters, and accountants, among others.
Union Oil Company of California v. Osprey Petroleum Company, Inc., et al.
Represented Unocal, as operator, against Osprey and Pintail Petroleum, both of which were working interest owners in a series of oil and gas wells drilled by Unocal in the Gulf of Mexico between 2001 and 2003. Unocal sued Osprey and Pintail to recover unpaid expenses incurred in drilling the wells. Osprey counterclaimed against Unocal for fraud, breach of contract, gross negligence, and products liability in connection with problems encountered during the well drilling and sought damages in excess of $350 million. Pintail also brought claims against Unocal under the operating agreement. Obtained the dismissal of all of Osprey’s claims against Unocal on summary judgment a few weeks before trial. Obtained summary judgment against Pintail on all of Pintail's claims thereafter. The case thereafter was resolved favorably and confidentially.
In re Landry’s Bondholder Litigation
Substantially participated in representing the institutional bondholders of Landry’s Restaurants in their securities and contract dispute with Landry’s concerning $400 million in notes Landry’s had issued. The case favorably resolved for the bondholders.
Chevron Global Technology Services v. Transcoastal Marine Services Inc., et al.
Substantially participated in representing Transcoastal in UNCITRAL arbitration against Chevron Global Technology Services, the operator of an oil and gas consortium owning a field in Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela. Transcoastal contracted to build a gas compression platform, two wellhead platforms, miscellaneous bridges, a vent boom, and tripods. During the performance of the contracts and thereafter, a number of disputes arose between the parties concerning alleged billing irregularities, the proper final contract prices paid by Chevron, and warranty issues. In the expedited arbitration, Chevron brought in excess of $27 million in claims against Transcoastal. The case settled favorably for Transcoastal for a confidential amount during the second week of the arbitration proceedings.
Chandler v. Moody Simmons Katy Gaston, Ltd.
Obtained summary judgment against an alleged property interest owner who claimed a substantial ownership interest in the real estate developer’s residential subdivision project.
Russian Energy Advisors v. Oranto Petroleum, et al.
Represented Russian Energy Advisors, an American oil and gas consulting firm, in its claims for breach of contract against a purported Nigerian prince and his affiliated African oil companies. The matter was handled in international arbitration proceedings based in London. The case settled favorably for a confidential amount.