In September, 2008, Davis, Cedillo & Mendoza, along with Shook, Hardy & Bacon from Kansas City, and on behalf of our client Lorrilard Tobacco Company, went to trial in Bexar County District Court, San Antonio, Texas. The plaintiff claimed that he developed mesothelioma from smoking cigarettes manufactured with asbestos in the filter during the time period of 1954-1956. After a four-week trial, the jury found that the plaintiff failed to prove that he even smoked the cigarettes at issue and awarded a complete defense verdict for our client.

In April 2008, Davis, Cedillo & Mendoza, Inc., on behalf of clients Brown & Brown, Inc. and its Houston subsidiary, went to trial defending complex litigation brought by Great American Insurance Company. Great American alleged it had paid millions of dollars in false claims because the Houston subsidiary created fraudulent Great American insurance policies which were sent to dozens of clients, and Brown & Brown, Inc. tried to cover it up. Great American sought to recover at least $97 million, alleging multiple causes of action including violations of RICO, violations of federal trademark and state insurance laws, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, negligence and breach of contract. Great American incurred approximately $20 million in attorney fees and expenses prosecuting the case. During the course of the litigation over 115 witnesses were deposed, including 35 expert witnesses, and millions of pages of documents were produced. During the trial, the court dismissed the RICO claim against our clients and granted a directed verdict in favor of Brown & Brown, Inc. on all pending claims. The Harris County jury ultimately awarded only a small fraction of what Great American spent on attorney fees and expenses.

In April 2008, Davis, Cedillo & Mendoza, along with David Beck and Joe Jamail of Houston, and on behalf of our client Clear Channel Communications, filed a lawsuit against Citigroup, Inc., Credit Suisse Group, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, Royal Bank of Scotland Group, and Wachovia Corp. The firm obtained a temporary restraining order preventing these banks from reneging on their commitment to finance a $22 billion leveraged buyout and also obtained an immediate date for a Texas jury trial. The case was resolved within a matter of weeks, and the merger, which was touted as one of the largest leveraged buyouts in United States history, was successfully put back on track.

In February 2006, Davis, Cedillo & Mendoza and Michael Caddell of Houston, on behalf of our clients, Tetco, Inc., Spot Services, L.P., Los Nietos De Turner, LP. and Tetco Stores, L.P., went to trial against Exxon Corporation, Mobil Oil Corporation, Exxon Mobil Corporation, and Mobil Marketing Ventures, Inc. in Bexar County, Texas alleging that, after merging, Exxon Mobil violated distribution and marketing agreements it had with our clients. Defendants were represented by David Beck and Alistair Dawson of the law firm of Beck, Redden & Secrest in Houston. After a five-week trial, the jury awarded our clients $33,600,000 in damages. VerdictSearch listed the victory as the 52nd largest verdict in the nation in 2006.

In March 2005, Davis, Cedillo & Mendoza, on behalf of our client, General Electric Capital Business Asset Funding Corporation, went to trial against S.A.S.E. Military Ltd., Vanderburg Investments, Inc., and John Q. Vanderburg in the United States District Court, Western District of Texas, claiming unpaid interest and principal as well as damages for unpaid taxes, fees, and maintenance costs, as well as its attorneys' fees. After a four-week trial, the jury awarded our clients $13,936,094 in compensatory damages.

In September 2005, Davis, Cedillo & Mendoza, on behalf of our client Andes Trading De Mexico, S.A. De C.V., went to trial against Church & Dwight Co., Inc. in Trenton, New Jersey, alleging breach of contract, fraudulent inducement, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and tortious interference. After an eight-week trial, a jury awarded our clients $15,000,000 in damages.

In February 2003, Davis, Cedillo & Mendoza, on behalf of our client DuPont, went to trial defending claims brought by one of DuPont’s former distributors. After a one-week trial in Austin, Texas, the case was settled on terms very favorable to our client.

In March 2002, Davis, Cedillo & Mendoza, along with Kendall Montgomery of Houston and Vincent Marable and Paul Webb of Wharton, Texas, on behalf of our client, Corporación Pipsa S.A. de C.V., sued Johnson Controls, Inc., Johnson Controls Battery Group, Inc., and Global Energy Systems S.A. de C.V. alleging fraud and promissory estoppel in connection with supplying raw materials for car batteries. A Bexar County jury awarded our client $6,300,000 in actual damages and $15,500,000 in punitive damages.

In May 2001, Davis, Cedillo & Mendoza represented a large hotel owner in a high profile arbitration against one of their franchisees. The Plaintiff sought over $1 Billion in damages, alleging breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, and a litany of other claims. After a six-week arbitration held before a retired Federal Judge in Washington, D.C., the Plaintiff was awarded very nominal damages on only one claim, but also ordered to pay a portion of our clients’ attorneys fees, resulting in Plaintiff making a net payment to our client.

In May 1999, Davis, Cedillo & Mendoza went to trial on behalf of our client, Valores Corporativos, S.A. de C.V., Casa Chapa, S.A. de C.V. and Chapa Trading Co., Inc., against McClane Corporation and Wal-Mart alleging breach of contract. The jury awarded our client over $624,000,000 in actual damages.

In October 1997, Davis, Cedillo & Mendoza went to trial on behalf of our client, Bonanza Restaurants, against one of our client’s franchisees alleging various breaches of the franchise agreement. The Plaintiff sought over $8 million in damages. After a three-week trial in Sioux City, Iowa, a jury returned a take-nothing verdict in favor of our client.

In August 1997, Davis, Cedillo & Mendoza went to trial on behalf of our client, Bennigan’s Restaurants, in a premises liability case involving a shooting at one of our client’s restaurants. After a three-week trial in Houston, Texas, a jury returned a take-nothing verdict in favor of our client.

In the Fall of 1996, Davis, Cedillo & Mendoza, along with Bartlit-Beck from Chicago, went to trial on behalf of our client, United Technologies in an antitrust case against Chromalloy involving the repair of jet engines. Plaintiff sought damages in excess of $200 million. After a three-month trial in Bexar County, Texas, the jury returned a take-nothing verdict in favor of our client.