E-mail: john@jdwlawfirm.com
John Ward Law Firm a tenacious, detail-oriented, litigator and trial attorney. He has been recognized by his clients for his dedication to their cases, his clear evaluation of their goals, and his unwavering commitment to achieving those goals. In addition to his substantial arbitration and mediation background, John has significant trial experience with jury and non-jury matters, viewing each case and client on their individual merits and crafting creative solutions to obtain each client’s unique litigation objectives.
John’s practice areas focus on civil and appellate litigation. He has extensive experience with construction defect matters, complex commercial litigation, defamation claims, and violations of the False Claims Act.
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIP
- Successfully briefed SCF Consulting v. Barrack, Rodos, and Bacine, 175 A.3d 273 (Pa. 2017), which overturned settled Pennsylvania precedent, and established that an innocent non-attorney may enforce a fee-splitting agreement with an attorney, even where such a fee-splitting agreement violates the Rules of Professional Conduct. This decision places Pennsylvania in the vanguard of state law arising from such disputes.
- Successfully briefed Fox v. Smith, 263 A.3d 555 (Pa. 2021) which determined that venue in internet defamation cases was properly laid anywhere in which the defamation was heard and understood as applying to the plaintiff. This decision clarified that prior Pennsylvania precedent regarding venue in defamation provided an appropriate framework for analyzing venue even with the advent of technology that allowed for instantaneous and wide-reaching publication of defamatory statements.
- Lead counsel for plaintiff in Jefferson v. Carosella et al. Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas, Docket No.:170702774, a construction defect action on behalf of a subsequent purchaser where the jury awarded $289,532.50 against a builder for the repair of substantial defects and the loss of value to the plaintiff’s home.
John has been elected as a Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation; an honor limited to less than 1/3 of 1% of lawyers in Texas. He is also a member of the State Bar of Texas, the American Bar Association, the American Association for Justice (formerly the American Trial Lawyers Association), and the Houston Bar Association.
CIVIC INVOLVEMENTS
• Presbyterian Elder
• Board of Trustees, Shad Williams
Evangelistic Association
• Advisory Board Member, The Forge for
Families
• Active Member, Christ Evangelical
Presbyterian Church
• Former Director, Brazos Presbyterian
Homes, Inc.
REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS
• Counsel for Exxon Mobil Corp. in
Montana federal court involving claims against the largest investor-owned electric utility in the country regarding two extended electrical outages and power reliability problems that caused damages to an ExxonMobil refinery in excess of $90 million. Suit resulted in successful confidential recovery for client after mediation.
• Counsel for ExxonMobil Corp. and
Luby’s Fuddruckers LLC in an antitrust lawsuit against Visa, MasterCard and numerous banks regarding anticompetitive interchange fees charged for credit and debit card purchases in excess of $500 million. Suit resulted in a successful confidential settlement.
• Counsel for partner suing derivatively on behalf of Blue Bell Creameries, LP in Delaware Chancery Court involving breach of contractual fiduciary duties related to extensive food safety violations that resulted in a total company shutdown and substantial loss of partnership value and profits. Suit resulted in a mediated settlement valued at over $60 million and the Court of Chancery approved both the settlement and a $9 million legal fee in light of the exceptional benefits obtained for the partnership.