Employment Law Litigation and Consultation*
Employment law is our primary area of practice. All of our attorneys handle employment matters, and two attorneys focus their practice almost exclusively on employment law. We represent clients with claims or questions including:
- Executive contracts
- Covenants not to compete
- Severance agreements
- Breach of employment and compensation agreements
- Sarbanes-Oxley Act
- Discrimination
- Sexual harassment
- Retaliation
- Overtime
- Whistleblowers
- Sabine Pilot wrongful discharge
- Family Medical Leave Act
- Employee Retirement Income Security Act
- Worker's compensation retaliatory discharge
- Slander and other workplace torts
- Other federal and state statutory employment claims
- Qui Tam claims
Trial Lawyers:
We litigate at all levels of federal and state courts. In this area of the law, we have tried more cases than most lawyers. We have a long track record of winning in court, both at trial and on appeal, against the best and biggest firms in Houston and elsewhere. We also represent clients in arbitration and before federal and state agencies, such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Texas Workforce Commission's Civil Rights Division. We primarily represent employees, although we do have some corporate clients. Depending on a number of factors, we may take cases on a contingent fee basis.
Counselors:
In addition to litigation and arbitration, we counsel our
clients to help resolve workplace situations. We also assist with drafting
and negotiating employment contracts, stock options, severance agreements,
releases, and non-competition and non-disclosure agreements. We have both
expertise and a great deal of experience with a wide variety of employment
issues.
Scholars:
Our attorneys are employment law scholars. We have published legal articles on a variety of employment law subjects, and we frequently speak to other lawyers in continuing legal education seminars and lecture to professional organizations. Additionally, we provide in-house training for our corporate clients to avoid legal problems in the workplace.
Death and Serious Personal Injury Practice*
The lawyers at Tucker | Vaughan have represented victims of asbestos and other workplace toxics for over twenty years. The firm is young, but it consists of attorneys who have represented injured seamen, longshore workers, and victims of automobile collisions over the past thirty years.
Our staff, including not only our experienced attorneys but also long-time paralegals, Catherine Falgoust and Raciel Gonzalez, are dedicated to bringing to justice wrongdoers who injure others due to negligence or greed.
It was that dedication that has resulted in trial verdicts and settlements by our lawyers and staff members of $1,000,000 and more many times.
Oil and Gas Practice*
Tucker | Vaughan has extensive experience litigating matters related to the oil-and-gas industry. We have represented producers, royalty owners, owners of overriding royalty interests, and end users. Tucker Vaughan has handled lawsuits involving issues arising from oil and gas leases representing both producers and royalty owners. For example, we have provided representation in connection with:
Royalty payments,
Bad-faith pooling claims,
Gas contracts,
Joint operating agreements,
Drilling contracts, well blowouts, and the Texas Oilfield Anti-Indemnity
Act,
Area-of-mutual-interest clauses and preferential-right-to-purchase clauses,
Property title issues,
Topleases and the Rule Against Perpetuities, and
Surface use disputes.
Sample cases include:
- Southeastern Pipe Line Co. v. Tichacek, 997 S.W.2d 166 (Tex. 1999).
- Tesoro Petroleum Corp. v. Nabors Drilling USA, Inc., 106 S.W.3d 118 (Tex. App. - Houston [1st Dist.] 2002).
- Moncrief v. ANR Pipeline Co., 95 S.W.3d 544 (Tex. App. - Houston [1st Dist.] 2002).
- North Central Oil Corp. v. Louisiana Land & Exploration Co., 22 S.W.3d 572 (Tex. App - Houston [1st Dist.] 2000).
- Moncrief v. Williston Basin Interstate Pipeline Co., 174 F.3d 1150 (10th Cir. 1999).
- Southeastern Pipe Line Co. v. Tichacek, 977 S.W.2d 393 (Tex. App. - Corpus Christi 1998).
- Nicor Explor. Co. v. Florida Gas Trans. Co., 911 S.W.2d 479 (Tex. App. - Corpus Christi 1995).
- Quanto Int'l Co. v. Lloyd, 897 S.W.2d 482 (Tex. App. - Houston [1st Dist.] 1995).
- Moncrief v. Williston Basin Pipeline Co., 880 F.Supp. 1495 (D. Wyo. 1995).
Transactional:
Tucker | Vaughan also provides representation to clients in connection with negotiating oil-and-gas transactions and drafting related documents. For example, we have represented both producers and landowners in negotiating oil-and-gas leases. We have also represented industry clients in connection with gas purchase contracts, property acquisition and divestiture agreements, confidentiality agreements, surface use agreements, and drilling contracts, as well as other types of agreements.
Maritime*
Stephen M. Vaughan has a thirty-year history of successfully representing maritime workers - longshoremen and seamen - when they are injured in the service of the industry. Our country's commerce has become second to none on the backs and the toil of the American worker, and Tucker, Vaughan, Gardner & Barnes, P.C. understands this sacrifice.
Mr. Vaughan and his staff are ready to stand up and speak for those seriously injured or killed in maritime commerce - whether it be broken limbs, exposure to toxic chemicals, fire disasters or defective work gear.
It was that dedication that has resulted in trial verdicts and settlements by our lawyers and staff members of $1,000,000 and more many times.
Appellate Practice*
Tucker | Vaughan has a substantial experience handling civil appeals in the state and federal courts. We have represented both appellants and appellees. We handle appeals involving not only cases we have tried, but also cases referred to us by other lawyers who seek our specialized experience in the appellate courts. We offer services beyond briefing and arguing appeals. Appellate success starts in the trial court. Tucker Vaughan is available to work with trial counsel in briefing legal issues and in preserving issues for review on appeal, especially at the jury-charge and post-verdict stages.
Published appellate cases handled by lawyers with our firm include:
- Southeastern Pipe Line Co. v. Tichacek, 997 S.W.2d 166 (Tex. 1999).
- Trammel Crow Co. v. Harkinson, 944 S.W.2d 631 (Tex. 1997).
Moncrief v. ANR Pipeline Co., 95 S.W.3d 544 (Tex. App. - Houston [1st Dist.] 2002). - Tesoro Petroleum Corp. v. Nabors Drilling USA, Inc., 106 S.W.3d 118 (Tex. App. - Houston [1st Dist.] 2002).
- Wiltz v. Maersk, Inc., 135 F.Supp.2d 783 (S.D. Tex. Mar 21, 2001).
- North Central Oil Corp. v. Louisiana Land & Exploration Co., 22 S.W.3d 572 (Tex. App. - Houston [1st Dist.] 2000).
- Moncrief v. Williston Basin Interstate Pipeline Co., 174 F.3d 1150 (10th Cir. 1999).
- Southeastern Pipe Line Co. v. Tichacek, 977 S.W.2d 393 (Tex. App. - Corpus Christi 1998).
- McDill v. VSSI Tokyo, Inc., 920 F.Supp. 727 (S.D.Tex. Mar 25, 1996).
- Harkinson v. Trammel Crow Co., 915 S.W.2d 28 (Tex. App. - Dallas 1995).
- Nicor Explor. Co. v. Florida Gas Trans. Co., 911 S.W.2d 479 (Tex. App. - Corpus Christi 1995).
- Quanto Int'l Co. v. Lloyd, 897 S.W.2d 482 (Tex. App. - Houston [1st Dist.] 1995).
- Thorpe v. Volkert, 882 S.W.2d 592 (Tex. App. - Houston [1st Dist.] 1994).
- Shearson Lehman Hutton, Inc. v. Tucker, 806 S.W.2d 914 (Tex. App. - Corpus Christi 1991).
- Texport Stevedores, Co., et al. v. Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, U.S. Department of Labor, Edward M. Maples, and Joe Mazzanti, 931 F.2d 331 (5th Cir. 1991).
- Tillman v. Lykes Bros. SS Co., Inc., 732 F.Supp. 1402 (S.D. Tex. Feb 23, 1990).
- Castorina v. Lykes Bros. SS Co., Inc., 758 F.2d 1025 (5th Cir. 1985).
- Strachan Shipping Co. v. Nash, 782 F.2d 513 (5th Cir. 1986) (en banc).
- Landry v. Carlson Mooring Service, 643 F.2d 1080 (5th Cir. 1981).
- Diamond M. Drilling Co. v. Marshall, 577 F.2d 1003 (5th Cir. 1978).
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