U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals

Cases

• Won a Tenth Circuit appeal affirming WTO's trial victory for a pro bono client who brought claims involving violations of international kidnapping protections under the Hague Convention. The appeal affirmed the trial court's decision to order the child back to her home country.
• Won an appeal in the 10th Circuit for two mortgage brokers in a noncompete case against a leading financial institution, affirming a district court's prior denial of preliminary injunction. The plaintiffs had alleged that their former employees—WTO's clients—had breached noncompete and trade secret agreements when they left the company.
• Won a significant appeal for Owners Insurance Company against a condominium association that filed an inflated insurance claim and sought more than $5 million in total damages.
• Won complete affirmance in the Tenth Circuit of landmark rulings governing insurance appraisals. In two published opinions, the Tenth Circuit affirmed trial court rulings vacating an eight-figure appraisal award against the client, disqualifying for bias a national policyholder appraiser, and sanctioning the policyholder and its lawyers for misconduct in connection with the appraisal.
• Won a Tenth Circuit appeal for a leading U.S. railroad operator defending a district court order that dismissed a third-party intervenor's claims against WTO's client based on lack of standing to enforce an EPA consent decree.
• Submitted an amicus brief for a Wyoming client in a Tenth Circuit appeal involving the boundaries of a Native American reservation. The issue involved potential expansion of tribal court jurisdiction over hundreds of businesses and thousands of residents outside the reservation. In its opinion, the Court agreed with WTO's client.
• Won Tenth Circuit victory for a law firm client in protracted litigation arising out of a divorce and bankruptcy characterized as "the most complex [the divorce court] has seen in 25 years." The plaintiff-husband sued WTO's client, which handled the bankruptcy proceedings for the plaintiff's ex-wife, and the ex-wife's divorce counsel, in federal court. The Tenth Circuit's ruling in this matter follows a 2015 ruling for our client from the Tenth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel.
• Won preliminary and permanent injunctions after a contested evidentiary hearing in trial court, invalidating federal oil and gas regulations that duplicated state rules and hindered resource development.
• Served as counsel for Colorado in a multistate coalition that won the first injunction against the federal "Waters of the United States Rule."
• Prevailed before the Tenth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel, which affirmed a bankruptcy court's order of summary judgment for WTO's client, a law firm that had been sued for representing its client in bankruptcy proceedings that became intertwined with a protracted divorce in which the plaintiff (to the appeal) was a party.
• Won Tenth Circuit affirmance of a lower court ruling for AT&T in an ERISA dispute.
• Obtained complete dismissal of a ten-count discrimination complaint against a Fortune 100 client. WTO won the ensuing appeal to the Tenth Circuit, affirming the trial court's dismissal in full.
• Won Tenth Circuit reversal of a federal district court jury verdict favoring the plaintiff and secured a judgment in favor of Ford Motor Co. in a product liability case involving a rollover crash in which the plaintiff was rendered a quadriplegic.
• Won a reversal from the Tenth Circuit in favor of BP in a case alleging underpayment of royalties.
• Defended the appeal to the Tenth Circuit of a 2010 jury verdict WTO won for AT&T in a high-profile whistleblower case. Law Week Colorado called the underlying trial court victory one of the "Top Defense Verdicts of 2010."
• Won affirmation of a trial court's summary judgment ruling and exposed "pollution for profit" in protracted CERCLA litigation for our engineering client before the Tenth Circuit.
• Won affirmance from the Tenth Circuit of summary judgment for an insurer in a case seeking unlimited no-fault benefits for alleged failure to offer no-fault benefits.