Dallas partner Scott McElhaney won the reversal of a judgment entered on a jury verdict against a client in a breach of contract case. Representing the chief executive of a Texas-based business in a case before the San Antonio Court of Appeals, Jackson Walker successfully showed that the contract was not enforceable because it was not sufficiently definite in its terms.
Jackson Walker was retained as appellate counsel after a jury returned a verdict against the chief executive, and the Firm handled his appeal after the trial court entered judgment for the plaintiff. The jury found that the parties had agreed that the executive would “take care of” the plaintiff. The Court of Appeals reversed and rendered judgment that the plaintiff take nothing. The court held that the contract’s terms were too indefinite to be enforced because they were not sufficiently definite on their face and there was no evidence that made them definite and certain.
The victory was a team effort with labor and employment associate David Schlottman contributing to the briefing.
Meet Scott
Scott M. McElhaney tries cases, handles appeals, and provides counsel for large and small companies as well as business executives. His aim is to help clients cost-effectively resolve commercial disputes and employment law matters. He has over 25 years of experience in contract and commercial tort suits and trade secret and non-competition agreement cases. He regularly advises businesses on employment disputes and handles employment discrimination, ERISA and other labor claims. He focuses on the long-term commercial needs of his clients by identifying risks and providing strategies for handling complex legal challenges.
Meet David
David Schlottman is an advisor and litigator who focuses on complex cases involving employees, the workplace, and related business disputes. He has wide-ranging experience in helping clients with business problems and lawsuits involving wage-and-hour issues, employee competition, theft of trade secrets, contract claims, compensation disputes, employment discrimination and retaliation, and union-related disputes.
