In recent years, Mr. Garner has been litigation and trial counsel for clients in a broad range of catastrophic tort cases involving trucking, construction, insurance bad faith, deceptive trade practices, and premises liability matters. He also represents companies and their principals in commercial disputes, and counsels them on improving their corporate safety programs and compliance with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, Texas Insurance Code, Texas Business & Commerce Code, and other statutes.

Mr. Garner has been Board Certified in personal injury trial law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization since 2001 and has tried over 30 civil jury trials to verdict. He recently successfully defended an insurance bad faith and deceptive trade practices lawsuit in which Plaintiff sought $10 million in damages. In 2005, Mr. Garner successfully defended a wrongful death and survival action arising out of a fatal trucking accident. His success at trial and proficiency at handling complex litigation have made Mr. Garner a valuable resource to the firm and to his clients. In addition, Mr. Garner has been awarded the Cain Fellowship in Professional Responsibility for his commitment to legal ethics in the practice of law.

Outside of the courtroom, Mr. Garner has developed a particular ability to quickly and accurately evaluate lawsuits and other risks for clients. He concentrates on implementing creative and aggressive strategies to change the dynamics of a case—whether it be it the onset of a claim, at the late stages of litigation, or even at trial—to obtain the best possible results for his clients. Mr. Garner’s trial experience provides a solid foundation for him to realistically and effectively counsel clients in the alternative resolution of disputes through mechanisms such as mediation, arbitration, and summary jury trials--or just old-fashioned “get it done” negotiation.

Mr. Garner obtained his undergraduate and law degrees at the University of Texas at Austin, where he was a Phi Beta Kappa inductee and received summa cum laude distinction in the Plan II Honors Program.

Practice Areas:
Insurance Coverage/Bad Faith
Transportation Liability
Construction Liability and Defects
Premises Liability and Retail Litigation
Products Liability
Commercial and Business Litigation
Labor and Employment

Representative matters:
Morales v. Site Concrete--counsel representing contractor in trench collapse fatality with claimed $75 million in damages.

Bullough v. Colony Ins. Co.--counsel representing carrier in insurance bad faith and deceptive trade practices case involving seven-figure fire damages.

LeBlanc v. Beers--counsel representing defendant accused of causing a fatal shooting in a premises liability case.

Garcia v. Thompson Tunnel--counsel representing contractor in electrocution fatality case involving tort and products liability allegations.

Trial Victories:
Salih v. DFW Sun Leasing--successfully defended a trucking company in a wrongful death and survival action lawsuit with millions of dollars in claimed damages.

Lowe v. Pacific Specialty Ins. Co.--obtained a directed verdict in favor of defendant in a $10 million insurance bad faith and deceptive trade practices lawsuit.

Miller v. Kirby, et al.--successfully defended a trucking company in a personal injury case involving a high-speed collision.

Norris v. Hacker--successfully defended driver in high-exposure personal injury case involving road construction and traffic control issues.

Ulledahl v. Rice--successfully prosecuted personal injury case involving internal injuries and obtained a trial verdict in excess of $1 million.

Scifres v. Tarrant Co. Hosp. District--successfully prosecuted “fear of AIDS” case involving an HIV-infected needle and received six-figure award for mental anguish damages only.

Articles:
What is "Immunity" After All?: Defending the Road Contractor After HB 1699 (presented at 2006 FSSV client seminar).

Contractual Risk Transfer in Texas (presented to the 2005 Houston RIMS Conference)

Legal Considerations in Parish Nursing (presented annually to Baylor School of Nursing)

Potential Liabilities in Employee Investigations (presented at 2000 National PRIMA Conference

First Party Litigation in Texas (presented at multiple seminars)

The Elements of Bad Faith (presented at multiple seminars)

The Personal Injury Case—from Intake to Verdict (presented during multiple semesters to Tarrant County College paralegal students)

Effective and Ethical Legal Billing (presented at multiple seminars)

Direct Examination of Experts (presented at multiple seminars)

Professional Affiliations:
Named 2007 and 2008 "Rising Star" in civil litigation defense practice by Texas Monthly and Law & Politics magazines
American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA)
State Bar of Texas
Dallas Bar Association
Texas Association of Defense Counsel
Member, College of the State Bar of Texas
Trucking Industry Defense Association


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