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Michael L. Brem
Career Highlights
Mike came to the Firm from Baker Botts LLP where he had been a partner in the trial department. He divides his practice between international litigation, mass tort defense, and commercial litigation for both plaintiffs and defendants. He has considerable experience in litigation in other countries, including Latin America, the Philippines, and the Caribbean.
Mike is particularly well versed in state and federal procedure, as well as questions involving federal jurisdiction, choice of law, the doctrine of forum non conveniens, and enforcement of foreign judgments in this country.
Prior to becoming a lawyer, Mike worked for some nine years in the oil service industry. During that time, from 1981 until 1987, he also was an adjunct faculty member in the University of Houston College of Business Administration, where he taught both graduate and undergraduate classes in operations management.
Mike has been named a Texas Super Lawyer in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.
Representative Engagements
- Obtained a dismissal on the basis of forum non conveniens of 1,912 plaintiffs from Panama and 1,119 plaintiffs from Guatemala by a state court in Los Angeles in favor of a Michigan forum on behalf of a Fortune 50 client headquartered there.
- Obtained a $6.922 million verdict against a national supplier of home health care services and two of its executives in Texas state court on claims for fraud, breach of contract, and theft of trade secrets. The jury award included $3 million in punitive damages, split evenly between the corporation and one of the individual defendants.
- Sucessfully tried an enforcement action involving a $97 million Nicaraguan judgment on behalf of a Fortune 50 client in the Southern District of Florida. The federal district court in Miami found in favor of our client on all grounds and rejected the effort to enforce the judgment. Read the court's opinion here.
- Obtained a declaratory judgment, effectively rejecting a supplier's force majeure declarations after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Click here to read the Court's judgment.
- Obtained summary judgment on in a case in state court in Brazoria County, Texas, in which the Court rejected plaintiff's claim that it was entitled to indemnity from a $3.25 million judgment from our Fortune 50 client under Chapter 82 of the Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code and under the common law "innocent retailer" doctrine.
- Obtained summary judgment in a case pending in the First Circuit Court of Hawai'i, where the Court found that plaintiffs' claims were barred by limitations. To prevail, our client defeated plaintiffs' assertion that an earlier class action in Texas tolled limitations under the doctrine of American Pipe v. Utah.
- An active appellate practice, including four recent appeals in the federal Ninth Circuit. Listen to the arguments below:
- Four-month trial in Los Angeles Superior Court representing a Fortune 500 defendant involving twelve foreign plaintiffs alleging personal injury as the result of occupational exposure to a pesticide while working in their home countries.
- Obtained dismissal of an action seeking to enforce a $489 million judgment from Nicaragua on behalf of a major chemical company client.
- Successfully tried "mini-trial" on choice of law, resulting in application of Michigan law - with no punitive damages and caps on compensatory damages - to Fortune 500 client in toxic tort action.
- Lead counsel in Texas Supreme Court's decision clarifying Texas nuisance law in Schneider Nat'l Carriers vs. Bates.
- Won taking-nothing arbitration award in favor of the client in a commercial dispute involving a salt dome gas storage cavern where the amount sought by plaintiffs was in excess of $24 million.
- Obtained forum non conveniens dismissals in multiple actions filed in several states brought by approximately 20,000 plaintiffs from 12 different countries on behalf of a major chemical company client.
- Obtained dismissal on behalf of Mayor and City of Moscow, Russia of suit brought in federal court in Arizona.
- Represented a large seismic company in various commercial disputes, including joint venture and brokerage agreements.
- Defended various oilfield cases, including downhole failures and personal injury claims, on behalf of a drilling company.
- Obtained summary judgment in the Southern District of Texas and a unanimous affirmance in the Fifth Circuit in defending one of the country's largest defense contractors in a qui tam False Claims Act case seeking $100 million in damages. See United States ex rel Laird
Education
- J.D. (magna cum laude), University of Houston Law Center, 1990
- M.B.A., University of Houston, 1981
- B.A., history, University of Houston, 1979
Admissions and Affiliations
- United States Supreme Court
- United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
- United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas
- United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
- United States District Court for the Western District of Texas
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas
- United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas
- United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan (pending)
- State Bar of Texas
Articles and seminars
- "Has Daubert Sprung a Leak?" International Commercial Litigation, December 1997/January 1998 (W. Conrad, co-author)
- "Americans in Business Abroad Face Lawsuits in Foreign Courts", Houston Business Journal, June 10-16, 2005.
- Presented: "So You've Been Sued in Another Country? Practical Considerations and Some Hopefully Helpful Thoughts", International Law Section, Houston Bar Association, March 31, 2005.
- Presented: "Are You Really Immune from Suit and Judgment Proof Abroad", International Law Section, Houston Bar Association, September 29, 2005.
- Presented: "So You've Been Sued Abroad? What do I do now?" ABA Section of Litigation Regional Conference on the "Changing Face of Chemical Product Liability Claims", September 21, 2006.
Community
- Houston Live Stock Show and Rodeo; Committeeman and Life Member
- University of Houston Lettermen's Association, Board of Directors and Life Member
- Houston Athletics Foundation, Board of Directors, former member
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