Contract Interpretation
Roach Newton’s appellate team is most proud of its abilities in the area of contract interpretation. Having perfected its skills in this area by teaching contract interpretation appeals for over 20 years at the University of Texas School of Law and over 30 years at University of Houston’s Law Center.
Representative cases include the following:
- Engaged by major international oil company as lead appellate strategist in Delaware and 3rd Circuit federal courts, Roach Newton employed a novel contract construction argument that resulted in the construction of a contract that kept the $300M coverage suit in state court in Delaware and not arbitration in London.
- Engaged by a large national oil company to appeal the fraud component of a judgment for hundreds of millions of dollars, Roach Newton obtained a key new contract interpretation from the Court of Appeals on rehearing that allowed the settlement of the case after briefing to the Texas Supreme Court.
- Engaged as lead appellate counsel by a major national corrugated box company, Roach Newton’s contract interpretation was adopted by the Court of Appeals and resulted in the reversal of a multi-million dollar adverse judgment.
- In a case first impression, Roach Newton was engaged as lead appellate counsel in the Texas Supreme Court, and Roach Newton’s contract interpretation argument was adopted by that Court, resulting in a reversal and render and in Texas becoming an eight-corners state regarding the duty to defend.
- Engaged as lead appellate counsel once in the Texas Supreme Court by large national construction company regarding the construction of its insurance policy and pollution exclusion resulting in that Court’s opinion clarifying the Texas rules of contract construction.
