John W. Newton, III

John Newton is a nationally recognized trial lawyer, a Fellow in the American Board of Trial Advocates, and is double Board Certified in Personal Injury and in Civil Trial by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

John was an honors graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and received his JD with honors and a LL.M from the University of Houston Law Center.

A third generation Beaumont native, John returned to Beaumont after law school and began his litigation practice at the top tier Beaumont firm, Orgain, Bell & Tucker.

As a partner at OB&T, John was a regional and national counsel for major corporations trying cases involving oil and gas law, refinery accidents, complex commercial litigation, insurance coverage disputes, products liability, premises, professional negligence, environmental claims, breach of fiduciary duty, and fraud.

Although John has considerable courtroom experience, he also believes that a thorough pretrial investigation and early identification of the legal issues will permit the client to favorably resolve the case at the earliest stages of litigation and to avoid the needless expense of wasteful discovery, motion practice, and delay.

Mutual client, Temple-Inland, first paired John Newton and Randy Roach as trial and appellate counsel respectively in a major commercial fraud case. Their success at trial and on appeal in that case ultimately led to their partnership, employing a law-first approach to litigation. In this innovative approach to situations such as excess judgment litigation,  John is the law-first jury and fact-focused lawyer who understands how the trial  judge’s legal rulings control the jury trial and the judgment on appeal; Randy is the law-first  and Judge-focused appellate lawyer who understands what the trial lawyer needs in legal rulings and selective error preservation in order to succeed with the jury.

For several years recently, John co-taught the Appellate Advocacy class at the University of Houston. In those law school classes, John taught oil and gas law, insurance law, and gross negligence and punitive damages law.

Representative Examples of some of John’s most important cases include:

AUTOMOTIVE PRODUCT LIABILITY AND NEGLIGENCE CASES:

• Represented major tire manufacturer in wrongful death suit arising from a car accident in which a tire allegedly disengaged from the vehicle at highway speeds. A jury found for the client, resulting in a take nothing judgment.
• Represented foreign car manufacturer against allegations of defective design and defective warnings. The plaintiff was rendered a paraplegic when she lost control of her car at highway speeds. The jury found for the client on all allegations of fault resulting in a take nothing judgment.
• Represented the manufacturer of a motor coach leveling system in a wrongful death suit in which the plaintiffs alleged the motor coach’s leveling system was defectively manufactured, designed, and marketed. The jury returned a verdict in favor of the client, resulting in a take nothing judgment.
• Represented the family of a husband and father killed in a car accident resulting from defective highway markings. The jury found for the clients awarding them substantial damages.
• Represented a major truck manufacturer in a wrongful death suit against allegations that its truck was defectively manufactured, designed and marketed. A jury returned a verdict in favor of the client resulting in a take nothing verdict.
• Represented a major truck manufacturer against allegations that the cab of the truck was not crashworthy. Favorably settled after the commencement of trial for a fraction of the amount claimed as damages.
• Represented a Texas County and a County’s Deputy in a negligence action arising from a high-speed chase in which the plaintiff was rendered a quadriplegic. The Court granted the County and Deputy a summary judgment resulting in a take nothing judgment.
• Represented the manufacturer of a chemical tire sealant against allegations of grossly deficient warnings and instructions. A tire mechanic lost both legs and an arm when the sealant exploded as he worked to repair a punctured tire. The jury awarded the plaintiff a small fraction of the damages alleged in the suit.
• Represented the American Parent Company of a Mexican Maquiladora in a bus crash accident in which 12 workers were killed and 14 workers severely injured. After a two-week trial, the client favorably settled the case with the families of the deceased workers and the injured workers themselves.

COMMERCIAL LITIGATION (FRAUD, BREACH OF CONTRACT, AND WARRANTY CASES)

• Represented casualty insurer in subrogation claim involving the interpretation of a drilling contract and contract’s allocation of risk to pay for damages to the drilling rig and platform. The client received a substantial settlement after only minimal discovery and expense.
• Represented major oil company in a breach of contract case involving damage to a deep water pipeline in the Gulf of Mexico. The Court granted summary judgment in favor of client.
• Represented international paper company against allegations of fraud, negligent misrepresentation, punitive damages, and contract waiver. Jury verdict in favor of client upheld on appeal.
• Represented publicly traded company against allegations of common law fraud, securities fraud, statutory damages, and common law punitive damages. Jury returned verdict in favor of client on all claims for relief.
• Represented international paper company is breach of contract and fraud suit over the delivery of paper products. Jury found in favor of client.
• Represented national retailer in the defense of a consumer class action case involving allegations of consumer fraud and misrepresentation. The Court dismissed the case prior to the class certification hearing resulting in a take nothing judgment.
• Represented public utility company in claims of impropriety over billing. The Court granted the client a directed verdict.

ENVIRONMENTAL CASES

• Represented corporate defendant accused of unlawful dumping toxic waste. The Court awarded client a directed verdict resulting in a take nothing verdict.
• Represented major oil refinery against allegations of occupational lung disease from the negligent discharge of sulfuric acid to multiple workers alleging permanent damage. Case favorably settled after the commencement of trial.
• Represented major paper company in East Texas case arising from the alleged negligent discharged of toxic gas. Case favorably settled prior to jury selection.
• Represented major oil company against allegations of negligent and grossly negligent discharge of toxic gas. The case favorably settled prior to trial.

EMPLOYMENT LITIGATION

• Defended the individual members of an independent school board against constitutional denial of due process claims. The jury found in favor of the school board members resulting in a take nothing verdict.
• Defended a municipality against claims of discrimination by city employee. The jury found in favor of the client resulting in a take nothing judgment.
• Defended a municipality against claims of discrimination by a city employee. The jury returned a verdict in favor of the client.

SIGNIFICANT PRE-TRIAL INVESTIGATIONS

• Served as a member of a major paper company’s Rapid Response Team, in which I headed and coordinated the investigation of catastrophic events and acted as liaison on behalf of the company in dealing with governmental agencies.
• Investigated and determined the identity of a demolition contractor whose negligence resulted in an explosion, fire, and catastrophic property damage to a major oil refinery. Investigation and identity of negligent contractor led to significant recovery by oil company.
• Coordinated the investigation of a major pipeline explosion and represented the client in connection with a criminal investigation by the Department of Transportation. The Department of Transportation did not pursue criminal charges or civil penalties.
• Coordinated and led a major investigation into fraud and breach of fiduciary duty against an international construction company arising from a multi-billion-dollar construction project.
• Investigated the circumstances of and defended a major oil company’s interest in commercial litigation involving the bankruptcy of a former maintenance contractor.

John W. Newton, III