Figari + Davenport’s practice focuses exclusively on commercial litigation. The firm has substantial experience and expertise in business litigation, insurance litigation, labor and employment, real estate litigation, securities litigation and arbitration, and municipal litigation.

Figari + Davenport represents both plaintiffs and defendants in business litigation in federal and state courts throughout Texas and the United States. Our business litigation practice covers the full range of controversies that grow out of all types of commercial pursuits. For example, the firm routinely handles complex breach of contract cases, partnership and franchise disputes, products liability and warranty suits, mass tort litigation, products liability and personal injury, professional malpractice, and lender/borrower and banking litigation. We also handle a wide variety of business tort litigation, involving claims of fraud, conspiracy, conversion, breach of fiduciary duty, tortious interference, unfair competition and misappropriation of trade secret and similar causes of action. As described separately, we also have an extensive class action practice.
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The breadth of our business litigation practice reflects our broad-based clientele, which includes aeronautic and automobile manufacturers, technology, satellite communication and internet companies, financial and investment concerns, banks, insurance and title companies, clothing manufacturers, beauty supply companies, and a variety of real estate management, development, and investment concerns, as well as municipalities.

Figari + Davenport attorneys have litigated numerous class action cases in state and federal courts in Texas and across the United States. Our lawyers have represented a wide array of clients in defense of these claims, including: underwriters, accounting firms, issuers, officers, and directors in securities cases; insurance companies, administrators, and associations in various types of insurance matters; employers in labor controversies; and retail companies in marketing, sales, and deceptive trade practices cases. Our experience includes acting as lead national counsel for a major automobile manufacturer, or its related entities, on multiple occasions, in multi-district litigation. We have also defended that client in class action suits it has faced in numerous state court forums, including New York, Massachusetts, Illinois, Florida, California, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Jersey, and Texas.

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This extensive experience equips us to handle the myriad procedural issues that arise in class actions, including removal, forum contests, the scope of discovery on class and merits issues, and expert disqualification. We have litigated all aspects of certification from the trial court through appeal, and before the United States Supreme Court. Our attorneys keep abreast of the law governing the class action landscape. Given our knowledge and practical experience, Figari + Davenport has the ability to efficiently and competently handle class cases regardless of size, complexity, or venue.

Figari + Davenport has established itself as an industry-wide leader in complex insurance litigation. Our lawyers have represented insurance companies and third-party administrators in state and federal courts in Texas and other states, including class action and multi-district litigation, as well as before arbitration panels and state insurance department tribunals. We have extensive knowledge and experience litigating life, health, disability, long term care, and annuity matters. Over the past 25 years, we have successfully handled cases involving, among other things: claim disputes; coverage issues; provider disputes; ERISA; STOLI disputes; rescissions; overpayment and subrogation claims; premium and commission disputes; stop loss, reinsurance and agent contracts; regulatory and compliance matters; network provider agreements; and prompt pay and clean claim statutes. We also have defended numerous insurance clients in class action cases involving policyholder, agent commission, premium calculation, claims handling, contract, ERISA, annuity, association, and regulatory disputes.

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Our lawyers also have extensive experience representing and counseling title insurance companies, and their insureds, on a wide range of issues. These include both coverage disputes and title curative actions. The firm also defends title insurers in first party actions involving allegations of wrongful claim denials, bad faith, closing errors, mortgage fraud, regulatory matters, and agent disputes. In all areas of our insurance practice, the firm’s services also include pre-litigation counseling on a variety of issues, as well as providing seminars to our clients and industry groups on emerging topics.

Figari + Davenport represents municipalities and other local governments, including Dallas County and the cities of Carrollton, Mesquite, Plano, Richardson, and Rockwall, Texas. We have litigated a variety of matters for these clients, ranging from breach of contract cases to boundary disputes to civil rights litigation, including regarding claims of excessive force. Additionally, we bring the full range of our labor and employment expertise to bear on behalf of our municipal clients, representing them in an array of employment litigation cases and arbitrations, including those premised on wrongful discharge and discrimination claims. In all instances, we are attuned to the reality that handling a legal matter for such a client can attract heightened scrutiny and draw significant attention.
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Our experience representing municipalities also extends to a variety of real estate and land use matters, including cases involving construction law and zoning, as well as litigation emanating from the acquisition, sale, development, or condemnation of real property. In addition to court appearances and arbitrations, our lawyers represent clients before various governmental bodies, such as civil service commissions.

Since the founding of the firm, real estate professionals and title insurance companies have entrusted Figari + Davenport to advise and counsel them regarding all types of real estate disputes in pre-litigation counseling or, if necessary, in litigation in courts or before arbitration panels. We have extensive experience in a wide array of real estate disputes. For example, recently our real estate litigators tried a dispute between partners concerning the sale of a multifamily complex in Houston, Texas; tried a partition lawsuit involving a prominent commercial shopping center in North Dallas; tried a forcible detainer action involving multiple commercial sites; resolved several lease disputes through summary judgments and/or mediations; and successfully defended a timeshare developer in trials and arbitrations arising out of consumer disputes relating to their property rights. Similarly, our team has substantial experience addressing easement and boundary disputes, nuisance claims, adverse possession, and trespass matters.

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We know that every real estate dispute is unique. Our experience enables us to wisely tailor an approach to meet our clients’ goals and manage their risk in an efficient and effective manner.

Figari + Davenport has substantial experience in federal and state securities litigation. We have represented public and private companies, officers, directors, employees, underwriters, and accountants in securities fraud cases involving federal statutory law and regulations, as well as common law claims of fraud and negligence. We have handled litigation involving stocks, options, bonds, employee stock options and mutual funds. Drawing on our extensive class action experience, Figari + Davenport also defends clients in securities fraud class actions and shareholder derivative suits in the southwest and throughout the United States.

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We appear on behalf of clients in securities arbitrations before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and its predecessor entities NASD and NYSE. We also have substantial experience representing clients in arbitrations before the American Arbitration Association. These representations have included customer complaints relating to unauthorized and excessive trading known as “churning,” unsuitability, failure to supervise, breach of contract, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, and similar causes of action. Our work for clients in the securities industry also extends to drafting, reviewing, and interpreting arbitration clauses and employment contracts, interpreting provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and handling insurance coverage questions pertaining to D&O and other insurance policies. In addition to securities disputes, we have handled hundreds of cases involving the claimed protection of trade secrets for securities firms and their employees as well as for various commercial entities unrelated to the securities industry. These disputes often involve non-competition and non-solicitation agreements.