WSJ Reports on Wyly Brothers, Fraud Case

July 30, 2010 – The Wall Street Journal reports today on firm clients and billionaire brothers Sam and Charles Wyly, who allegedly hid trading profits through an “elaborate sham system” of offshore entities.

The Wylys’ lawyer, William A. Brewer III, said the brothers plan a vigorous defense and expect to be vindicated. “After six years of investigations, the SEC has chosen to make claims against the Wyly brothers – claims that, in our view, are without merit. Brewer added that the brothers relied upon the advice of accountants and lawyers, as reported by the WSJ.

Read the full report here.

Kansas City Jury Awards Firm Client $15M

May 26, 2009 — The Kansas City Business Journal reports that a federal jury has awarded firm client Dovetail Builders 2 LLC "nearly $15 million for a breach of contract claim involving a Junction City apartment development." 

According to the report, the real estate dispute involved a joint agreement that Dovetail entered into with David Christie of D.J. Christie Inc. and former associate Alexander Glenn. Dovetail's lawsuit claimed that Christie "abandoned the joint venture after the Junction City Commission indicated it would offer incentives for the project. Christie completed the project without Dovetail Builders." 

“We applaud the jury’s decision and finding that our clients were unjustly removed from this real estate development deal,” said William Brewer, an attorney with Dallas-based Bickel & Brewer.

To read the full article, click here. 

Austin American-Statesman Reports on Settlement in Hydro-Quebec Battery Dispute

October 11, 2008 — In an article titled “Battery Deal Gives UT Royalty Payments,” The Austin American-Statesman reports that The University of Texas and Bickel & Brewer client Hydro-Quebec have "settled a 7-year-old lawsuit that clears the way for the development and sale of battery-powered products that would use technology created at the Austin campus." 

The report states that, according to the terms of the settlement, the UT System and Hydro-Quebec will be paid $30 million by Japanese communications giant NTT Corp. 

The report states that "NTT Corp. will license the battery technology patents to Hydro-Quebec and the university system, giving H-Q free rein to try to sell the technology in a range of electronic devices. The settlement also allows the utility to sublicense the technology to other companies." 

Vanity Fair: Oil in the Family

June 2008 – A profile story in Vanity Fair, “Oil in the Family,” profiles the story of the Hunt dynasty and legal actions dividing the family. The publication writes, “In 1935 oil tycoon H.L. Hunt, known as the richest man in America, created what would become a multi-billion-dollar trust for his descendants. Three generations later, a lawsuit by his free-spending grandson is shaking the foundations of that mighty family fortune.”

 “At stake, according to family documents, is an oil-and-gas fortune worth between $2.5 and $4 billion,” according to the article.”

Bill Brewer, who represents Al Hill III, and his client “both maintain that the exchange of charges and countercharges between the warring camps has obscured the core issue:  the family’s plan to sell Hunt Petroleum and to break no just one but two trusts that own the company, and then to seize the proceeds, much sooner than the family ever would have been able to had the trusts remained intact,” writes author Alan Peppard.

Read the article here (subscription required).

Hospitality Law Reports on Firm Client's $10.3M Trial Award

April 2008 — Hospitality Law reports that the "Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co. was slapped with a $10 million verdict after a District Court jury found the hotel violated its fiduciary duties to an Indonesian property owner" — firm client Karang Mas Sejahtera (KMS). 

The article, "Jury Awards Bali Hotel Operator $10.3 Million Verdict," states that the jury in the Greenbelt, Maryland, case found that the Ritz violated its operating agreement with KMS by opening a competing luxury property within three miles of KMS's property, the Ritz-Carlton Bali Resort & Spa. 

According to the report, Bill Brewer, counsel to KMS and a partner at Bickel & Brewer, told Hospitality Law that the case "clarifies the rights, responsibilities and obligations of all parties involved in a hotel management agreement and affirmed that his client's position that the Ritz-Carlton breached its fiduciary duty from a financial, operational and competitive point of view." 

"It doesn't matter what you call a relationship — if someone is managing your business, your assets, for your benefit and being paid handsomely to do that, they owe you a fiduciary duty," Brewer said. "The Ritz-Carlton attempted to claim that they and their subsidiary didn't have a fiduciary responsibility to the owner [of the Bali property], and the jury absolutely decided otherwise. I think it reminded everybody that between a principal and an agent, honesty and fact are the touchstone of the relationship." 

Jury Awards Bali Hotel Operator $10.3 Million Verdict

April 2008 – Hospitality Law reported on the firm’s trial win against the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co. on behalf of client Karang Mas Sejahtera (KMS), owner of the Ritz-Carlton Bali Resort & Spa. The jury awarded KMS more than $10 million.

As reported, “KMS filed the lawsuit against Ritz-Carlton three years ago, when the company began developing the Bulgari Bali Hotel. KMS accused the Ritz of violating its fiduciary duties by operating a competing property in disregard to KMS’s territorial rights and alleged that the Ritz failed to recognize its responsibilities as an agent of the Ritz-Carlton Bali.”

A Greenbelt, Maryland jury found the Ritz breached its amended and restated operating agreement and violated its fiduciary duties to KMS, among other things.

“It doesn’t matter what you call a relationship – if someone is managing your business, your assets, for your benefit and being paid handsomely to do that, they owe you a fiduciary duty,” said firm partner William A. Brewer III. “I think it [the jury verdict] reminded everybody that between a principal and an agent, honest and fact are the touchstone of the relationship.”

D Magazine: Hunt vs. Hunt

March 2008 – D Magazine profiles “the fight inside Dallas’ wealthiest family” in a cover article that chronicles the legal pursuit of Brewer client Al Hill III.

The magazine writes, “Without Al Hill III’s transformation, he might not have had the courage later in life to follow his convictions. Even when it meant accusing his own family of tax evasion and fraud.”

Read the article by clicking here.

Dallas Morning News: A Matter of Trust

February 10, 2008 – The Dallas Morning News takes an in-depth look at a family dispute over “two trusts, belonging to Margaret [Hunt Hill] and her late brother Hassie, with an estimated worth of $2 billion to $4 billion.”

As reported, legal actions have “brought the lights up on a sideshow of two so-called magicians – Tom Hunt, the low-key, low-profile trustee of both trusts and Bill Brewer, Al Hill III’s flashy bulldog of a lawyer.”

 As reported, “William A. Brewer III has built his legal reputation with scorched-earth tactics that have made him sought after and scorned by Dallas’ rich and famous.”

Read the article “Hunt heirs locked in bitter fight over who should have hands on funds' fortunes,” by clicking here.