Biography

Board certified in civil trial law and personal injury trial law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, Mr. Kent’s experience encompasses all facets of civil litigation.  Mr. Kent has represented clients in federal and state trials and in appellate courts throughout Texas and the nation.  His current practice focuses on business disputes, professional liability claims (especially involving architect and engineer design professionals), and mass tort and complex litigation in serious injury and death trials.

Representative Cases

Design Professionals and Other Professional Liability

• Engineers - design and construction quality control services:  Successful defense of national engineering firm in $150 million professional liability claim arising from design and construction of 15.5 billion-gallon regional water reservoir in Florida, resulting in defense verdict after four-week jury trial.

• Engineers - design and construction managment services:  Defense of national environmental engineering and consulting firm in $100 million professional liability and construction management claim arising from design and construction of a municipal wastewater treatment plant in Arizona.

• EPC claim: Defense of vertically-integrated engineering and construction firm in $40 million claim arising from design and construction of cogeneration power plant located inside a petrochemical refinery in California’s Oakland Bay area

• Architects: Defense of architectural firm in multi-million dollar claim arising from construction of television broadcasting studios in Tampa, Florida

• Attorneys: Defense of legal professionals in professional negligence claims arising from a variety of legal engagements, including litigation, bankruptcy and intellectual property.

Business Litigation

• Inventory Management and Control:  Representation of Pennsylvania-based provider of maintenance and repair operation supply chain management services in various contractual disputes in Texas.
• Unfair Competition:  Representation of the nation’s oldest bottled water company and five of its regional distributors in defense of an unfair competition/false advertising case brought by a regional competitor in federal district court in Shreveport, Louisiana.  Representation of employers and employees in enforcing or defending trade secret claims and noncompetition agreements.
• Mergers & Acquisitions:  Representation of buyer in a stock purchase agreement suing seller for breach of contract, resulting in $5.2 million recovery in arbitration proceedings in San Diego, California.

Real Estate and Environmental

• Condemnation: Representation of landowners in condemnation proceedings involving construction of a 43-mile long regional water pipeline.
  
• Condemnation: Representation of national hotel chain in condemnation proceedings involving taking part of local property in Texas.
  
• Condemnation:  Representation of land developer in condemnation proceedings involving construction of the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
  
• Environmental:  Successful defense of one of the nation’s largest independent natural gas exploration and development companies in a series of ground water pollution cases brought by more than 50 families in Wise County, Texas.  Mitchell Energy Corp. v. Bartlett, 958 S.W.2d 430 (Tex. App. – Fort Worth 1997, pet rev. denied).
  
• Commercial Leases: Representation of lessors and lessees in various commercial lease disputes, including restaurants, warehouses, hazardous chemicals, commercial properties, etc.

Product Liability

• Hurricane claim: Defense of national roofing system manufacturing company in $35 million claim arising from partial collapse of the roof of a shopping mall located on the Gulf Coast during Hurricane Rita.
  
• Fire loss: Representation of owners of race horses and horse breeding farm in $25 million product liability claim against manufacturer of cooling fans that malfunctioned and caused barn fire, killing six breeding stallions and disrupting breeding farm operations.
  
• Product Liability – Computers:  Ten week trial to a jury verdict in state court in Dallas, Texas successfully defending a major Japanese computer equipment manufacturer in a $100+ million product liability/wrongful death suit against claims that its computer printer had malfunctioned and caused a house fire, in which a young mother died and her husband and daughters were seriously burned.
  
• Product Liability – Football Helmets:  National defense counsel for a Chicago-based football helmet manufacturing and reconditioning company in personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits brought in state and federal courts throughout the nation.
  
• Product Liability – Automotive:  Successful defense of German automobile manufacturer against claims that national advertising campaign emphasizing speed and road-handling capabilities of the car promoted unsafe driving techniques that resulted in a major collision with resulting deaths and injuries to passengers.
  
• Product Liability – Steel Products:  Defense of Japanese manufacturer of steel I-beams used in construction of manufactured housing against claims of design defect, which allegedly caused the I-beam to bend and collapse on top of person who was working under the house, resulting in quadriplegia.
  
• Product Safety Recalls:  Counseling manufacturers with regard to their obligations under the Consumer Products Safety Act to report incidents of product hazards and to conduct nationwide product safety recalls, including notification to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), notices to consumers, retrofits and replacements of defective products, and follow-up reporting obligations.

Class Actions

• Representation in Texas of U.S.-based international food company in toxic tort class action and mass action litigation brought by Central American farm workers.
  
• Successful representation in Michigan of Texas-based oil and gas company in royalty owners’ class action litigation alleging underpayment of royalties. Williams v. Terra Energy, Ltd., 2006 Mich. App. LEXIS 2309.
  
• Representation in Texas of international computer manufacturer’s employee in consumer class action for misrepresentations concerning laptop computer battery life.
  
• Representation in Texas of consortium of water heater manufacturers in follow-on consumer class action for defective water heater components.

Insurance Coverage and Policy Claim Litigation

• Tornado Loss Property Claim:  Successful representation of the nation's largest apartment management company in a complex claim in Ohio state court against a group of excess insurance carriers for tornado damage to a 50-acre apartment complex involving issues of replacement cost coverage, business interruption losses, extra expense claims, and defenses of fraud and false swearing claims.
  
• Liability Insurance Policy Coverage:  Successful representation of New Jersey-based insurance company in complex coverage action involving 130 healthcare facilities with claims for rescission based on misrepresentation, questions of exhaustion of policy limits, and roles of offshore captive insurance companies.

Affiliations, Activities and Accomplishments

Mr. Kent is actively involved in the Dallas Bar Association, State Bar of Texas and American Bar Association. He is currently Chair of the Dallas Bar’s Business Litigation Section and a former director and officer of the Tort and Insurance Practice Section (Chair 2009). He is a Trustee of the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers Foundation and was appointed Chair of the Fellows of the DAYL Foundation for 2013. He has served on the Board of Directors for the Dallas Bar Association (2007) and chaired numerous committees, including the Legal Ethics Committee (2009), Membership and Admissions Committee (2008), Bench-Bar Conference (2006), Speakers Committee (2002) and Law Day Committee (2000 – 2001).

Mr. Kent currently is a member of the State Bar of Texas District 6 Grievance Committee. He served six years on the Board of Directors of Law Focused Education Inc. (President, 2004-2006) and was Chair of the Texas High School Mock Trial Competition for six years (1994-1999).

Early in his legal career, Mr. Kent was named the Outstanding Young Lawyer of Dallas in 1989.  More recently, he received the Dallas Bar's Outstanding Committee Chair Award in 1998, and was an officer of the DBA’s Tort and Insurance Practice Section when it received the Outstanding Section Award in 2007 and 2010.

In addition to his professional activities, Mr. Kent devotes substantial time to civic and community organizations, where he has held leadership positions in groups such as the Boy Scouts of America (National Exploring Committee and local troop), Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership of North Texas (former President), High Adventure Treks for Dads & Daughters (Chairman,  Board of Directors), and his church.

As an undergraduate student at Baylor University, Mr. Kent was a member of the university's national championship debate team.  While at Baylor University School of Law,  he was Editor-in-Chief of the Baylor Law Review and a member of the law school’s national championship mock trial team.  After graduating from law school, Mr. Kent served a one-year judicial clerkship with the Supreme Court of Texas.

Presentations and Publications

Mr. Kent is a regular speaker at continuing legal education seminars.  He has published nearly 100 professional papers, law review articles and books, and served for nine years as the contributing editor on Evidence Law for the State Bar of Texas General Practice Digest.

Some of his most recent presentations and publications include:

• "Equine Activity Limitations of Liability Act Given Broad Reading in Texas," PRODUCT LIABILITY ADVISORY (Sedgwick LLP Newsletter), June/July 2012
• "Tort Reform Continues in Texas," Products Liability Committee News (ABA Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section Products Liability Committee), Fall 2011
• "Ethical Issues in Dealing With Clients and Witnesses," Dallas Bar Association Tort & Insurance Practice Section Monthly Meeting, March 1, 2011
• "E-Discovery 2010: How to Find It, Produce It, and Use It," DBA Tort & Insurance Practice Section "Trial Practice Essentials: Tools You Need to Win Your Case" CLE Seminar, Nov 19, 2010
• “Contribution, Indemnity and Proportionate Responsibility: Which Apportionment Method Applies, What Does It Mean, and What are the Parties’ Approaches?” University of Houston Law Foundation, Advanced Insurance and Tort Claims CLE Seminar, August 7 & 14, 2009 (Houston, Dallas)
• “The Care & Feeding of Fact Witnesses: The Dark Science of Trial Work,” DBA Business Litigation Section, Feb. 10, 2009 (Dallas)