David W. Showalter
- Senior Partner
Location:
Richmond, TX
Phone:
Fax:
281-762-6872
Email:
Senior attorney of the firm who has served as lead trial counsel for over seventy jury trials as well as thousands of claims, mediations and arbitrations.
Resident of the Fort Bend and Houston metropolitan area since 1977. He is a proud parent of two adult children and actively participated in their school and youth activities. Recreation interest include international travel as well as a passion for the diverse ecology of Texas from its beaches to its beautiful hill country. His hobbies include reading, writing and music.
Areas of Practice
- Personal Injury and Wrongful Death
- Fiduciary and Trust Litigation, Fraud
- Toxic Torts
- Business and Commercial Transactions and Contract Disputes
- Real Property Transactions, Litigation and Eminent Domain
- Construction Defects
- Intellectual Property, Copyright and Trademark, Registration and Litigation
- Business formation, partner and shareholder rights
Bar Admissions
- Texas, 1977
- U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit
- U.S. Supreme Court
- U.S. District Court Southern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court Eastern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court Western District of Texas
- U.S. District Court Northern District of Texas
Education
- Baylor University School of Law, Waco, Texas
- J.D.
- Honors: Top 12% of class
- Southern Nazarene University, Bethany, Oklahoma
- B.A.
Published Works
- New Frontiers in Marital Property Law 2007 - Intellectual Property - Texas Bar Cle
- Article: Music, Lyrics, and Copyright Intellectual Property Rights in Music,, Texas Bar Journal, Vol. 74, No. 3, 2011
Representative Cases
- Lead counsel in over 400 eminent domain cases. E.g., Recovery in Eminent Domain litigation with TXDOT involving IH-10 taking of church property: Obtained $5,700,000 settlement after initial offer of $1,000,000 recovery of $42,500 after initial offer of $6,600 for 20' easement from Water Authority; $290,000 after initial offer of $9,000 for gas pipeline easement; $199,000 recovery after $86,000 offer by mass transit authority; $399,500 recovery after $180,000 offer for drainage project, etc.
- $3,000,000 settlement for damage to oil well caused by defective down hole tool
- $600,000 jury verdict for movie theater patron assaulted in parking lot
- Confidential Settlements for 300+ victims of Texas City explosion of BP Refinery
- Settlements, verdicts or recoveries in excess of $5,500,000 for 2,000 +- homeowners for defective construction by builders, fraud in sales transactions and concealed fault lines
- Lead counsel in numerous music industry claims, including: Copyright Infringement suit arising from ZZ Top song Thug: $600,000 settlement; Settlement of Chantilly Lace Royalty Underpayment suit against PolyGram (now Universal Music): $300,000; Jury Verdict Daily, et al. v. Gusto Records, et al., for Royalty Underpayment, Fraud and Punitive Damages: $1,800,000; Jury Verdict Brown, et al. v. Ames, et al., for Copyright Infringement and Misappropriation: $225,000; Settlement Szabo v. Landry’s Seafood Restaurants, Inc., for Copyright Infringement: Confidential Settlement; Federal Jury Verdict King v. Ames, et al., for Copyright Infringement and Misappropriation: $287,500; Federal Jury Verdict Ramirez, et al. v. Freddie Records, Inc. et al., for Copyright Infringement and Court Costs: $225,000. Total gross value of settlements, judgment and property recovered for infringement, royalty under-payment, breach of contract and fraud: $5,500,000+
Honors and Awards
- Mediation Training and Certification May 2006
- Conducted and/or participate in over 1,000 mediations
Professional Associations and Memberships
- U.S. District Court of Texas
- Fort Bend County Bar , Present
- Katy Bar Association
- U.S. District Court
- Board of Trustees of Southern Nazarene University , Member, 1996 to 2003
Pro Bono Activities
- Member, Foundation Board of Southern Nazarene University
- Past President, Foundation Board of Wharton County Junior College
- Past President, Alumni Association of Southern Nazarene University
- Member, Board of Directors of Rosenberg-Richmond Chamber of Commerce
- Past Chairman, Board of Directors of T.W. Davis YMCA, Richmond, Texas
- Member, Board of Directors of Fort Bend Seniors Meals on Wheels (past)
- Member, Needville Chamber of Commerce
- Member, Greater Fort Bend Economic Development Council (past)