Martin P. Averill

MARTIN PATRICK AVERILL
CONTRACT TRIAL ATTORNEY
[email protected]

Marty Averill has been a highly accomplished litigator, trial attorney and transactional lawyer for over 26 years. A graduate of the University of North Carolina School of Law, Marty was published twice in the UNC Law Review and served as Articles Editor of the Review before graduating With High Honors in 1996. Marty then served as a Judicial Clerk to the Honorable Pascal F. Calogero, Chief Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court before entering private practice at some of the world’s largest law firms.

Marty specializes in contract and property law, including high level oil and gas transactions and litigation. Marty has handled cases at nearly every level of Court in the country, including the U.S. Supreme Court, the Federal Fifth Circuit, several Federal District Courts, Federal Bankruptcy Courts for the Southern and Northern Districts of Texas, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and all levels of State Courts in Texas. Marty has taken multiple civil cases to jury verdict and has handled hundreds of trials, arbitrations, mediations and motions over the course of his career with favorable results.

Prior to law school, Marty graduated from Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania, summa cum laude with a 3.94 GPA, majoring in English/Communications, where he was also a scholarship baseball player, member of the Honors Program, published in the school’s literary journal and winner of the Top English Student Award upon graduation.

Marty is licensed to practice in Texas at all levels State and Federal.

Representative Cases

• Spiller v. White, 352 F.3d 235 (5th Cir. 2003), reh’g denied, 2004 U.S. App. LEXIS 648 (5th Cir. Tex., Jan. 12, 2004), cert. denied sub nom. 2004 U.S. LEXIS 5526 (U.S., October 4, 2004) [successful defense $1 billion pipeline project against challenge under National Environmental Policy Act, dozens of amici briefs, second chair and primary briefing attorney]
• Longhorn Partners Pipeline, L.P. v. City of Austin, Texas (W.D. Tex. 2002) [successful preemption challenge to city’s authority to regulate interstate pipeline project, later consolidated with Spiller v. White]
• Longhorn Partners Pipeline, L.P. v. Holly Corporation et al. (EI Paso, Texas 2003) [antitrust lawsuit against competing refinery resulting in favorable settlement]
• Levine et al. v. GW Petroleum, Inc. et al. (Madisonville, Texas 2006) [numerous pretrial victories limiting scope of $50 million suit; two-week jury trial October, 2006 ending in victory for client]
• • BJ Process & Pipeline Services v. Longhorn Partners Pipeline, L.P. (Houston 295th JDC) [numerous successful pretrial motions; month-long $1 billion jury trial April 2007]
• Short v. Short (74th JDC) [successful enforcement of oil and gas provisions of settlement agreement in contentious estate distribution]
• Stewart Mineral Corp. et al. v. Saratoga Royalty Corp. et al., 202 S.W.3d 242 (Tex.App.—
• McClymond, Ltd. v. Canterra Gas Gathering (90th JDC) [favorable settlement of gas gathering, drip condensate and refining margin dispute]
• Energy Transfer Fuel v. Realty Capital Corporation (Tarrant County Court at Law 2009) [successful defense of condemnation by high pressure natural gas pipeline, after week long jury trial, multi-million dollar judgment more three times last settlement offer]
• WTG Gas Processing v. King Operating Corporation (Scurry County, Texas (2015)) [successful settlement of gas gathering dispute between operator and gathering company]
• Forest Oil Corporation v. Branta Petroleum (Houston, 2009)
• Forest Oil Corporation v. Guggenheim Capital (Eastern District Texas 2009)
• Forest Oil Corporation v. Crusader Petroleum (bankruptcy adversary N.D. Tex. 2010)

Past Positions

• Shackleford, Melton & McKinley, Partner, 2011 – 2012
• Quilling, Selander, Dallas, Texas, Shareholder, 2007 – 2010
• Patton Boggs, Dallas, Texas, Partner, 2007 – 2008
• Baker & McKenzie, Dallas, Texas, Associate then Partner, 2004 – 2006
• Jenkens & Gilchrist, Dallas, Texas, Associate, 1999 – 2004
• Honorable Pascal F. Calogero, Chief Justice Louisiana Supreme Court, Law Clerk, 1996 – 1997
• Arata New Orleans, Louisiana, Associate Gordon, oil and gas litigation, 1997 – 1999
• Gray, Reed & McGraw, Dallas, Texas, Member, 2012 – 2016

Education

• University of North Carolina School of Law, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 1996
  • J.D.
  • Honors: top 10%
  • Law Review: University of North Carolina , Articles Editor
• Gannon University, Erie, PA, 1993
  • B.A.
  • Honors: summa cum laude
  • Honors: 3.94 GPA
  • Honors: scholarship baseball player