Timothy S. Durst

Tim Durst is a Chambers-ranked, first-chair trial lawyer with years of courtroom experience handling complex and high-stakes disputes. He has taken to trial a wide range of cases including contract, fraud, patent, trade secrets, and fiduciary duty disputes. He has handled litigation in more than 20 states and tried cases in a number of those, including Texas, Delaware, California, and Colorado. Tim’s trials have been in in state and federal courts, and before arbitration panels. He has worked within a variety of industries, including technology, energy, financial services, retail, pharma, and healthcare.

Tim leads high-performing litigation teams from start to finish by focusing on the client's objectives and mapping out an effective trial strategy, which then guides development of the case through discovery and trial. This yields a trial-ready case and frequently presents opportunities for litigated or negotiated business resolutions short of trial. He also has been called to join teams later in the process, as the realities of a looming trial emerge.

Select Trial Experience

• Branded drug company against generic drug competitor in pharmaceutical patent jury trial (Colorado)
• JV partnership dispute over valuation of complex real estate investment structure, in arbitration before former Chief Justice of Delaware Supreme Court
• Complex commercial disputes in jury trial and chancery court involving breach of contract, business torts, and fraud issues (Texas and Delaware)
• Failed joint venture/business deal for multinational oil and gas company (jury trial)
• Trade secret and business deal dispute for a start-up medical device company (jury trial)
• Arbitration for publicly-traded natural gas company against partner/supplier related to gas plant
• Patent jury trials related to telecommunication networks and devices, manufacturing processes, consumer products, software, and financial services (California, Delaware, Texas)
• Multiple substantive, live-evidence, hearings on injunction and other requests – related to intellectual property rights, preservation of financial situations, environmental conditions, government takeover of financial institutions, and municipal obligations to a homeless population
• Trials related to financial institutions and investment firms, including cases involving solvency, fiduciary duty, and fraud claims
• Start-up international energy exploration company against alleged partner over South American oil assets, in arbitration before panel of former judges
• Trade secrets jury trial relating to telecommunications network technology

Additional Litigation Experience

• Manufacturer of Oil Field Equipment – patent and trade secret litigation between two private-equity backed competitors related to oil field services technology
• Retail Electricity Provider – patent infringement litigation related to pollution reduction technology, and commercial litigation related to post-merger indemnity disputes
• International Auto-racing Organization – patent infringement litigation related to driver-safety technology
• Multinational Communications Company – defense verdict in patent jury trial and multiple other patent infringement cases (including declaratory judgment actions), including claims related to network operations, internet search and online directory services, location services, content filtering, wi-fi equipment, home automation, video processing, and content streaming, including favorable dispositive motion results
• Multinational Consumer Electronics Company – defense of patent, trade secrets, and copyright claims in several cases involving a variety of technological areas related to mobile phones and other devices, smart-home, and virtual reality technologies, including favorable dispositive motion results and proactive declaratory judgment proceedings
• Leading Online and On-air Retailer – defense of numerous patent infringement cases and claims related to e-commerce, online sales and retail products; indemnity-related commercial disputes
• Multinational Engineering and Construction Firm – defended in qui tam false claims act case where court granted motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim; prosecution of declaratory judgment action against hedge fund related to convertible indentures, with summary judgment ruling in client’s favor and appellate court affirmance (plus fees recovery) and defense of commercial, tort, and intellectual property litigation
• Multinational Food and Beverage Company and its affiliates – defense of trade dress and patent infringement claims, assertion of claims against store-brand snack manufacturer, and multiple injunction proceedings regarding new product launches
• Major Multinational Petroleum Companies – commercial litigation related to corporate governance issues and the domestic and international exploration, production, processing, and marketing of natural gas and oil, including favorable trial and dispositive motion results and seven figure recoveries of defense fees; prosecution of litigation against Chinese National Offshore Oil Co. resulting in the client securing rights in substantial Indonesian LNG facility; misappropriation of trade secrets lawsuit against former employees and a start-up company, resulting in an injunction limiting the scope of the new business
• Telecommunications Equipment Company – prosecution and defense of various commercial and intellectual property claims, including prosecution and defense of trade secrets and patent claims at trial
• Telecommunications Network and Equipment Company – defense and favorable resolution of patent holding company patent infringement suits targeting online directories and other service offerings
• Global Medical Device Company – patent and trade secret litigation and arbitration against Boston Scientific

Experience with Substantive Topics

• Complex commercial disputes – contract and tort matters, post-merger issues, corporate governance, licensing, failed business deals, fraud, convertible indentures, private equity investments, regulatory enforcement, environmental damages, construction projects, and investment JV disputes
• Patent owners and alleged infringers – prosecution and defense of patent infringement claims, including related to the internet of things, telecom, software, medical device, commodities trading, e-commerce, food and beverage, automotive, and consumer goods industries
• Energy litigation – international and domestic disputes related to exploration and production, AMI clauses, investments, production sharing contracts, joint ventures, LNG facilities, and other contracts and plant issues; counseling and litigation strategy advising related to 2021 Texas winter storm disruptions; disputes involving assets in the U.S., Africa, Asia, and Central and South America
• Trade secret litigation – assertion and defense of misappropriation claims and injunction proceedings in a variety of industries and contexts (including theft of secrets in China and cases involving movement of employees and non-compete agreements)
• Environmental claims – defense of clean-up cost recovery actions and MTBE litigation; strategic analysis of climate change tort suits
• Publicly traded companies – change of control litigation, hedge fund litigation, class action securities litigation, shareholder derivative litigation, state securities law claims, and internal and government investigations
• Professional liability defense – representation of two major law firms in defense of claims arising from their handling of patent litigation