The attorneys of HackermanFrankel are nationally recognized for their work in complex litigation. Their cases have been followed by The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and others, and have influenced Texas and federal law.

Success Stories

Hitchcock v. Graham Energy, Ltd., et al

Steve Hackerman served as co-lead counsel in series of fraud and breach of fiduciary duty cases on behalf of several thousand investors in limited partnerships sponsored and marketed by Prudential Securities. Discovery conducted uncovered a massive fraud that resulted in substantial losses for hundreds of thousands of investors. Investors represented by Hackerman settled their claims for more than $50 million. The firm also turned the evidence it developed over to the Securities and Exchange Commission, which subsequently reached a $350 million settlement with Prudential under which thousands more investors made recoveries.

Dorothy A. v. National Medical Enterprises

Steve Hackerman and Richard Frankel, in conjunction with two other firms, represented over 600 former patients in 11 psychiatric hospitals across Texas, which had been operated by National Medical Enterprises. Our clients filed suit against NME and more than 80 psychiatrists, many of them children, asserting that NME had bribed the psychiatrists to unnecessarily and inappropriately hospitalize them to capture their insurance benefits. The case settled on the eve of trial for an amount reported by The New York Times to be in excess of $100 million.

Schuler v. Sulzer Medica

Richard Frankel, in conjunction with a number of law firms throughout the United States, took a leadership role in prosecuting the claims of thousands of patients who had to undergo surgery to replace their defective hip implants. After approximately six months of litigation, the defendant, working with a friendly group of class action lawyers, attempted to settle the claims of all the victims for about $600 million. Frankel, working with investment bankers and a small group of lawyers, demonstrated that Sulzer had the ability to pay substantially more than $600 million. Six month later, Sulzer agreed to settle all claims for more than $1 billion.

WorldCom Analyst Arbitrations

HackermanFrankel represented investors in WorldCom in three NASD arbitration proceedings against Citicorp for issuing fraudulent analyst reports. The first case was initially lost following a three-week arbitration. When evidence of arbitrator misconduct surfaced, HackermanFrankel filed a motion to vacate. After the court-ordered deposition of the arbitrator in question, the case settled. Another case went to hearing for a week and then settled. The settlements obtained in three cases were among the largest in NASD history and The New York Times covered the case.

Exxon Valdez Insurance Litigation

Richard Frankel, along with his former partner, Dick Miller, worked with a team of lawyers during discovery in the prosecution of Exxon’s insurance coverage and bad faith action arising out of the Exxon Valdez incident. The case settled following a state court trial for a total of $780 million.

Hunt Oil Company v. ANR Pipeline Company

When the defendant stated it was going to follow gas sale pricing payouts far below the prices laid out in its contract with the plaintiff, Stephen Hackerman successfully obtained a restraining order against the defendant, saving his client millions of dollars.

Note: Past successes do not guarantee similar results under different factual and legal circumstances.