• 

In January 2020 David Salyer as lead counsel successfully obtained a take-nothing jury verdict for a foreign manufacturer of ocean-going vessels that was a defendant in a complicated case involving the contested application of foreign law.  The Plaintiff, who had purchased a new sailing yacht, made claims against the manufacturer including violations of the Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA), negligence, breach of contract, and breach of express and implied warranties. As a result of the Plaintiff’s extensive and prolonged discovery, the Plaintiff additionally sought to recover almost $1.5 million in attorneys’ fees and damages of over $3,000,000.

 In response to the manufacturer’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment based on the DTPA exemption for large transactions exceeding $500,000, the Plaintiff dismissed his DTPA claims.  Mr. Salyer argued against Plaintiff’s request to apply foreign law, and the Court ruled that only Texas law applied.  After more than three weeks of trial and the introduction of over 500 exhibits, the jury unanimously exonerated all defendants in only 90 minutes. The Court entered judgement that the Plaintiff take nothing.

The manufacturer continues to retain McLeod Alexander Powel & Apffel and David Salyer to represent it during the Plaintiff’s appeal of this case. Mr. Salyer, a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and named a Thomson Reuters’ “Super Lawyer” in 2003 and from 2011 to present, and McLeod Alexander have represented manufacturers of a wide variety of products in complex litigation, including other matters involving watercraft.