Lawyer Profile

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Jesse R. Pierce

Pierce & O'Neill, LLP

Jesse Pierce has more than 40 years of litigation experience and has tried many types of cases in state and federal courts of Texas and other states. He specializes in civil trials of cases dealing with complex energy and commercial issues. Mr. Pierce is Board Certified in Civil Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and is a Commercial Arbitrator for American Arbitration Association. Mr. Pierce has been inducted into the Litigation Counsel of America, a trial lawyer honorary society composed of less than one-half of one percent of American lawyers.  Fellows are selected based on effectiveness and accomplishment in litigation, both at the trial and appellate levels, and on the basis of a superior ethical reputation.  Fewer than 60 attorneys in Houston are Fellows of the LCA. He is licensed to practice in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Mr. Pierce has handled a number of appeals to the Texas Supreme Court. During his first year of practice, he had a successful appeal of a contested probate matter in Hall v. White, 525 S.W.2d 860 (Tex. 1975). He also victoriously argued a complex engineering malpractice case involving the design of electronic microprocessor devices in 1993, Texas Instruments, Inc. v. Teletron Energy Mgmt. Inc., 877 S.W.2d 276 (Tex. 1994) (rehearing overruled). He effectively appealed a multi-party lease termination and adverse possession case, Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America, et al. v. Pool, 124 S.W.3d 188 (Tex. 2003).

Among the other appeals he handled during the early years of his practice were:

  • City of Pasadena v. Richardson, 523 S.W.2d 506 (Tex. Civ. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1975) (civil rights);
  • Gaal v. BASF Wyandotte Corp., 533 S.W.2d 152 (Tex. Civ. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1976) (trade secrets);
  • Best Steel Buildings, Inc. v. Hardin, 553 S.W.2d 951 (Tex. Civ. App.—Tyler 1978) (wrongful death);
  • Pan American Life Insurance Co. v. Youngblood, 569 S.W.2d 951 (Tex. Civ. App.—Tyler 1978) (insurance);
  • Claude Regis Vargo Ent., Inc. v. Bacarisse, 578 S.W.2d 524 (Tex. Civ. App.—Houston [14th Dist] 1979) (commercial); and
  • C&W Manhattan Associates v. Lively, 588 S.W.2d 671 (Tex. Civ. App.—Beaumont 1979) (commercial)

In the late 1970s, Mr. Pierce began to handle complex oil and gas, land and commercial cases. He handled a number of cases for major oil companies involving disputes with royalty owners and disputes between gas producers and pipeline companies for clients such as Chesapeake Energy, Texaco, Shell, Pennzoil-Quaker State, Mobil and Superior Oil Company. Cases he has tried and appealed are:

  • Dunn v. Davis, 590 S.W.2d 752 (Tex. Civ. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1979) (land title);
  • First City Nat'l Bank v. Hardy, 620 S.W.2d 732 (Tex. Civ. App.—Corpus Christi 1981) (oil and gas);
  • Amoco Oil Co. v. Hardy, 628 S.W.2d 813 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi 1981) (class action);
  • Superior Oil Co. v. City of Port Arthur, 628 S.W.2d 94, (Tex. App.—Beaumont 1981) (constitutional challenge to annexation);
  • Superior Oil Co. v. City of Port Arthur, 726 F.2d 203 (5th Cir. 1984) (constitutional challenge to annexation);
  • Gulf Oil Corp. v. Fuller, 695 S.W.2d 769 (Tex. App.—El Paso 1985) (discovery privilege issues);
  • Enterprise Int'l, Inc. v. Corporacion Estatal Petrolera Ecuatoriana,762 F.2d 464 (5th Cir. 1985) (commercial, Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act);
  • Wadsworth Bus. Ctr. v. Connell, 775 S.W.2d 663 (Tex. App.—Dallas 1989) (real estate);
  • Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Kennedy, (Tex. App.—El Paso 1991) (class action);
  • NL Inds., Inc. v. GHR Energy Corp., 940 F.2d 957 (5th Cir. 1991) (commercial);
  • Lee v. WalMart Stores, Inc., 943 F2d 554 (5th Cir. 1991) (commercial);
  • Parten v. Cannon, 829 S.W.2d 327 ((Tex. App.—Waco 1992) (oil and gas);
  • GeoSouthern Energy Corp. v. Chesapeake Operating, Inc., 274 F.3d 1017 (5th Cir. 2001) (dispute among working interest owners);
  • GeoSouthern Energy Corp. v. Chesapeake Operating, Inc., 241 F.3d 388 (5th Cir. 2001) (dispute among working interest owners);
  • Law v. Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America, 65 S.W.3d 121 (Tex. App.—Amarillo 2001, pet. denied) (lease termination);
  • Moore Landrey, LLP v. Hirsch & Westheimer, P.C., 126 S.W.3d 536 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2003, no pet.) (contract);
  • C.M. Asfahl Agency v. Tensor, Inc., 135 S.W.3d 768 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2004, no pet.) (contract);
  • DX Terminals, Ltd. v. Bayer Corporation, 214 S.W.3d 586 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2006, pet. denied) (contract);
  • Ingram v. Glast, Phillips & Murray, 196 Fed.Appx. 232 (5th Cir. 2006) (sanctions);
  • PYR Energy Corporation v. Samson Resources Company, 470 F.Supp.2d 709 (E.D. Tex. 2007) (oil and gas dispute);
  • Union Carbide Corporation v. Loftin, 256 S.W.3d 869 (Tex. App.—Beaumont 2008, pet. dism’d) (toxic tort);
  • Shell Oil Company v. Baran, 258 S.W.3d 719 (Tex. App.—Beaumont 2008, pet. dism’d) (toxic tort);
  • Navasota Resources, L.P. v. First Source Texas, Inc., 249 S.W.3d 526 (Tex. App.—Waco 2008, pet. denied) (oil and gas contract dispute);
  • Cheetah Gas Co., Ltd. v. Chesapeake Louisiana, L.P., 2009 WL 522736 (S.D. Tex. 2009) (oil and gas contract dispute;
  • Coll v. Abaco Operating LLC, 2010 WL 11470128 (E.D. Tex. 2010) (oil and gas contract dispute);
  • Witt v. Chesapeake Exploration, L.L.C., 276 F.R.D. 458 (E.D. Tex. 2011) (oil and gas contract dispute);
  • Highland Capital Management, L.P. v. Ryder Scott Co., 402 S.W.3d 719 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2012, no pet.) (oil and gas contract dispute);
  • SM Energy Co. v. Sutton, 376 S.W.3d 787 (Tex. App.—San Antonio 2012, pet. denied) (oil and gas contract dispute);
  • Coe v. Chesapeake Exploration, L.L.C., 695 F.3d 311 (5th Cir. 2012) (oil and gas contract dispute);
  • Chesapeake Louisiana, L.P. v. Buffco Production, Inc., 2013 WL 12242054 (E.D. Tex. 2013) (oil and gas contract dispute);
  • McCall v. Chesapeake Energy Corporation, 509 Fed.Appx. 62 (2nd Cir. 2013) (oil and gas contract dispute);
  • Preston Exploration Co., L.P. v. G.S.F., LLC, 566 Fed.Appx. 318 (5th Cir. 2014) (oil and gas contract dispute);
  • Davey v. Margarett Jordan Royalties, Inc., 2014 WL 3939669 (Tex. App.—Tyler 2014, no pet.) (oil and gas contract dispute);
  • MDU Barnett Limited Partnership v. Chesapeake Exploration Limited Partnership, 2014 WL 585740 (S.D. Tex. 2014) (oil and gas contract dispute);
  • XH, LLC v. Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation, 2014 WL 2505541 (Tex. App.—Tyler 2014, no pet.) (oil and gas contract dispute);
  • Burlington Resources Oil & Gas Company, LP v. Petromax Operating Co., Inc., 486 S.W.3d 703 (Tex. App.—Texarkana 2016, no pet.) (oil and gas contract dispute); 
  • In re CCI Gulf Coast Upstream, LLC, 2016 WL 6134466 (Tex. App.—Waco, 2016) (oil and gas contract dispute);
  • Cody Texas, L.P. v. BPL Exploration, Ltd., 513 S.W.3d 522 (Tex. App.—San Antonio 2016, pet. denied)  (oil and gas contract dispute);
  • In re Cody Texas, L.P., 2017 WL 4942852 (Tex. App.—San Antonio 2017) (oil and gas contract dispute);
  • Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation v. Samson Lone Star, LLC, 2017 WL 2791188 (Tex. App.—Amarillo 2017) (oil and gas contract dispute);
  • Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation v. Newfield Exploration Mid-Continent, Inc., 2017 WL 2791188 (Tex. App.—Amarillo 2017, no pet.) (oil and gas contract dispute);
  • Freeman v. Harleton Oil & Gas, Inc., 528 S.W.3d 708 (Tex. App.—Texarkana 2017, pet. filed)  (oil and gas contract dispute); and

Lawyer Bio

Jesse Pierce has more than 40 years of litigation experience and has tried many types of cases in state and federal courts of Texas and other states. He specializes in civil trials of cases dealing with complex energy and commercial issues. Mr. Pierce is Board Certified in Civil Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and is a Commercial Arbitrator for American Arbitration Association. Mr. Pierce has been inducted into the Litigation Counsel of America, a trial lawyer honorary society composed of less than one-half of one percent of American lawyers.  Fellows are selected based on effectiveness and accomplishment in litigation, both at the trial and appellate levels, and on the basis of a superior ethical reputation.  Fewer than 60 attorneys in Houston are Fellows of the LCA. He is licensed to practice in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Mr. Pierce has handled a number of appeals to the Texas Supreme Court. During his first year of practice, he had a successful appeal of a contested probate matter in Hall v. White, 525 S.W.2d 860 (Tex. 1975). He also victoriously argued a complex engineering malpractice case involving the design of electronic microprocessor devices in 1993, Texas Instruments, Inc. v. Teletron Energy Mgmt. Inc., 877 S.W.2d 276 (Tex. 1994) (rehearing overruled). He effectively appealed a multi-party lease termination and adverse possession case, Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America, et al. v. Pool, 124 S.W.3d 188 (Tex. 2003).

Among the other appeals he handled during the early years of his practice were:

  • City of Pasadena v. Richardson, 523 S.W.2d 506 (Tex. Civ. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1975) (civil rights);
  • Gaal v. BASF Wyandotte Corp., 533 S.W.2d 152 (Tex. Civ. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1976) (trade secrets);
  • Best Steel Buildings, Inc. v. Hardin, 553 S.W.2d 951 (Tex. Civ. App.—Tyler 1978) (wrongful death);
  • Pan American Life Insurance Co. v. Youngblood, 569 S.W.2d 951 (Tex. Civ. App.—Tyler 1978) (insurance);
  • Claude Regis Vargo Ent., Inc. v. Bacarisse, 578 S.W.2d 524 (Tex. Civ. App.—Houston [14th Dist] 1979) (commercial); and
  • C&W Manhattan Associates v. Lively, 588 S.W.2d 671 (Tex. Civ. App.—Beaumont 1979) (commercial)

In the late 1970s, Mr. Pierce began to handle complex oil and gas, land and commercial cases. He handled a number of cases for major oil companies involving disputes with royalty owners and disputes between gas producers and pipeline companies for clients such as Chesapeake Energy, Texaco, Shell, Pennzoil-Quaker State, Mobil and Superior Oil Company. Cases he has tried and appealed are:

  • Dunn v. Davis, 590 S.W.2d 752 (Tex. Civ. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1979) (land title);
  • First City Nat'l Bank v. Hardy, 620 S.W.2d 732 (Tex. Civ. App.—Corpus Christi 1981) (oil and gas);
  • Amoco Oil Co. v. Hardy, 628 S.W.2d 813 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi 1981) (class action);
  • Superior Oil Co. v. City of Port Arthur, 628 S.W.2d 94, (Tex. App.—Beaumont 1981) (constitutional challenge to annexation);
  • Superior Oil Co. v. City of Port Arthur, 726 F.2d 203 (5th Cir. 1984) (constitutional challenge to annexation);
  • Gulf Oil Corp. v. Fuller, 695 S.W.2d 769 (Tex. App.—El Paso 1985) (discovery privilege issues);
  • Enterprise Int'l, Inc. v. Corporacion Estatal Petrolera Ecuatoriana,762 F.2d 464 (5th Cir. 1985) (commercial, Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act);
  • Wadsworth Bus. Ctr. v. Connell, 775 S.W.2d 663 (Tex. App.—Dallas 1989) (real estate);
  • Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Kennedy, (Tex. App.—El Paso 1991) (class action);
  • NL Inds., Inc. v. GHR Energy Corp., 940 F.2d 957 (5th Cir. 1991) (commercial);
  • Lee v. WalMart Stores, Inc., 943 F2d 554 (5th Cir. 1991) (commercial);
  • Parten v. Cannon, 829 S.W.2d 327 ((Tex. App.—Waco 1992) (oil and gas);
  • GeoSouthern Energy Corp. v. Chesapeake Operating, Inc., 274 F.3d 1017 (5th Cir. 2001) (dispute among working interest owners);
  • GeoSouthern Energy Corp. v. Chesapeake Operating, Inc., 241 F.3d 388 (5th Cir. 2001) (dispute among working interest owners);
  • Law v. Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America, 65 S.W.3d 121 (Tex. App.—Amarillo 2001, pet. denied) (lease termination);
  • Moore Landrey, LLP v. Hirsch & Westheimer, P.C., 126 S.W.3d 536 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2003, no pet.) (contract);
  • C.M. Asfahl Agency v. Tensor, Inc., 135 S.W.3d 768 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2004, no pet.) (contract);
  • DX Terminals, Ltd. v. Bayer Corporation, 214 S.W.3d 586 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2006, pet. denied) (contract);
  • Ingram v. Glast, Phillips & Murray, 196 Fed.Appx. 232 (5th Cir. 2006) (sanctions);
  • PYR Energy Corporation v. Samson Resources Company, 470 F.Supp.2d 709 (E.D. Tex. 2007) (oil and gas dispute);
  • Union Carbide Corporation v. Loftin, 256 S.W.3d 869 (Tex. App.—Beaumont 2008, pet. dism’d) (toxic tort);
  • Shell Oil Company v. Baran, 258 S.W.3d 719 (Tex. App.—Beaumont 2008, pet. dism’d) (toxic tort);
  • Navasota Resources, L.P. v. First Source Texas, Inc., 249 S.W.3d 526 (Tex. App.—Waco 2008, pet. denied) (oil and gas contract dispute);
  • Cheetah Gas Co., Ltd. v. Chesapeake Louisiana, L.P., 2009 WL 522736 (S.D. Tex. 2009) (oil and gas contract dispute;
  • Coll v. Abaco Operating LLC, 2010 WL 11470128 (E.D. Tex. 2010) (oil and gas contract dispute);
  • Witt v. Chesapeake Exploration, L.L.C., 276 F.R.D. 458 (E.D. Tex. 2011) (oil and gas contract dispute);
  • Highland Capital Management, L.P. v. Ryder Scott Co., 402 S.W.3d 719 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2012, no pet.) (oil and gas contract dispute);
  • SM Energy Co. v. Sutton, 376 S.W.3d 787 (Tex. App.—San Antonio 2012, pet. denied) (oil and gas contract dispute);
  • Coe v. Chesapeake Exploration, L.L.C., 695 F.3d 311 (5th Cir. 2012) (oil and gas contract dispute);
  • Chesapeake Louisiana, L.P. v. Buffco Production, Inc., 2013 WL 12242054 (E.D. Tex. 2013) (oil and gas contract dispute);
  • McCall v. Chesapeake Energy Corporation, 509 Fed.Appx. 62 (2nd Cir. 2013) (oil and gas contract dispute);
  • Preston Exploration Co., L.P. v. G.S.F., LLC, 566 Fed.Appx. 318 (5th Cir. 2014) (oil and gas contract dispute);
  • Davey v. Margarett Jordan Royalties, Inc., 2014 WL 3939669 (Tex. App.—Tyler 2014, no pet.) (oil and gas contract dispute);
  • MDU Barnett Limited Partnership v. Chesapeake Exploration Limited Partnership, 2014 WL 585740 (S.D. Tex. 2014) (oil and gas contract dispute);
  • XH, LLC v. Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation, 2014 WL 2505541 (Tex. App.—Tyler 2014, no pet.) (oil and gas contract dispute);
  • Burlington Resources Oil & Gas Company, LP v. Petromax Operating Co., Inc., 486 S.W.3d 703 (Tex. App.—Texarkana 2016, no pet.) (oil and gas contract dispute); 
  • In re CCI Gulf Coast Upstream, LLC, 2016 WL 6134466 (Tex. App.—Waco, 2016) (oil and gas contract dispute);
  • Cody Texas, L.P. v. BPL Exploration, Ltd., 513 S.W.3d 522 (Tex. App.—San Antonio 2016, pet. denied)  (oil and gas contract dispute);
  • In re Cody Texas, L.P., 2017 WL 4942852 (Tex. App.—San Antonio 2017) (oil and gas contract dispute);
  • Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation v. Samson Lone Star, LLC, 2017 WL 2791188 (Tex. App.—Amarillo 2017) (oil and gas contract dispute);
  • Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation v. Newfield Exploration Mid-Continent, Inc., 2017 WL 2791188 (Tex. App.—Amarillo 2017, no pet.) (oil and gas contract dispute);
  • Freeman v. Harleton Oil & Gas, Inc., 528 S.W.3d 708 (Tex. App.—Texarkana 2017, pet. filed)  (oil and gas contract dispute); and
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  • Lawyer of the Year Badge

Education:

  • The University of Texas at Austin, graduated 1974
  • Austin College, graduated 1971

Bar Admissions:

  • Texas, State Bar of Texas
  • Oklahoma, Oklahoma Bar Association
  • Arkansas, Arkansas Bar Association
  • Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Bar Association
  • Ohio, Ohio State Bar Association

Affiliations:

  • Litigation Counsel of America - Fellow
  • Oil, Gas & Energy Reources Law Section of the State Bar of Texas - Council
  • The Center for American and International Law - Oil & Gas Practice Committe
  • American Board of Trial Advocates - Member

Named "Lawyer of the Year" by Best Lawyers for:

  • Oil and Gas Law, Houston (2011)
 

Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America for work in:

  • Commercial Litigation
  • Natural Resources Law
  • Oil and Gas Law
 

Awards:

  • Recognized in Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America for Toxic Torts
  • Recognized in Super Lawyers Corporate Counsel Edition, 2008-2010
  • Top 100 Lawyers in the Houston area, Super Lawyers, 2008-2010, 2012-2015
  • Top 100 Texas Super Lawyers 2008, 2010
  • Martindale-Hubbell® "AV Preeminent" Rating
  • Order of the Coif, University of Texas Law School
  • Selected Lawyer of the Year, Oil & Gas Law – Houston, Best Lawyers, 2011
  • Recognized in Chambers USA for Energy & Natural Resources Litigation, 2009-2017
  • Selected for inclusion in Texas Super Lawyers, 2003-2017
  • Selected for inclusion in Best Lawyers, 2008-2018
  • Recognized in Super Lawyers Business Edition, 2011-2017

Special Focus:

  • Litigation
 

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Firm Details

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Pierce & O'Neill, LLP
http://www.pierceoneill.com
 
Headquarters
4203 Montrose Boulevard
Houston, TX 77006
(713) 634.3600