Chris Gadoury

• Western District of Texas
• Southern District of Texas
• Eastern District of Texas
• Southern District of New York
• Eastern District of New York
• District of Columbia
• U.S. Court of Appeals 2nd Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit

• University of Houston Law Center, 2001, J.D., Cum Laude
• University of Texas at Austin, 1998, B.A. in Economics

• State Bar of Texas
• New York (pending)
• U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Second, Fifth, and Ninth Circuits
• U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Western Districts of Texas, Southern, Eastern, and Northern Districts of New York, and the District of Colorado.
• TEXAS MONTHLY “Rising Star”
• Former Board Member, Houston Progressive Forum
• Former Board Member and Co-Founder, Eat for a Cause
• Adjunct Professor, Legal Research & Writing, University of Houston Law Center, 2008
• Adjunct Professor, Business Law, University of Houston-Downtown, College of Business, 2005-2008
• Guest Lecturer, Trial Advocacy, South Texas College of Law, 2019-Present

• The Best Lawyers in America (Litigation – Commercial) – Best Lawyers®   (2024-2025)

Representative Cases

Civil

• Represented a medical education consulting company in a breach of contract and trade secret misappropriation case against a major private medical school. Client obtained a significant settlement at mediation.
• Represented the Special Committee of Independent Directors of XO Communications in shareholder derivative and class action litigation in New York and Delaware state courts relating to a recapitalization transaction and a going private transaction involving its majority shareholder, Carl Icahn. After obtaining dismissals of all litigation in Delaware, obtained a dismissal of all claims in the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, reversing the trial court’s denial of the Special Committee’s motions to dismiss and for summary judgment.
• Represented numerous qui tam relators in state and federal False Claims Act cases pending across the country, obtaining well over $100 million in settlements in conjunction with DOJ.
• Represented the litigation trust of Houston Regional Sports Network, L.P., a partnership between the Houston Astros and Houston Rockets that owned the failed Comcast Sports Houston regional sports network, in adversary bankruptcy litigation against Comcast for breach of contract and tortious interference. Case settled under confidential terms.
• Represented homeowners in numerous environmental class actions across the country, including cases in California, New Jersey, Florida, Indiana, and Oregon.
• Represented a consortium of sugar companies and growers against a consortium of corn companies and growers in an unfair competition and false advertising action under the Lanham Act. The clients obtained a favorable settlement during trial.
• Represented Chesapeake Energy against its former founder and CEO and related companies in litigation involving misappropriation of trade secrets. Client obtained favorable settlements.
• Represented the State of New Jersey in numerous environmental cases seeking natural resource damages, obtaining numerous settlements.

• Represented an oil and gas exploration and production company in a contract dispute with its joint venture partner. Client obtained a substantial settlement on the eve of the arbitration hearing.
• Represented a software company specializing in industrial and commercial automation and processing software, in litigation pending in both federal and state district court with a rival software company involving copyright infringement, breach of contract, and business disparagement. Successfully obtained a dismissal of claims brought by competitor in federal court and a favorable settlement.
• Represented the beneficiary of an estate valued at over $1 billion in fiduciary duty litigation against executors in Harris County district court. Client obtained a significant settlement.
• Represented publicly-traded real estate investment trust, Ashford Hospitality Management, to recover its share of a $100 million “bad boy” guarantee of mezzanine debt that financed the Extended Stay America hotel chain; after obtaining summary judgment in New York State court, Ashford obtained a confidential settlement while case was on appeal.
• Represented a nationwide commercial bakery in a breach of contract, misappropriation of trade secrets, and business tort suit against a global coffee chain in federal district court in San Diego; client obtained a confidential settlement on the eve of the first deposition.
• Represented a manufacturer of oilfield equipment batteries, in a misappropriation of trade secrets and breach of fiduciary duty action filed by a competitor in state district court in Fort Bend County; after client prevailed in an evidentiary temporary injunction hearing, the competitor abandoned the lawsuit.
• Represented an international drilling company in a breach of contract, breach of warranty, and business tort lawsuit against a large oil and gas equipment manufacturing company after a $7 million deep-water drilling riser failed after fewer than 30 days of use; client obtained a $22.75 million settlement.
• Represented ten international institutional investors in a fraud action filed in federal court in Chicago against a $300 million hedge fund that misrepresented returns and other material terms and misappropriated investors’ funds; the district court appointed a receiver to gather all available assets for distribution to the defrauded investors.
• Represented the developers of a luxury resort on the Panamanian island of Bastimentos, in a suit brought by a rival resort developer in federal court in Houston for unfair competition, violations of the Lanham Act, and various business torts arising from competing claims to the same land; the district court dismissed the rival developer’s lawsuit, which the Fifth Circuit affirmed on appeal.
• Represented a commercial real estate developer in a breach of contract, negligence, and business tort action against an environmental consulting firm that failed to detect substantial soil and groundwater contamination, underneath a retail shopping center, including a nationwide pharmacy; developer obtained a favorable settlement that allowed it to remediate the property and recover its lost profits.
• Represented a commercial landowner in Texas state district court in Houston against an electric company and cellular telephone provider for erecting a cellular phone tower on an electrical easement without the landowner’s consent; after the court granted the landowner plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment, the defendants settled the lawsuit.
• Represented a real estate buyer in a lawsuit filed in the federal district court in New York seeking specific performance of a 1998 contract of sale of 10 oceanfront acres in Sagaponack, New York. After a long procedural battle, the district court ordered the property transferred to the client, which was affirmed after argument in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in 2009.  The property was finally transferred to the client in 2010.
• Represented the City of Houston in a nuisance and Texas Clean Air Act action filed in state district court in Houston against a waste disposal company relating to numerous explosions and chemical emissions; obtained injunctive relief on behalf of the City, as well as a favorable settlement.
• Represented a Houston-based towing company in a dispute with the City of Houston after the City terminated an exclusive towing contract under the City’s Safe Clear Program; after extensive meetings with the City Attorney and the Mayor, the towing company’s contract was restored without the company having to file a lawsuit.
• Represented a Houston-based oil and gas company, in multiple breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty actions in Texas state courts, each of which resulted in a favorable settlement.
• Represented a Houston-based provider of labor staffing services, in multiple breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty actions in Texas state courts, each of which resulted in a favorable settlement.
• Represented an individual who contracted a flesh-eating bacteria and suffered catastrophic injuries from eating contaminated seafood; obtained a confidential settlement in mediation before filing suit.
• Represented a large Houston-based automotive dealership in multiple federal employment discrimination actions under Title VII and the ADEA.
• Represented a Fortune 500 manufacturing company, obtaining a nonsuit, in a products liability action relating to an electrical transformer that was alleged to have started a fire that destroyed an office building in Wisconsin.

 Appellate

• Argued and drafted appellees’ brief and reply brief in copyright infringement/trade secrets case involving rival software companies in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
• Argued and drafted appellants’ brief and reply brief in shareholder derivative and class action litigation before the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department.
• Drafted appellant’s brief and reply brief in a breach of contract and business tort case in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
• Argued and drafted appellant’s brief and reply brief in criminal bank fraud case in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
• Argued case before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit involving the dismissal of a Lanham Act, unfair competition, and business tort case regarding a dispute between two resort developers in Panama.
• Argued and drafted appellee’s brief in case before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit involving an injunction entered in a housing discrimination case. 
• Drafted appellant’s brief and reply brief in federal criminal drug misbranding case that resulted in the reversal of a physician’s conviction in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
• In a breach of contract and business tort action involving a terminated joint venture, drafted a motion for leave to appeal to the NY State Court of Appeals (NY state equivalent to writ of certiorari) that the Court of Appeals granted; subsequently co-drafted brief submitted to Court of Appeals and assisted with oral argument; after remand, subsequently drafted brief and argued case before the NY State Appellate Division, First Department.
• Co-drafted appellate brief and second chaired oral argument in case seeking specific performance of a contract to buy real property in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Criminal

• Represented an executive accused of violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, as well as OFAC violations, money laundering and other charges related to the allegedly illegal export of computer parts to Iran who was the subject of a FISA warrant; client was released in a prisoner exchange that was part of the Iran Nuclear Deal during the Obama Administration.
• Represented a corporate executive accused of accounting fraud in federal habeas proceedings.
• Represented a corporate executive accused of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act; client obtained a directed verdict during trial.
• Represented a business consultant accused of bank fraud in federal district court in Albany, New York; tried case to a jury and handled all aspect of appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit; client received no jail time.
• Represented a physician accused of federal drug misbranding for treating patients with a generic version of Botox in federal district court in Houston; conviction was reversed on appeal.
• Represented the chief engineer of an oil tanker accused of federal environmental crimes, making false statements, and obstruction in federal district court in Houston.
• Represented a Spanish shipping operator that managed a bulk carrier ship accused of federal environmental crimes, making false statements, and obstruction in federal district court in Houston; client obtained a not guilty verdict at trial.
• Represented a Houston-based concrete company accused of environmental crimes in state district court in Houston, obtaining a favorable settlement of all charges.