Verve, L.L.C. v. Herbert Kerner, Hunton & Williams LLP
Oct 15, 2008
OUTCOME: Client got huge settle v. old attys at arbitration
Mr. Kopf was retained as Client's expert witness. Mr. Kopf was retained to give opinions regarding issues raised and opinions expressed in the Expert Report of opposing counsel's expert. Based upon th...e Expert Report prepared by Mr. Kopf and the other facts pertaining to the case, Verve was able to achieve a significant settlement in Case No. 70-194-Y 00005-07 held before the American Arbitration Association
Violent crime
State of Texas v. Jose Trinidad Salas
Aug 20, 2008
OUTCOME: Def. new verdict:8yr Defer Adj. Probation &1K fine
First atty advised and had Salas plead Guilty to First Degree Felony; Judge gave 15 yrs to do in prison in punishment phase of trial. The client believed that the legal defense presented by his first ...atty was weak. Salas believed that his first attorney had spent little time preparing for the case and had not adequately prepared him or his potential witnesses for the hearing on the punishment phase of his case. He also believed that his first attorney did not seek or review vital information that was provided to him in preparation for the punishment phase of his case. That evidence was either never presented to the Court or if it was presented it was given very little emphasis. He was assured by his first atty that he should have no problem getting deferred probation because he had no criminal history. The District Attorney requested and the Court sentenced Salas to 15 years in prison and no probation. The employer for Salas recommended to his family to seek the assistance of attorney Spencer Kopf to attempt to reverse an apparent irreversible situation. Since the case was turned over to Mr. Kopf in October 2007 Ihe was unable by law to seek a reversal of the Guilty plea. However he still could attempt to reverse the 15 year prison term. The family insisted he try regardless of how remote the chances were. Mr. Kopf was able to interview the Defendant before he was sent into the prison system. Furthermore, he was able to retrieve certain valuable evidence and admissions from the first atty for Salas and in addition he retrieved other evidence through investigation and in depth interviews of witnesses and various records. This would all be presented to the Court. Salas was already in the prison system for several months while waiting for the Motion for New Trial to be heard. After receiving a letter from the first atty ( addressed to the Court ) at Mr. Kopf's request and the presentation of purported new evidence to be heard at the new trial, the Court granted the Motion For New Trial. The Asst. District Atty urged the Court that Salas remain incarcerated during the pendency of the trial. However Mr. Kopf argued that a new trial means that the Defendant should be placed back in the same position he was in on the day of his first trial. Since Salas had been out on bond the Court denied the State's request and allowed Salas to be out on bond. Salas then was enrolled and attended treatment at the VA Hospital in Dallas, Texas for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). At the new trial the Court found that the evidence clearly justified a drastic sentence reduction sought by the Defense. Salas received an 8 year term of Deferred Adjudication Probation plus a $1K fine. Salas successfully completed his probation in a manner justifying early release from probation and his case has since been dismissed.
Contracts and agreements
Untreated Water Purchase Contract
Apr 17, 2006
OUTCOME: Contract:Buy 40,000,000 gal. raw water from Dallas
I was retained to negotiate the largest purchase of raw water ever from the City of Dallas from Lake Lewisville. The terms had to also comply with the Corps of Engineers. The presentation was made to... the City Council of Dallas for approval on April 05, 2006. It was approved. The contract was executed by all the parties on April 17, 2006. Payment was made and the raw water was available for use in the fracing of gas wells in the Town of Hickory Creek, Texas.
Litigation
Earle C. May v. MC OIL, LLC, Multibrands Ltd., Co.,Ken Couch, Jane Wisdom, Tom Couch and Derrick Resources Corp. et al.
May 12, 2005
OUTCOME: Plaintiff settled case for all the $$ Def. wanted
Plaintiff sued Def. attempting to use his deep pockets to overwhelm the Def."s. In the middle of discovery it was recommended to K. Couch to retain trial atty Spencer Kopf to cross examine the Plainti...ff. At the mid-point of the depo of Earle C. May, Plaintiff desired that he had had enough and left the depo. At that point Mr. Kopf recesses the depo and indicated that his client would be seeking sanctions against the Def. Earl C. May. May settled the case for the terms desired by the Plaintiff the following week.
DUI and DWI
State of Texas v. Paul Christopher Daniel
Apr 02, 1996
OUTCOME: The Court found the Def. Not Guilty of DWI 2nd.
Def. was charged with DWI 2nd. The police testified that the Def. was so drunk that when he got out of the car he stumbled into his own car and could barely stand up. Under cross examination the test...imony of the two officers did not hold up under close scrutiny. The video tape of the Defendant taken at the County Jail did not support the statement of the main arresting officer (especially since the video tape taken took place approximately 30 minutes after the time of the arrest. No one as drunk as the officer claimed could sober up that dramatically within just thirty minutes. Without presenting any witnesses, Mr. Kopf (the Defendant's attorney) rested his client's case and the Court rendered a finding of Not Guilty.
DUI and DWI
State of Texas v. David M. Cichy
Feb 21, 1996
OUTCOME: Def. was found Not Guilty by a Jury of his peers.
Def. was accused of DWI with the State claiming he had blown a .14 on a beathe test. The Def. was the designated driver and had participated in a volleyball tournament which his team won. He was stoppe...d at a checkpoint traffic stop set up by the police. His car was not stopped for driving in an inappropriate manner. It was a mere driver's license check. Mr. Kopf took the position that the police apparently overexaggerated their arrest report. Mr. Kopf established that the video tape of the Defendant (shortly after the arrest) established that Mr. Cichy was a sober, articulate and athletic individual with all his normal faculties present. That the evidence clearly indicated that there had to be a false read of the breathe test as it was totally inconsistant with the video of the Def. The Jury wasn't even out an hour to reach their verdict of Not Guilty.
Litigation
JP Morgan Chase Bank, NA v. Evans Engraving & Stamping, Inc.
N/A
OUTCOME: Def. sought a dismissal with prejudice & got it.
Prior to this case Def. had gone through Chap. 11 Bank. relief and had a plan approved with the creditor bank's okay. Years later with the note virtually resolved, Plaintiff bank (without written notic...e to Def. ) filed and served suit on Def. for default of their agreement on the promissory note with the bank ( as if written demand was made and nothing had been paid on the note). Def. went to his previous counsel and she indicated the cost of defense would be similar or close to the original retainer/cost incurred in their bankruptcy filing ( approximately $30,000.00 ). Def. consulted a friend who highly recommended Spencer Kopf.
As a favor to a mutual friend of the Defendant, Mr. Kopf met with Defendant on a Sat. and reviewed the file. Mr. Kopf indicated that he did not agree with the other atty's evaluation that the legal position of the Def. was serious. He also did not agree that the case would require such a large retainer. Mr. Kopf was descriptive and clear in his explanation of what he intended to do. Mr. Kopf received an extremely reasonable if not low retainer ( under the circumstances ) and assured the client that in his opinion the bank's position was unjustified and inappropriate. Defendant's Chief Operating Officer had previously been in ill health with a heart condition and was quite agitated and disturbed by these events. Mr. Kopf calmed and soothed the elder COO and then he explained , once again, what he intended to do to so he could calm his client. He was confident that the matter would eventually end favorably for the Def. Mr. Kopf filed the Defendant's "Original Answer, Special Exceptions & Plea to the Jurisdiction." After filing same and serving Plaintiff's counsel, Mr. Kopf confronted opposing counsel pertaining to the manner in which the case was filed and the extreme vulnerability of the Plaintiff and those associated with the filing of the action against Def. After due consideration, The Plaintiff's counsel agreed to dismiss the action against the Def. Evans Engraving & Stamping, Inc. with prejudice. Said Plaintiff's "Motion to Dismiss With Prejudice" and "Order of Dismissal With Prejudice" was mailed on February 24, 2009 to the Court Clerk of the 116th District Court to be presented for signature by the Judge .
