SHJ secured a take-nothing judgment in favor of its client, SWN Production Company, LLC (a subsidiary of Southwestern Energy Company) after a four-day trial in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division.

The Plaintiff, Motis Energy, LLC, sued SWN for breach of contract and quantum meruit based on six unpaid invoices totaling nearly $1.8 million plus interest and attorneys’ fees. Motis claimed it was owed the money for the rental of rig mats that Motis claimed it had provided at SWN drilling sites in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. During discovery, however, Motis reduced its claim to approximately $1.2 million.

During the case, Motis sought summary judgment that the contract was unambiguous and that SWN breached the contract. The district court, however, agreed with SWN that the contract was ambiguous and denied Motis’s motion. The Court also rejected Motis’s attempt to insert an additional $288,000 in claims into the case after the pleading deadline.

At trial, the jury returned a unanimous verdict in favor of SWN after hearing testimony from ten witnesses.

Partners Adam Schiffer, Adam Dinnell, and Marc Tabolsky tried the case for SWN.