Ross Cunningham
Ross Cunningham will go anywhere to try a case — even a FEMA trailer. It happened in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and didn’t break his stride one bit.
As one of Rose•Walker’s more seasoned trial lawyers, Ross believes that most companies are too risk-averse to take a case all the way to trial. But all too often, this mindset puts businesses at a disadvantage. They do not allow their lawyers to do what it takes to prepare a case for trial, which weakens their position when it’s time to talk settlement.
Ross doesn’t have that problem. He actually looks forward to trying cases. And, by being prepared to go to trial, he often finds that settlement discussions produce better outcomes.
Practice Areas
Litigation of complex, high-risk cases including:
- aircraft disasters
- product liability
- construction defects
- catastrophic personal injury
- commercial disputes involving breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and fraud
- patent infringement and misappropriation of trade secrets
Representative Experience
- Obtained a $7.3 million verdict following a three-week trial in a breach-of-contract, fraud and tortious interference case on behalf of a casual game developer and publisher
- Obtained a $1.3 million verdict following a two-week trial in a breach-of-contract, fraud and unjust enrichment on behalf of furniture liquidator against one of the nation’s largest furniture manufacturers
- National trial counsel for an international air taxi and aeromedical helicopter operator
- Obtained a defense verdict in the representation of an airport services company in a multi-week trial involving a catastrophic personal injury accident at DFW airport
- Representation of Fortune 200 defense contractor in a four-week trial in defense of trade secret misappropriation claim. $38,000,000 verdict in favor of the opponent overturned via motion for new trial based on post-trial discovery of opponent’s failure to produce documents
- Successful settlement of plaintiff’s antitrust case for Fortune 200 defense contractor against a Fortune 100 defense contractor
- Successful settlement for another Fortune 200 defense contractor in patent infringement suit against major competitor
- Obtained a judgment in excess of $4,000,000 after a two-week trial for an air charter helicopter operator against a major aircraft manufacturer involving a novel and complex product-liability theory
- Representation of a national product manufacturer in a trial involving a breach-of-contract dispute
- Representation of an individual inventor against a major oil company involving multimillion-dollar dispute concerning patent infringement and misappropriation of trade secrets
- Representation of a national insurance company involving a dispute with one of its managing general agents over a multimillion-dollar breach-of-contract dispute
- Prosecution of covenants not to compete and misappropriation of proprietary information for national insurance company
- Representation of Denton County, Texas, in a multi-week trial concerning the proper location of 150-year-old county line
- Obtained a complete defense verdict representing national manufacturer in two-week trial in state court in MacAllen, Texas
- Obtained a $5.9 million verdict against Fortune 500 company for trade dress and trademark infringement, including finding of "willful" infringement
Professional Affiliations
- State Bar of Texas
- Dallas Bar Association
- Dallas Young Lawyers Association
- Louisiana Association for Justice
- Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce
Admitted to Practice
- All courts in the state of Texas
- U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western Districts of Texas
- U.S. District Courts in Louisiana and Indiana
- U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals
- 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
Education
Southern Methodist University, J.D., 1998 Southern Methodist University, B.A., 1995
Honors
- Named to the list of “Rising Stars” as developed by Super Lawyers and published in Texas Monthly magazine, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
- Nominated, D Magazine’s Top Lawyers Under 40