Mike Simpson is an accomplished AV-rated attorney, considered one of the preeminent insurance, commercial and construction trial lawyers in Texas.

Michael S. Simpson

Senior Counsel

Accomplished AV-rated attorney with extensive first chair experience in cases involving construction defects, insurance defense, insurance coverage, product liability, toxic torts, wrongful death, catastrophic injury, professional liability, governmental entities, commercial disputes, and administrative law. Former partner in prominent Texas law firms.

Representative Matters

Tuloso-Midway I.S.D. v. Ewing Construction Co., Cause No. 10-603421 in the County Court at Law No. 1, Nueces County, Texas [Represented school district in design and construction defect case; Obtained seven figure settlement for school district in excess of defendant’s policy limits]

Zapata County I.S.D. v. Satterfield & Pontikes Construction, Inc., et al; Cause No. 8,030 in the 49th District Court of Zapata County, Texas (2014); [$15 million construction defect lawsuit involving multiple school buildings in Zapata County, Texas; Obtained summary judgment for defendant window/door manufacturer].

Edcouch-Elsa I.S.D. v. Aleco Construction Company, et al., Cause No. C-633-05-I-2 in the 430th District Court, Hidalgo County, Texas. (2009) [$47 million construction defect lawsuit involving multiple school buildings in Rio Grande Valley of Texas; Obtained summary judgment for defendant window/door manufacturer].

Fleetwood Enterprises, Inc., et al. v. Gaskamp, Case No. H-00-CV-4215 (S.D. Tex. 2001), aff’d in part, rev’d in part, 280 F.3d 1069 (5th Cir. 2002), dismissed on remand, Sharon Moore Bridges, et al. v. Fleetwood Enterprises, Inc., et al., Civil Action No. 2000-247 in the Circuit Court of Holmes County Mississippi (2006). [Toxic tort case; ultimately obtained dismissal for defendants in state Circuit Court of Mississippi after partial dismissal and remand by Fifth Circuit, which reversed in part and affirmed in part a Houston federal district court’s order compelling arbitration and dismissing plaintiffs’ claims].

Villas on Travis Condominium Owners' Ass'n, Inc. v. Villas by Renaissance, Ltd., et al., Cause No. GN-102070, 53rd Dist. Ct. Travis County, Tex. (June 2004) [$38 Million construction defect and toxic mold case involving luxury condominiums on Lake Travis; obtained dismissal for plumbing subcontractor].

El Paso Natural Gas Co. v. Valero Interstate Transmission Co., et al., No. EP-87-CA-302, 1987 Lexis 14147 (W.D. Tex. 1987) and companion case Clanton v. Valero Interstate Trans. Co., No. C-2302-86-D (Dist. Ct. Hidalgo County, Tex.), reported in Foster Nat. Gas Rpt. No. 1660 at 3 (Feb. 1988) [Co-Counsel; $1 Billion Take-or-Pay case involving several Texas gas producers, Valero entities and El Paso Natural Gas Company.  Clients were sued for $1 Billion by producers; obtained dismissal of Plaintiffs’ claims and recovered apprx. $15 Million on counter-claims and cross-claims).

Clark, et al. v. Texas Dept. of Labor & Standards and Texas Mfg’d. Housing Ass’n., No. 14531 (Tex. App.-Austin 1985)(not reported). [Obtained and upheld on appeal summary judgment for two state agencies and several manufactured housing defendants in lawsuit challenging the state and federal formaldehyde standards and warnings in the Texas Manufactured Housing Standards Act and the U.S. HUD Code].

Selected Publications, Papers, Presentations

L. FOWLER, M. SIMPSON & R. CABLER, HOW IT WORKS…SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION AND TECHNOLOGY IN TEXAS (4th ed. 2014).

Civil Procedure, Annual Fifth Circuit Symposium, 11 TEX. TECH L. REV. 312 (1980) (co-author with Lenore M. Templeton).

Constitutional Law - Fifth Amendment - A private cause of action is implied directly under the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment, 11 TEX. TECH L. REV. 917 (1980).

Three Lien Claim Mistakes Many Subcontractors and Suppliers Make That You Can Easily Avoid, THE FOWLER LAW FIRM NEWSLETTER (July 2012) (Paper and presentation for Texas construction trade associations) [Co-author/presenter].

Texas Public School and College Building Problems and Defects-It’s Not Too Late to Recover, THE FOWLER LAW FIRM NEWSLETTER (May 2012) (Paper and presentation for Texas school districts and colleges) [Co-author/presenter].

What Happened to the Construction Delivery Method Laws I Knew and Loved So Well? THE FOWLER LAW FIRM NEWSLETTER (April 2012) (Paper and presentation for Texas school districts and construction trade associations) [Co-author/presenter].

Shrinking Soil, Cracking Foundations: What Can a Homeowner Do?  (September 2011 (Paper and presentation for Central Texas real estate agents and homeowners) [Co-author/presenter].

Finding and Selecting Experts (2003), State Bar of Texas Second Annual Advanced Mold Litigation Conference [Author and speaker].

Texas Homeowners Amendatory Endorsement No. HO-161A (Mandatory Endorsement to Policy Form HO-A) and Endorsement No. HO-162A (Mandatory Endorsement for Policy Form HO-B) (Effective 1/1/2002).  [Co-counsel and primary contributing author of Amendatory Endorsements that amended coverage and exclusions for mold, fungi, water damage, ensuing loss and other risks.]

Texas Property Claims, First Party Mold Claim Handling Training Program (2002) [Co-counsel, provided coverage opinions and evaluated and revised insurers’ training materials].

Expert Admissibility (2001), Mealey’s National Mold Litigation Conference [Speaker, co-author].

Preparing Witnesses.  Paper and presentation for in-house training and CLE at law firms and clients’ legal departments.

Taking and Defending Depositions.  Paper and presentation for in-house training and CLE at law firms and clients’ legal departments.

Discovery Under the New Rules (1999).  Paper and presentation for in-house training and CLE at law firms.

“Is Your Insurance Policy Greek to You?  Understanding Basic Terms of Commercial Insurance Policies” (1996), Presentation to business clients and insurance representatives.