Mullin, David C.

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Updated 10/20/2008
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Mullin Hoard & Brown, L.L.P.

Amarillo National Plaza Two
Suite 800
500 South Taylor, Lobby Box #213

Amarillo, TX 79101-2445

Phone: (806) 372-5050

Fax: (806) 372-5086

Contact Us

Summary

Current Employment Position(s)

Partner

Lawyer Overview

David  is a partner in the Amarillo office.  David's entire practice is devoted to trial practice.  His track record in the courtroom involves a wide variety of cases including: 

  • Professional malpractice.  When one of the nation's largest publicly traded thrifts failed, the FDIC, after being mired in years of litigation, suffered a summary judgment against itself on most of its claims.  Then, the  FDIC hired David Mullin.  David assembled a team of trial lawyers from Mullin Hoard & Brown and before the same judge who had previously issued numerous rulings against the FDIC, pursued a legal malpractice claim against one of the world's largest law firms.  This litigation produced a series of victories that culminated in a $13.5  million settlement for the FDIC, and an agreement by the trustee of the thrift holding company's bankruptcy to pay all of the FDIC's attorney's fees.
     
    A bankruptcy trustee for a failed Mississippi trust company pursued a legal malpractice claim against the state's largest law firm.  The Trustee decided to change law firms and after dismissing the major Chicago law firm previously retained, he hired David Mullin.  After two years of bitter litigation, Mr. Mullin won several major pre-trial rulings and successfully settled the case for $4.9 million.
     
  • Business disputes.  In a recent case, a property owner adjacent to a real estate development project refused to comply with his prior agreement to dedicate roads.  This action prevented the developer from completing an ongoing development.  David, on behalf of the developer, asserted claims in district court, and obtained a verdict of nearly $2,000,000 for his client.  Then Mr. Mullin negotiated a settlement and his client obtained not only the land needed for the roads, but also over 160 acres of prime development property and over 960 acres of farmland.
     
  • Free Speech claims.  In a local political controversy involving cost overruns on a jail construction project, a citizen (in a letter to the editor) referred to the Randall County Commissioners' Court Judge as "the shifty judge," and said "there was not an engineer or architect who believed the new jail could be built for $13 million and the (commissioners') court was told this fact."  Judge Wood sued Pattilou Dawkins claiming she libeled and slandered him in the letter, which had been published in the Canyon News, and in  interviews on KGNC Radio concerning the construction costs of the new jail. Ms. Dawkins turned to Mullin Hoard & Brown, L.L.P. for her defense.  Mullin Hoard & Brown partners David Mullin and Wolf Puckett obtained summary judgment on all claims, and then obtained affirmance of that summary judgment in the court of appeals.
     
  • Debt collection.  When one of the largest thrifts in Kansas failed, the Resolution Trust Corporation called on Mullin Hoard & Brown to pursue recovery from the officers, directors and other professionals of the thrift. Through 3 different lawsuits, David Mullin's team of Mullin Hoard attorneys, recovered for the RTC more than $45  million. In doing so, Mr. Mullin successfully instituted an asset freeze against the thrift's former officers and directors, their family members and friends who were helping to hide assets.  Mr. Mullin's work laid the ground work for the Tenth Circuit Federal Court of Appeals' seminal opinion in RTC v. Cruce  that upholds the use of asset freeze actions to recover money owed to the RTC and FDIC.
     
    In 1995, the FDIC was ready to settle its claims against two former directors of a failed savings and loan association for $10,000. The FDIC hired David Mullin and Mullin Hoard & Brown to analyze the potential settlement. In the course of the investigation, David's team located nearly $12 million hidden by the two directors in a maze of family limited partnerships, nominee corporations, and spendthrift trusts in the United States and the Cayman Islands.  Despite the fact that many U.S. attorneys who represent creditors consider assets in the Cayman Islands unreachable, David Mullin and his team successfully recovered for the FDIC not only $5  million of the directors' domestic assets, but also $4 million of their Cayman assets.
     
  • Environmental claims.  Property owners sued a nearby feed yard for allegedly polluting ground and surface water.  The feed yard turned to David Mullin for a defense. David Mullin hired leading experts on water pollution and animal health, and conducted a thorough investigation of the claims. Using this information, David obtained a summary judgment in favor of the feed yard dismissing all of the plaintiffs' claims.  The summary judgment was affirmed by the Amarillo Court of Appeals.
     
  • Condemnation proceedings.  The City of Amarillo offered the trustee of a charitable trust $350,000 for a tract of land on the southeast edge of Amarillo. The trustee refused to sell and the City sought to condemn the property. David represented the trustee and obtained a jury verdict awarding nearly $1 million to the charitable trust for the property.
      
      

    • Areas of Practice

    • Litigation
    100% of Practice Devoted to Litigation

    Representative Cases

    West Practice Categories

    Administrative Hearings & Adjudication, Administrative Investigations, Agribusiness, Farms & Ranches, Livestock, Banking & Finance Law, Loan Workouts, Bankruptcy Law, Commercial Bankruptcy, Creditors' Rights, Foreclosures, Reorganizations & Restructuring, Workouts, Business & Commercial Law, Collections, Contracts, Debtor/Creditor, Secured Transactions, Transactions, Uniform Commercial Code, Warranties, Business Organizations, Directors' & Officers' Liability, Partnerships, Shareholders' Rights, Constitutional Law, Freedom of Press, Freedom of Religion, Freedom of Speech, Construction Law, Construction Liens, Housing & Construction Defects, Ethics, Ethics & Professional Responsibility, Professional Responsibility, Insurance Law, Bad Faith Insurance, Commercial Insurance, Errors & Omissions Insurance, Fidelity, Guarantee & Surety, Insurance Subrogation, Litigation & Appeals, Bankruptcy Litigation, Class Actions -- Plaintiff, Complex Litigation, Federal Appellate Practice, Federal Trial Practice, Multidistrict Litigation, State Appellate Practice, State Trial Practice, Personal Injury -- Defense, Defamation & Privacy -- Defense, Motor Vehicle Accidents -- Defense, Premises Liability -- Defense, Property Damage -- Defense, Railroad Accidents -- Defense, Slip and Fall -- Defense, Wrongful Death -- Defense, Personal Injury -- Plaintiff, Defamation & Privacy -- Plaintiff, Motor Vehicle Accidents -- Plaintiff, Premises Liability -- Plaintiff, Property Damage -- Plaintiff, Railroad Accidents -- Plaintiff, Slip and Fall -- Plaintiff, Wrongful Death -- Plaintiff, Professional Malpractice Law, Legal Malpractice, Medical Malpractice, Other Professionals Malpractice, Securities Law, Securities Fraud & Insider Trading, Toxic Torts, Chemicals & Cosmetics, Hazardous Waste, Pesticides, Agriculture Law, Administrative Law

    Next: Qualifications

    Qualifications

    Bar Admissions

    • New Jersey, 1978
    • Texas, 1979
    • U.S. District Court Northern District of Texas, 1979
    • U.S. District Court Western District of Texas, 1985
    • U.S. District Court Southern District of Texas, 1993
    • U.S. District Court Eastern District of Texas, 2000
    • U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit, 1980
    • U.S. Court of Appeals 10th Circuit, 1992
    • U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit, 1998

    Certification/Specialties

    • Board Certified, Civil Trial Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization, 1984

    Classes and Seminars

    • FDIC Legal Division Training Conference, 1997
    • FDIC/RTC Professional Liability Section Training Conference, 1991

    Past Employment Positions

    • Whittenburg, Whittenburg & Schachter, Associate, 1978 - 1981
    • Whittenburg, Whittenburg & Schachter, Partner, 1982 - 1990

    Education

    • University of Chicago Law School, Chicago, Illinois, 1978
      J.D.
    • Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 1974
      B.A.
      Honors: magna cum laude
    Prev: SummaryNext: References

    References

    References

    • Sam Attebury
    • Roy Martin
    • Jay O'Brien
    • Rob Robinson
    • Richard Gill
    • Kent Satterwhite
    • Derek Henderson
    • Joy Phillips
    • Joe Kennedy
    • Claire McGuire
    Prev: QualificationsNext: Office Info

    Office Information

    Address

    Amarillo National Plaza Two
    Suite 800
    500 South Taylor, Lobby Box #213
    Amarillo, TX 79101-2445

    Phones

    (806) 372-5050

    Faxes

    (806) 372-5086

    Emails

    Contact Us

    Websites

    http://www.mullinhoard.com

    Prev: References

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