LUBBOCK – Less than two weeks after being retained, AZA extricated its oilfield services client from a contentious lawsuit alleging conspiracy to steal trade secrets, equipment and work from a competitor.
AZA client Hondo Resources LLC, which provides water transfer services for drilling and fracking operations, was sued in late May by a direct competitor, Clearwater Resources, and its lender, Texas Capital Bank. Hondo was accused of conspiring with Clearwater employees to steal job projects Clearwater was performing for an energy major.
Clearwater asserted claims against Hondo and two Clearwater employees for a litany of charges, including tortious interference with contract, conversion, unjust enrichment, theft of trade secrets and violation of Texas theft laws.
A Lubbock judge issued a TRO in the case, enjoining the defendants from several alleged activities, and Hondo then hired AZA. AZA aggressively responded, seeking discovery that disproved the plaintiffs’ claims in advance of an injunction hearing.
AZA challenged Clearwater’s discovery responses and filed to compel the discovery. The evening before a required deposition, plaintiffs dropped the lawsuit against AZA’s client, though the lawsuit against a Clearwater employee still stands.
“It took us only 13 days after our client was served with the lawsuit and TRO to obtain dismissal of all claims asserted against it. It was a terrific result,” said Jordan Warshauer, lead lawyer who handled the case with Todd Mensing and Nicholas Petree.
The case is Texas Capital Bank et al. v. Hondo Resources LLC et al. in Lubbock County District Court case number 2026-cv-0826.
Houston and Dallas trial boutique Ahmad Zavitsanos & Mensing, or AZA, has earned repeated recognition from Chambers USA among the best in Texas in commercial law and intellectual property; the firm has been listed by Best Lawyers’ Best Law Firms as one of the country’s best commercial litigation firms for 13 years; has been named Litigation Department of the Year by Texas Lawyer three times; and was dubbed a Texas Powerhouse law firm by Law360.