Todd W Mensing

Practice Areas

Todd W. Mensing focuses on complex commercial litigation. Having tried more than 50 cases, Todd is Board Certified in Civil Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, a distinction reserved for Texas trial lawyers with a high degree of trial experience and expertise. During the last ten years, an average of fewer than ten attorneys per year statewide has earned the distinction.

He is recognized among the top lawyers in the nation for commercial litigation and construction litigation in The Best Lawyers in America. Todd is also recognized in the area of Texas General Commercial Litigation in the 2014-2021 editions of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business published by London-based Chambers and Partners. He earned the highest possible AV Preeminent rating based upon peer reviews from Martindale Hubbell. He has also been elected to the prestigious American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), an elite group of the country’s leading trial lawyers.

Todd has tried cases in virtually every arena, including in the areas of complex commercial litigation; intellectual property and trade secret disputes; executive employment claims; catastrophic personal injury cases; as well as white collar criminal defense matters.

Todd has been named one of the top 100 lawyers in Texas and Houston on the annual Texas Super Lawyers. He was put on the Super Lawyers list in only his fifth year of practice and was one of the youngest attorneys in Texas to be named to the list. The IAM Patent 1000 ranked Todd as a leading Texas patent litigation litigator in 2020.

Prior to joining AZA, Todd graduated with honors and in the top ten percent of his class at the University of Texas School of Law. He obtained his undergraduate degree with honors from Stanford University.

COMMERCIAL AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LITIGATION CASES

Won a $22 million dollar jury verdict for the Port of Houston in a complex commercial lease dispute with an international grain trader.

Obtained a defense verdict for a Houston petrochemical inspection company in a two-week $10 million trademark infringement jury trial. Todd also convinced the jury to invalidate the trademark on which the plaintiff had sued the client.

Won a defense verdict in a four-week $50 million theft of trade secrets jury trial. Todd stepped in as lead counsel three weeks before trial.

Won a jury verdict for an industrial gas company in a three-week multimillion fraud and breach of contract trial. Todd’s cross-examination of the opponent’s expert ended with the witness admitting he was not, in fact, an expert. The jury rejected the plaintiffs’ claims, awarded the client millions of dollars on its counterclaims, and the Court issued a permanent injunction against the plaintiff.

Obtained a defense verdict in a two-week trial for a national fuel marketing company sued for over $10 million dollars for breach of a trucking contract.

Achieved a plaintiff’s verdict against a newspaper in a two-week trial that included $1 million in punitive damages. The verdict represents one of the largest defamation verdicts against a newspaper in Texas history.

Won a plaintiff’s verdict in a four-week trial relating to the negligent manufacture of components for a start-up aftermarket automobile technology company.

Obtained a defense verdict in a partnership dispute relating to the parties’ entitlement to all of the partnership’s assets.

Lead trial counsel in $100 million trade secret lawsuit for the plaintiff, an international engineering, construction, and procurement company. The case settled favorably after a week of trial.

Won a bench trial and obtained an injunction against a competing drilling company that shut down the competitor’s manufacture of infringing technology.

Achieved a walk-away settlement for a Houston-based midstream company in a $100 million breach of contract lawsuit related to an offshore pipeline system.

Obtained a $25 million settlement for a natural gas company in a breach of contract and fraud lawsuit against a joint venture partner.

Defended a $40 million oilfield technology patent infringement suit. The plaintiff eventually dropped the client from the case with the client paying nothing.

Achieved a $10 million settlement, plus dismissal of counterclaims for tens of millions of dollars, for a minority shareholder of a multibillion dollar closely-held company in a breach of fiduciary duty dispute.

Successfully defended an international energy services provider in a $50 million arbitration.

CONSTRUCTION AND REAL ESTATE CASES

Won a defense verdict in a two-week jury trial against an international bank in an eight-figure property dispute. Todd took over the case from prior counsel shortly before trial.

Prevailed at trial and won defense verdict in a three-week jury trial for a downtown Houston hotel in a real estate dispute. The jury rejected the plaintiffs’ claims for millions in damages and awarded the client its full damages and punitive damages as well.

Obtained a $30 million judgment for an international terminal and distribution company related to the construction of a subsea pipeline in the Caribbean.

Obtained a dismissal of a bet-the-company real estate lawsuit that included issues of first impression under new Texas law on contracts for deed.

Defended a national pipeline company where the plaintiff contractor alleged the client owed it more than $20 million for construction work. The case settled for less than two percent of the plaintiff’s demand.

Obtained a nuisance value settlement for a multistate Houston residential real estate developer in a breach of contract suit where the plaintiffs sought $30 million.

EXECUTIVE EMPLOYMENT, CLASS ACTIONS, AND NON-COMPETE CASES

Obtained a defense verdict for the Chief Financial Officer of a publicly-traded company in a two-week breach of fiduciary duty trial.

Achieved a plaintiff’s verdict for an executive of a seismic equipment manufacturer. The verdict was the second-largest employment verdict in Texas that year.

Won a bench trial for an EPCI company defending against a non-compete and trade secret action brought by a rival. During the proceedings, the Court invalidated the opponent’s company-wide non-compete.

Won a plaintiff’s verdict against a Houston physician’s group for engaging in disability discrimination against a practice member.

Prevailed in a collective action arbitration on behalf of Houston Police Department officers against their union and the department itself arising out of the parties’ collective bargaining agreement.

Won numerous other bench trials and obtained injunctive relief or defeated injunctive relief applications arising out of non-competition, non-solicitation, and confidentiality agreements across several industries.

Defeated a California wage and hour class action on summary judgment where the alleged class damages totaled eight figures.

Won dismissal of a prevailing wage class action in New Jersey federal court seeking years of back wages from the client, a national specialty maintenance provider.

Obtained dismissal of eight-figure False Claims act against a Houston-based medical group.

Achieved nuisance value settlement of one-tenth of one percent of the alleged class damages in a national overtime class action for an international subsea and surface drilling company.

Currently defending several wage and hour class actions on behalf of national and multinational companies in venues across the country.

CATASTROPHIC PERSONAL INJURY DEFENSE AND OSHA CASES

Obtained a defense verdict for a drug provider alleged to have caused long-term injuries to the plaintiff during her medical care.

Achieved a defense verdict for a medical group in a malpractice trial in which the parents of the child patient alleged severe and long-term injuries.

Defended an international specialty gas company before OSHA relating to a plant explosion that resulted in catastrophic injuries and death. After a six-month investigation, OSHA did not issue the client a single citation.

Obtained summary judgment for an industrial tool supplier in a catastrophic burn injury case.

Obtained dismissal of a wrongful death lawsuit after establishing the plaintiffs’ claims were barred based on preemption.

Defeated a Louisiana wrongful death refinery accident case on summary judgment based on the statutory employer doctrine

Currently representing numerous companies in wrongful death and catastrophic personal injury matters across the United States.

ENVIRONMENTAL AND TOXIC TORT CASES

Defended a pipeline company in a $100 million contamination suit brought by the State of New Jersey. The State released the client for less than one percent of its original demand.

Defended a terminal company in a $50 million environmental mass action. Residents of a Montana city accused the client, along with several other defendants, of polluting the city’s water supply over several decades. The client contributed less than two percent of the settlement payment with no ongoing remediation obligations.

Achieved a walk-away settlement for a midstream company in a $30 million indemnity dispute relating to environmental contamination.

Obtained summary judgment on a $10 million qui tam action brought by the former employee of an offshore platform operator alleging illegal releases.

Represented Harris County in a lawsuit against foreign downstream energy companies that resulted in historic fines and groundbreaking concessions requiring that Harris County receive notice of pollution events.

Currently representing an international fuel terminal company in multidistrict litigation in which the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania alleges widespread MTBE contamination of its waters.