Thomas J. Annis

Thomas Annis is a civil litigator whose practice primarily focuses on professional liability matters involving lawyers, accountants, insurance agents, real estate brokers, and other professional clients. He also represents clients in commercial litigation matters, ranging from simple contract cases to complex business disputes.

Thomas combines his strong written and oral advocacy skills with an energetic, detail-oriented approach to every case his clients entrust him with no matter the size of the dispute. He strives to be a tough advocate for his clients’ interests by forcing his adversaries to prove their claims and efficiently obtaining dismissal of them when they cannot.

Representative Experience

Defended a prominent plaintiff’s attorney against legal malpractice and breach of fiduciary duty claims at multi-week arbitration brought by former clients; former clients sought to avoid paying Tom’s client a multi-million dollar contingency fee after settlement of underlying case; arbitrator completely exonerate Tom’s client and awarded Tom’s client its entire contingency fee

Defended a mortgage field services provider against breach of contract and several other claims at a two-day arbitration brought by subcontractor seeking hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages; arbitrator entered take-nothing award in favor of Tom’s client

Obtained summary judgment in bill of review case overturning $1+ million default judgment entered against client by successfully arguing client was not served properly in underlying case

Obtained summary judgment on DTPA and Texas Insurance Code claims against insurance broker client by plaintiffs seeking more than $650,000 in damages

Obtained summary judgment on malpractice claims against law firm client based on novel application of the Hughes tolling rule; judgment upheld on appeal

Obtained dismissal of claims by a hospital against one of the largest insurance agencies in the world through successful motion practice in federal court; hospital alleged that the agency mispresented its insurance policy excluded coverage for business interruption caused by the COVID19 virus

Obtained voluntary dismissal of defamation, malicious prosecution, and conspiracy claims by a cable news personality against law firm client through successful motion practice in federal court; plaintiff alleged Tom’s client defamed him in a press release issued by the law firm in connection with underlying case, which plaintiff also alleged was prosecuted in bad faith

Successfully defended numerous complaints filed against real estate brokers and sales agents with the Texas Real Estate Commission with no action taken against Tom’s clients

Successfully negotiated a zero-dollar settlement in connection with defamation claim brought by plaintiff after Tom’s client republished an allegedly defamatory article published by a prominent national news agency

Negotiated numerous favorable settlements for clients in pre-suit matters and through the mediation process after lawsuit filed