Bet-the-Company Litigation Attorney in Scottsdale, Arizona
What is a bet-the-company case?
What is a bet-the-company case?
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I don’t know who came up with that bet
the company case
statement
but there are occasions
where
companies
need to win the case or they’re going to
go out of business they are companies
typically where you’re up against a
behemoth
and you’re a little guy
and for some reason
somebody in the large corporation has a
burr under their saddle
and they’ve decided they’re going to
teach you a lesson
I represented an architectural and
engineering company some years ago
against Exxon Mobil
Exxon Mobil is a big company
they hired a big firm
and the issue was defective design
they put us through the rare
they were over there in that field of
Discovery turning over every Rock
they were pompous and arrogant and
condescending and all that went away
when we got to the courtroom
because it’s one guy at the podium
on this side of the courtroom and one
guy at the podium on that side of the
courtroom if Exxon Mobil had one
the damages
it was requesting would have bankrupted
my client
my client couldn’t settle it
because
Exxon wasn’t going to settle with him
and uh
I said we can win this case
we did we got a unanimous verdict
my client was very very happy about that
I was ecstatic
the other side said that I cheated in
the courtroom
man I may have uh pushed the line a
little bit
but what I did was I took advantage of
every stumble they made in the courtroom
and when I was through I just have to
show you this is a trophy just a minute
just a minute hang on
my client gave me this
this is a picture of my client
in Libya
in 1957
this client discovered oil in Libya for
the predecessor of Exxon Mobil and he
wrote me a note that says thank you for
the wonderful defense presented in the
lawsuit with Exxon Mobil is too bad my
50-year relationship with mobile had to
end in litigation but such is life
I wish I could do more than send you
this picture
well that picture is a treasure to me
because I saved his company Exxon Mobil
wanted to flush him down the toilet
we won
that’s a bet the company case
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Scottsdale, AZ commercial litigation attorney Daryl Williams discusses bet-the-company case. He explains that i’m not sure who initially proposed the concept of a “bet the company” case, but there are instances where companies find themselves in a situation where winning a legal battle becomes crucial for their survival. These are usually scenarios where a small company is pitted against a corporate giant, driven by a personal vendetta within the larger corporation.
I once represented an architectural and engineering company in a case against Exxon Mobil, a massive corporation that had enlisted the services of a prominent law firm. The issue at hand was a claim of defective design. Exxon Mobil deployed an aggressive discovery process, leaving no stone unturned in their pursuit of evidence. They exuded arrogance and condescension throughout the proceedings, but everything changed once we reached the courtroom.
Inside that courtroom, it boiled down to one person at the podium on each side. If Exxon Mobil had emerged victorious, the damages they sought would have spelled bankruptcy for my client. However, my client couldn’t settle the case because Exxon was unwilling to entertain a settlement.
I believed we had a chance to win, and we did. The jury delivered a unanimous verdict in our favor. My client was elated, and I was overjoyed. The opposing side accused me of playing dirty in the courtroom, suggesting that I had crossed ethical boundaries. While I may have pushed the limits slightly, what I did was capitalize on every misstep made by the other party during the trial.
After the trial concluded, my client presented me with a meaningful token—a picture of him in Libya back in 1957. He had played a significant role in discovering oil for the predecessor of Exxon Mobil. Accompanying the picture was a note expressing gratitude for the exceptional defense I provided during the lawsuit against Exxon Mobil. Despite the unfortunate end of his 50-year relationship with the company, he acknowledged the reality of life and wished he could do more than offer the picture as a gesture of appreciation.
That picture holds immense value to me because it symbolizes how I safeguarded my client’s company. Exxon Mobil had sought to obliterate his business, but we emerged triumphant. It was undeniably a “bet the company” case, and we came out on top.
