Business Litigation; Class Actions; Municipal

Mr. Dwyer is a founding partner of Figari & Davenport. He specializes in the litigation of large, complex commercial disputes on behalf of a mix of clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies and large real estate development partnerships to Dallas area municipalities. A significant portion of his practice has been devoted to the nationwide representation of the world’s largest automaker in class action lawsuits brought all across the United States. Over the past five years he has also litigated or arbitrated several supplier suits for major automakers involving combined damages in excess of $100,000,000.

Mr. Dwyer excels in the courtroom. He has tried over 20 jury and non-jury matters, successfully argued in state and federal appellate courts, and represented clients before a variety of local and state administrative commissions and committees. A highly versatile trial lawyer, Mr. Dwyer has handled products liability and warranty suits, securities fraud matters, complex real estate litigation, partnership and trust disputes, municipal litigation, employment actions, business tort cases and copyright, trade secret, and other intellectual property matters.

In addition to his extensive experience handling a broad range of cases relating to the automotive industry, Mr. Dwyer has represented well known companies or high net worth individuals in the real estate, banking, aviation, and oil and gas industries. He routinely interacts with executives operating at the highest level of their organizations, providing legal counsel that is based on a thorough understanding of the client’s business and industry.

• A successful arbitration defense of contract claims totaling $30 million that were brought in New York City by an investment consortium that had purchased a parts company spun off by an automotive manufacturer.
• A successful defense of a national bank against lender liability and other claims by an equipment leasing company in what was then the longest civil jury trial ever in Taylor County, Texas. The case was tried over 12 weeks.
• A successful defense of TRO and temporary injunction proceedings, and a subsequent favorable settlement of claims between two cities, relating to city boundaries and the scope of their extraterritorial jurisdictions as a result of a 30-year old agreement the cities had signed in connection with the construction of Lake Ray Hubbard.
• The successful arbitration of warranty claims between a major automaker and one of its chief suppliers, resulting in a recovery of over $20 million in warranty costs. The arbitration result prompted the client’s Executive Vice President and General Counsel to remark that Mr. Dwyer’s “standing with us would be hard for any litigator to surpass.”

JD, University of Texas, with high honors, 1980

• Chancellors
• Order of the Coif
• Member, Texas Law Review, 1978

BA, University of Notre Dame, with highest honors, 1977

• Phi Beta Kappa

Named a Texas Super Lawyer (Texas Monthly, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007)

Listed in The Best Lawyers in America under Business Litigation (all editions since 1995)

• State Bar of Texas
• Dallas Bar Association
• Research Fellow, Southwestern Legal Foundation
• Fellow, Texas Bar Foundation
• Fellow, Dallas Bar Foundation

Instructor, Legal Research and Writing, University of Texas, 1979-1980

Co-Author, Annual Survey of Texas Law – Texas Civil Procedure, SMU Law Review, 1983-1999