Mitch’s practice consists of commercial litigation, including life, health, disability and pension insurance litigation, and business torts.

He has represented managed care entities and administrators in all aspects of insurance litigation including ERISA, Medicare, FEHBA and Affordable Care Act disputes. Mitch has extensive experience in ERISA benefits litigation, bad faith insurance practices litigation, prompt pay litigation and provider litigation, including contractual and extra-contractual disputes with providers and hospitals. Mitch’s practice spans both state and federal courts, and he has handled over one hundred complex commercial arbitrations with favorable results for the client.

Additionally, Mitch has experience in oil and gas disputes, toxic tort litigation, contract disputes, debt collection, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) disputes and False Claims Act and qui tam actions. Mitch has successfully represented firm clients (both as plaintiffs and defendants) throughout the United States in large-scale commercial disputes that have included claims of breach of contract, fraud, tortious interference and breach of fiduciary duty.

Representative Experience

Managed Care Cases

• Represented managed care company in parallel federal and state lawsuits against hospital systems seeking over $46 million in statutory penalties for alleged violations of the Texas Prompt Pay Act on self-funded medical claims. The Fifth Circuit held statutory penalties cannot be imposed upon self-funded plans and that our client was not liable to the hospital systems. (2016)
• Lead counsel representing a managed care company in a JAMS arbitration filed by a hospital system seeking $4.3 million in damages under tortious interference and third-party contract claims. The arbitrator granted a complete summary judgment in our client's favor dismissing all claims by the Hospital. (2016)
• Trial counsel representing managed care company in an AAA arbitration filed by a hospital system alleging violations of the Texas Prompt Pay Act that applies statutory penalties to medical claims that are not reimbursed within 30 days of submission. The hospital system alleged our client failed to timely pay thousands of hospital claims over a four-year period and sought $144 million in damages. The arbitrator ruled in our client’s favor on all legal issues and awarded the hospital roughly 1% of its requested damages. (2015)
• Trial counsel representing managed care company in an AHLA arbitration proceeding filed by a hospital system alleging violations of the Texas Prompt Pay Act and seeking over $70.5 million in penalties on thousands of hospital claims over a four-year period. The arbitrator ruled in client’s favor on all legal issues and awarded the hospital roughly 1% of its requested damages. (2015)
• Trial counsel representing managed care company in arbitration proceeding in which a physician group sought in excess of $10,000,000 arising from alleged prompt pay violations on over 27,000 claims for services provided over a four-year period. Case settled favorably for client following the dismissal of the majority of the physician group's claims during the first three days of arbitration. (2009)
• Assisted in obtaining final summary judgment in case filed by provider seeking damages under the Texas “Any Willing Provider Statute” alleging that its claims seeking benefits could not be denied under Texas statute and that its claims were not preempted by ERISA. The trial court rejected these arguments and ruled in the managed care company’s favor on both federal preemption and state law grounds. (2007)
• Assisted in obtaining summary judgment in favor of self-funded ERISA plan in case filed by provider seeking benefits for extensive treatment relating to alleged exposure to toxic mold. The trial court granted summary judgment finding no abuse of discretion in claims adjudication process and rejected arguments that claims administrator had failed to comply with ERISA’s procedural requirements. (2007)
• Assisted in obtaining summary judgment in favor of an insurer/claims administrator for a municipal employee health care plan against claims by a health care provider for breach of contract, negligent misrepresentation and promissory estoppel. (2007)

Retirement Benefits Cases

• Lead counsel representing a third-party claims administrator in arbitration proceeding filed by several employee pension plans seeking $5 million in damages for alleged improper processing of claims for ERISA retirement benefits. Case settled favorably for client inside a 45-day arbitration schedule and following successful mediation. (2014)

Life Insurance Cases

• Assisted in obtaining summary judgment in favor of an ERISA plan insurer in case filed by the estate of a former plan member arising out of the payment of life insurance benefits to a designated beneficiary. (2008)

General Commercial Cases

• Trial counsel defending a midstream services company against a state court lawsuit filed by the seller of a wastewater treatment plant. The trial court entered a take-nothing final judgment in favor of our client after several years of contentious litigation involving the sale and operation of the plant. (2017)
• Lead trial counsel for a plaintiff construction company in breach of contract action against a roofing company wherein the defendant asserted counterclaims for breach of contract, breach of warranty and treble damages. Following a two-day bench trial, obtained full recovery of damages on all claims asserted by client and a take-nothing judgment on all counterclaims asserted by the defendant roofing company. (2007)
• Lead trial counsel in a qui tam action filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. Successfully defended health care providers and their principal management against claims of Medicare and Medicaid fraud under the federal False Claims Act and obtained dismissal of all claims during the initial phase of the litigation. (2008)

Bar Admissions

Education
JD, University of Houston Law Center, cum laude, Houston Law Review, Research Editor, 2002BA, Biology, Indiana University, 1995