Drew York

Overview

A seven-time consecutive selection as a “Rising Star” by Texas Monthly and Law & Politics magazine, Drew’s practice focuses primarily on class action/mass tort (both plaintiff and defense) and complex commercial litigation disputes.   Drew’s representative trial experience includes obtaining a significant judgment on behalf of twelve clients in Lonoke County, Arkansas in 2010, in a lawsuit related to the In re Genetically Modified Rice Litigation multidistrict litigation in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.  The judgment was the 42nd largest in the United States in 2010 according to Verdict Search, and was affirmed by the Arkansas Supreme Court in 2011.

Representative Experience

Class Action and Mass Tort Experience

In re Genetically Modified Rice Litigation, 4:06-MD-01811-CDP, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri

• Member of legal team that reached a large settlement with Bayer AG and its affiliates to compensate U.S. rice farmers relating to the discovery of Bayer’s genetically modified LLRice in the U.S. rice supply.
• Member of trial team that obtained a significant judgment in the Circuit Court of Lonoke County, Arkansas against Bayer AG, Bayer CropScience AG, and Bayer CropScience LP for damages sustained by twelve rice farmers. The jury verdict, and corresponding judgment, awarded the twelve farmers one hundred percent of the compensatory damages sought ($5,975,605.00) as well as punitive damages. The Arkansas Supreme Court affirmed the judgment in all respects in 2011.  The jury’s verdict ranked as the 42^nd largest verdict in the United States in 2010 according to Verdict Search.
• Counsel for a Texas rice mill and exporter that settled claims with Bayer for a significant sum.
• Member of two trial teams that obtained significant judgments against Bayer on behalf of 2 Missouri, 2 Arkansas and 1 Mississippi farmer in separate trials in the U.S. District Court (Eastern District of Missouri).

In re Chinese-Manufactured Drywall Products Liability Litigation, 2:09-MD-2047-EEF, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana:

• Lead counsel for homebuilder defending against claims made by homeowners for allegedly defective Chinese drywall.

In re Tremont Securities Law, State Law and Insurance Litigation, 1:11-CV-01687-TPG, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York

• Counsel for trust that brought suit against “feeder fund” that invested with Bernard Madoff.

In re Syngenta AG MIR162 Corn Litigation, 2:14-md-02591-JWL-JPO, United States District Court for the District of Kansas

• Counsel for hundreds of corn farmers bringing claims against Syngenta AG and its subsidiaries arising out of Syngenta’s sale of two genetically modified corn varieties unapproved in major U.S. corn export markets.

Commercial Litigation Experience

• Obtained summary judgment for client on Plaintiff’s breach of contract, fraud and Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act claims
• Obtained dismissal of breach of contract, fraud, and breach of fiduciary duty claims brought by limited liability company member against other members
• Obtained dismissal of consumers’ Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act claims for alleged defective diesel engine
• Obtained judgment for plaintiff on Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act claims against HVAC company for misrepresentations concerning company’s goods and services
• Lead counsel for defendant residential real estate developer in boundary dispute and trespass to try title litigation (lawsuit settled)
• Lead counsel for defendant waste management and recycling company concerning validity of restrictive covenant in deed (plaintiff dismissed lawsuit)
• Counsel for client responding to Department of Transportation Civil Investigation Demand

Professional Activities, Memberships & Affiliations

• State Bar of Texas

Honors

• Selected for inclusion in Texas Super Lawyers – Rising Stars Edition (2008-2015) (a Thomson-Reuters business) as published in Texas Monthly and Law & Politics magazine
• Drew York was a member of the plaintiffs’ trial team in Randy Schafer et al. v. Bayer CropScience LP, et al., in which a Lonoke County, Arkansas jury returned a $47,975,605.00 verdict for a dozen Arkansas rice farmers after two different types of Bayer CropScience’s experimental genetically modified rice were found in the United States rice supply in 2006  and 2007. That verdict was recognized as the 42nd largest verdict awarded for 2010 in Verdict Search’s “Top 100 Verdict in America for 2010”