Brian C. Pidcock

Brian focuses his practice on business litigation and dispute resolution, managing a range of complex disputes for companies across the energy, healthcare, and private equity sectors.

Brian helps clients navigate commercial disputes and work toward resolutions, while at the same time preparing for the possibility of litigation. Regardless of the type of dispute, Brian seeks to efficiently manage problems and offer creative advice for his clients.

He has broad experience with litigation in state and federal court, as well as in arbitration. He has prosecuted and defended claims for fraud, theft, negligence, tortious interference, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, toxic tort, misappropriation of trade secrets, copyright and trademark infringement, ERISA violations, and eminent domain.

Brian served for two years as a Judicial Law Clerk to US District Judge David Hittner in the Southern District of Texas prior to joining the firm. His clerkship experience provided him with a strong foundation for a diverse legal practice, as his cases covered an extensive range of subject matter, and provided key insights on the judicial process from which to counsel his clients.

Brian is a strong believer in equal access to justice and frequently handles pro bono matters from the Houston Volunteer Lawyers program. Notable pro bono representations include obtaining court-ordered writs of habeas corpus to help mothers whose children who were unlawfully taken by other family members.

He is also a proponent of programs that help train young lawyers and provide them with trial experience. Brian himself benefited from such a program when, during his first six months with the firm, he served as a volunteer prosecutor at the City of Houston Municipal Court where he handled pretrial motions, voir dire, witness examination, opening and closing arguments, and tried jury cases to verdict.

Representative Experience

Fraud Disputes

• Represented Chapter 11 trustee of bankrupt hospital in adversary litigation against dozens of healthcare providers involved in an out-of-network billing and illegal patient referral and kickback scheme; obtained recovery of $8 million in improper payments.
• Represented managed care company and prosecuted fraud claim against out-of-network hospital and affiliated emergency clinics; obtained summary judgment award of $8.4 million based on misrepresentations regarding the nature and location of service provided.
• Represented managed care company and prosecuted fraud claim against an out-of-network medical imaging company; obtained summary judgment award of $3.9 million based on misrepresentations regarding the location of service.
• Represented managed care company and prosecuted fraud claims against two out-of-network laboratories for engaging in a kickback referral scheme and billing for purported hospital laboratory services that were never provided by or at the hospital.
• Represented bankrupt natural gas company and prosecuted theft and fraudulent transfer claims against former director and owners to recover assets unlawfully taken from the bankruptcy estate.
• Represented managed care companies in state and federal court to recover overpayments to out-of-network hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, and other healthcare facilities based upon fraud, improper billing practices, and kickbacks to referring physicians.
• Represented managed care company in arbitration to recover overpayments made to a third-party medical billing company based upon false representations concerning the billing company’s status as an out-of-network provider and the location of services.

Contract Disputes

• Defended a managed care company in a two-week federal bench trial against a hospital’s claim for $50 million in alleged unpaid health benefits under ERISA governed health plans; trial court entered directed verdict against the hospital.
• Defended a managed care company in a two-week federal jury trial against a hospital’s breach of contract claim for millions in alleged unpaid medical benefits; jury returned a verdict of no liability and no damages.