Christian Sweeney
Associate
Christian Sweeney handles complex commercial litigation matters with a focus on oil and gas disputes. Christian has handled royalties disputes, washout cases, frac hits, lease termination, and lien disputes, along with transactional fraud and a wide variety of general business litigation. He previously served as a law clerk for the Hon. Matthew Kacsmaryk in the Northern District of Texas, where he managed the court’s civil docket. During law school, Christian served as a summer law clerk for the Office of the Solicitor General in the Texas Attorney General’s office and as an intern for Judge Willett on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
- Obtained summary judgment in a purported whistleblower dispute under the National Defense Authorization Act, affirmed on appeal. Monden v. Consol. Nuclear Sec., LLC, No. 23-10553, 2024 WL 1007458 (5th Cir. Mar. 8, 2024).
- Won summary judgment and complete dismissal of all claims for an oil and gas operator who was defending against claims for breach of contract, bad faith washout, fraud, and conspiracy.
- Representing oil and gas operator in a suit by former executive claiming that he is entitled to millions of dollars worth of incentive units based on an alleged oral contract.
- Representing oil and gas operator in a suit against a competitor who fracked into the client’s well and misappropriated client’s trade secrets.
- Representing oil and gas operator in royalty underpayment dispute.
- Negotiated a favorable settlement for a leading health care insurer in arbitration against a health care provider for a breach of contract to recover overpayments to the provider, after obtaining complete dismissal of the health care provider’s counterclaims and obtaining partial summary judgment in client’s favor.
- Represented a leading health care insurer in a complex contract dispute with a health care provider regarding the adjudication of claims and reimbursement rates.
- Won a federal bench trial on all claims in a pro bono case for a Italian father who was seeking to be reunited with his daughter after she was unlawfully removed to the U.S. without his knowledge or consent. Moretti v. Braga, No. 3:23-CV-0586-L, 2023 WL 3590690, at *1 (N.D. Tex. May 22, 2023).
- Obtained a favorable decision by a Texas court of appeals dismissing all claims against the client for lack of personal jurisdiction in a suit arising out of a shooting that occurred outside a subdealer’s retail store. MetroPCS Tex., LLC v. Amiri, No. 05-22-00188-CV, 2022 WL 16569603 (Tex. App.—Dallas Nov. 1, 2022, no pet.).
- Obtained complete dismissal of all claims on appeal for lack of personal jurisdiction over Swedish parent company in wrongful death products liability case. ASSA ABLOY AB v. Damian, No. 03-21-00598-CV, 2023 WL 2696689 (Tex. App.—Austin Mar. 30, 2023, no pet.).
- Won summary judgment in wrongful death case related to allegations that an ornamental metal picket fence is defective under a products liability theory under Texas law.
Admissions
- Texas
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas
Clerkships/Judicial Internships
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Federal law clerk for the Hon. Matthew Kacsmaryk, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas
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Judicial intern for the Hon. Don Willett of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals
Education
- University of Texas (J.D., 2020)
- With Honors
- Order of the Coif
- Texas Review of Law & Politics, Editorial Board
- Supreme Court Clinic (Fall 2019)
- University of Texas at Dallas (B.A., 2017)
- International Political Economy and Political Science (Double Major)
- Magna Cum Laude
- Hobson Wildenthal Honors College, Phi Kappa Phi, and Golden Key Honor Society member
- Archer Fellow
Memberships
- The Federalist Society