Bio

George Parker Young has engaged in a diverse complex litigation practice for almost 40 years. Mr. Young represents clients in the full range of business litigation (including arbitrations), and has significant experience in the areas of fiduciary duty, cyber security, oil and gas, corporate governance, probate, intellectual property, insurance and securities litigation.

In 2004, Mr. Young briefed and argued to the U.S. Supreme Court a landmark case on ERISA preemption and HMO liability; in 2003 Mr. Young was a finalist for Trial Lawyer of the Year awarded by the Trial Lawyers of Public Justice (one of eight cases nominated nationally). Mr. Young enjoys an AV® Peer Review Preeminent Rating by Martindale-Hubbell® Law Directory and a Best Lawyers ranking on BestLawyers.com.

Mr. Young represented over 13,000 Plaintiff royalty owners in the Barnett Shale asserting claims against Chesapeake for royalty underpayment. Those cases were consolidated into an MDL in Tarrant County, styled In re Chesapeake Barnett Shale Royalty Litigation. The parties eventually resolved those claims in 2016, resulting in a $52.5 million settlement for Young’s clients, with actual final settlement amounts based on opt-ins of $51,003,750.  As a result of that success, numerous royalty owners in the Eagle Ford Shale more recently hired Young to pursue their royalty claims against various operators and working interest owners.  As part of that representation, Young prevailed on appeal, resulting in a very significant appellate opinion on interpretation of oil and gas leases that is favorable to royalty owners.  Stanton P. Bell, et. al. v. Chesapeake Energy Corp., et. al., No. 04-18-00129 (Tex. App. March 13, 2019), writ refused.  The Texas Supreme Court declined to reverse this important precedent.

Mr. Young successfully handled several other large oil and gas matters over the last several years, including disputes between royalty, working interest owners and operators, fights involving investors in oil and gas ventures, disputes between producers and surface owners, disputes between pipelines and producers, and litigation between pipelines and adjoining landowners.

In addition, Mr. Young has been actively involved in several “minority shareholder oppression” cases representing companies or majority shareholders, often in suits by minority interest owners for perceived wrongs; written and lectured extensively on this topic. Most recent fiduciary duty and board governance trial was an expedited Delaware Section 225 proceeding tried in 2013 to the Delaware Court of Chancery, with the entire proceeding (including extensive discove1y) taking seven months, from filing to final decision by the Delaware Supreme Court.

Mr. Young is Board Certified in Civil Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.  He served on the Litigation Council of the State Bar of Texas Litigation Section.  Mr. Young is a member of the highly selective American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA)(based largely on demanding standards of actual trial experience), and has been repeatedly chosen as a Texas “Super Lawyer” selected by Texas Monthly (only top 5% of all Texas lawyers), including for the last eight years (2014-2021).  He has also repeatedly been chosen annually as one of the “Top Attorneys in Tarrant County” by Fort Worth Magazine (including for the last 7 years).

Mr. Young served as a Co-Course Director for several State Bar of Texas CLE courses, including the 2011 Advanced Civil Trial Course, the 2013 Litigation Update Course, as well as the 2014 Litigation Update Course. He was previously an adjunct professor at Texas Wesleyan School of Law and a guest lecturer at the University of Texas, SMU and Texas Wesleyan (now Texas A&M) Schools of Law.

Selected Publications/Presentations

  • “A Rough Sense of Justice” Meets “Practical Politics”: Causation in the Texas Supreme Court, 64:3 BAYLOR L. Rev. 784 (2012) (co-authored with Kelli Walter).
  • Co-Course Director, 2014 “Litigation Update Course,” State Bar of Texas.
  • Co-Course Director, 2013 “Litigation Update Course,” State Bar of Texas.
  • 2011: Co-Course Director, 34th Annual” Advanced Civil Trial Course,” State Bar of Texas.
  • July 2011: “Fiduciary Duties and Minority Shareholder Oppression from the Defense Perspective: Differing Approaches in Texas, Delaware, and Nevada.”
  • Annual Advanced Civil Trial Course, State Bar of Texas.
  • Jan 2011: “Overview of The Proposed New Texas Ethics Rules,” Tarrant County Bar Association.
  • Oct 2010: “Delaware Business Torts,” Business Torts Institute 2010.
  • Jul 2010: “A Rough Sense of Justice” or “Practical Politics?” The Texas Supreme Court and Causation” Annual Advanced Civil Trial Course, State Bar of Texas.
  • April 2008: “An Intersection or the End of the Road? The Impact of Chapter 33 on Indemnity in Texas,” Texas College for Judicial Studies.
  • Sept 2007: “Indemnity, Immunity and Responsible Parties,” 2007 Judicial Section Annual Conference, Texas Center for the Judiciary.
  • Fall 2007: “An Annotated ‘Model’ Settlement Agreement,” The Advocate, State Bar of Texas Litigation Section.
  • Aug 2007: “Chapter 33 and “Indemnity,” 30th Annual Advanced Civil Trial Course, State Bar of Texas.
  • April 2007: “Chapter 33: Immunity, Indemnity and Other Emerging Issues,” Texas College for Judicial Studies.
  • Feb 2007: “Chapter 33: Proportionate Responsibility and Other Frights,” 23rd Annual Litigation Update, Texas Bar CLE.
  • Aug 2006: “Chapter 33: Proportionate Responsibility and Other Frights,” 29th Advanced Civil Trial Course.
  • Sep 2004: “Preparing to Take Depositions,” and “Taking Depositions,” STATE BAR OF TEXAS LITIGATION SECTION MAGAZINE (co-authored with Walker C. Friedman).
  • Jun 2004: Academy Health Annual Research Meeting: Speaker: “A Quiet Revolution: Role of the Courts in Health Care Systems Change.”
  • Sep 2003: American Conference Institute: “The Most Common Causes of Action Today, And the Latest Strategies for Defending Them.”
  • Sep 2003: Mealey’s Bad Faith: “Potential Liability Arising from Class Actions.”
  • Sep 2002: 13th Annual Medical Malpractice Conference.
  • Nov 2002: Advanced Expert Witness Course III: “The Expert on HMO Liability.”
  • Oct 2002: State Bar of Texas’ HMO and Managed Care Law: “HMO Liability to Patients: 10 Tips for Plaintiffs and 12 Tricks by Defendants in Chapter 88 HMO Liability Cases.”
  • Apr 2001: Co-Author, “Recent Decisions Illustrate ERISA Preemption Morass,” Texas Lawyer.
  • Aug 2000: Author, “ERISA Federal Preemption of HMO Lawsuits: New Case Law,” Health Plan & Provider Report, Vol. 6, No. 32, pp. 979-991.
  • Sep 2002: Texas Trial Lawyers Association Medical Malpractice Conference: “Few Cases and a Big Hammer the HMO Liability Statute Works: Eight Essentials for Successful HMO Liability Claims.”
  • Sep 2000: 4th Annual Conference on Suing and Defending Managed Health Care Providers: “Managed Care Liability Update.
  • Sep 2000: TMA Summit Advocacy, Policy, Professionalism: “Managed Care, Physician Negotiation and AntiTrust Legislation Update.”
  • May 2000: State Bar of Texas’ Advanced Commercial and Consumer Law Course: “Making Healthcare Claims Work.”
  • Nov 1999: Texas Hospital Association: “HMO Liability and Case Law Update.
  • Sep 1999: Texas Trial Lawyers Association’s Tenth Annual Advanced Medical Malpractice Conference.
  • Sep 1999: U.t. School of Law’s Third Annual Conference on Suing and Defending Managed Health Care Providers.
  • Mar 1999: Mealey’s HMO Liability Conference.
  • Mar 1999: State Bar of Texas’ Sixth Annual Advanced Medical Malpractice Course.
  • Jan 1998: State Bar of Texas Advanced Health Law 1998: “HMO Liability.”
  • Jan 1998: State of Texas 14th Annual Update Institute: “HMO Update.”
  • Oct 1997: U.T. School of Law Insurance Law Institute: “Litigation Involving Managed Health Care Providers.”
  • Sep 1997: U.T. School of Law Managed Care Litigation Conference: “Litigation Involving HMOs.”
  • Sep 1997: Texas trial Lawyers Association: “Beware of ERISA When Using the New HMO Liability Law.”
  • Sep 1997: Author, “Don’t Preempt the HMO Liability Bill,” Texas Lawyer.
  • Jan 1997: Author, Op-Ed Piece in View Points, Dallas Morning News: “Let’s Rein in Health Maintenance Organizations.”

Professional Activities

Argued landmark case on HMO Liability to U.S. Supreme Court in March, 2004: CIGNA HealthCare of Texas, Inc. v. Calad (No. 03-83); Aetna Health Inc. v. Davila (No. 02-1845 [ consolidated]).

Successful Appellate counsel in the following HMO cases: Giles v. NYLCare, 172 F.3d 332 (5th Cir. 1999); Calad v. CIGNA Healthcare of Texas, Inc/Davila v. Aetna US. Healthcare, 307 F.2d 298 (5th Cir. 2002); Special Counsel to Attorney General, Corporate Health Ins., Inc. v. Texas Department of Ins., 12 F.Supp.2d 597 (N.D. Tex. 1998), aff’d in part, rev’d in part, 215 F.3d 526 (5th Cir.), rehearing denied, 220 F.3d 641 (5th Cir. 2000) (Aetna’s unsuccessful declaratory judgment action to declare Texas HMO liability statute preempted by 2000). Successful attorney in following published HMO cases: Furstonberg v. Mintz, 170 F.Supp.2d 695 (N.D. Tex. 2001); Carpenter v. Harris Community Health, 154 F.Supp.2d 928 (N.D. Tex. 2001); Plocica v. NYLCare of Texas, Inc., 43 F.Supp.2d 695 (N.D. Tex. 1999); Cyr v. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Texas, 12 F.Supp.2d 556 (N.D. Tex. 1998); Hammon v. Southwestern Gas Pipeline 721 F.2d 140 (5th Cir. 1983).

First attorney to successfully use Texas’ 1997 law which prohibits financial incentives that act as an inducement to limit care; filed first suit under Texas’ 1997 HMO Liability Act; obtained first verdict and judgment (over $13 million) against HMO under Texas’ 1997 HMO Liability Act.

Adjunct Professor: Texas Wesleyan School of Law: Texas Trials and Appeals, Fall 1995; Fall 1996; Fall 1997.

Guest lecturer on managed care issues at University of Texas School of Law Insurance Class (contact: Phil Maxwell); guest lecturer at Texas Wesleyan School of Law Mock Trial Program (contact: Amber Anderson).

2021 Martindale-Hubbell® AV Preeminent, Highest Possible Rating, Legal Ability and Ethical Standards

2015-2021 Best Lawyers in America Recognition

2022 US News—Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms”

Finalist, 2003 Trial Lawyer of the Year; Trial Lawyers for Public Justice (for work done on Pybas case; one of eight cases nominated nationally)

2003-2005, 2008-2012, 2014-2021 Texas “Super Lawyers” selected by Texas Monthly (only 5% of all Texas lawyers)

2001-2007, 2009, 2011-2013, 2016-2021 “Top Attorneys in Tarrant County” by Fort Worth Magazine America’s Top 100 Attorneys, Lifetime Achievement, Northern Texas

Other Professional

Numerous interviews to media on various issues, including ABC, NBC, CBS, PrimeTime Live, CNN, NPR, Business Week, Solon Magazine, Dallas Morning News, LA Times, New York Times, Washington Post, Austin American Statesmen, Fort Worth Star Telegram, Fort Worth Business Press, Texas Lawyer and various other newspapers across the country.

Board Certified- Civil Trial Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization, Licensed: U.S. Supreme Court, Fifth Circuit. Court of Appeals, Northern, Southern and Western Districts of Texas, Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. Director, Texas Trial Lawyers Association: 2000-2001, Director Emeritus 2002-2004; Member, District 7A Grievance Committee, 1994-1997; 1995-96 Chair: Professional Enhancement Program; Secretary, Consumer Law Section, State Bar of Texas: 1992-1994 (Council member 1988-1994).

Education

B.A. in History, Southwestern University, 1979; J.D. Texas Tech School of Law, 1982

Service

Board of Trustees, Southwestern University 1996 to Spring 2003 (Executive Committee 1997-2003); Texas Lyceum 1989-1995; Tarrant County Co- Chair, Caring for Children; Volunteer pro bono legal work and for various charitable and arts organizations; 1988-89 Class of Leadership Fort Worth.