Texas Lawbook: Cocktail Napkin Employment Dispute Settles Right Before Trial

Texas Lawbook reported on Brian Hail's recent settlement victory in the newsworthy case involving an employment contract scribbled on a hotel cocktail bar notepad:

The digital age has opened the door for all kinds of things to constitute as evidence, but a business deal signed the old-fashioned way – on a cocktail napkin – scored a win for Dallas attorney Brian Hail over the weekend.

Hail represents Jonathan Kolniak, who was set to face off with his former employer, Bridger Logistics, in a jury trial this week in Dallas District Judge Martin Hoffman’s court. Kolniak claimed he had an agreement with the owner of Bridger at the time, James Ballengee, for a 2 percent equity interest in Bridger, which was sold to Ferrellgas Partners in 2015 for approximately $820 million.

Instead, Hail and his opposing counsel, Rob Bogdanowicz of Calhoun, Bhella, Seachrest and Charles Sartain of Gray Reed & McGraw reached a settlement agreement Saturday at 4 p.m.

“You never know when a case is going to settle,” Hail, a director at Kane Russell Coleman & Logan told The Texas Lawbook. “Some that shouldn’t settle do, and some that should settle don’t. The reality is… once you start trial, it’s harder to settle.”

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