dismissal with prejudice

certificate of participationCo-author Chance Decker

You are a service company and you’ve been sued for a defective frac job. It looks scary but there’s no detail in the petition and no certificate of merit is attached. What is your response:

  1. “Such a pity; my fifth-grader got one for finishing next-to-last at the track meet”;
  2. He should borrow one from the scarecrow;
  3. Panic, offer a nice settlement to the plaintiff if, for the love of Jesus, Mary and Joseph and your non-exempt ranch in West Texas, he’ll just go away;
  4. Ponder the difference between “shall” and “may”.

Perdenal Energy LLC v. Bruington Engineering, Ltd. asked whether a court must dismiss an engineering defect lawsuit filed without a certificate of merit with prejudice (never to file suit again) or may dismiss without prejudice (to refile once they obtain a certificate).
Continue Reading Suit For Bad Frac Job Requires a Certificate of Merit