Texas Jurors Reach Verdict in First Business Court Jury Trial

A Texas jury returned a verdict in the first ever jury trial in the state’s business court, siding with the plaintiff in a dispute over a billion-dollar crude oil delivery project.

Reaching the verdict late on Feb. 20, 10 of the 12 jurors answered yes to every question in declaring Ted Powers a one-fifth owner of the venture. Powers, squaring off in court against three members of the Berry family, will now ask Judge Sofia Adrogué to enter an order for declaratory and injunctive relief.

“We are very pleased with the jury’s verdict,” Powers’ lawyer, Roland Garcia of Greenberg Traurig, said Monday. “The bottom line is people should honor their contracts. I said it at the beginning of the case and I said it at the end: a deal is a deal.”

The trial came 17 months after the state opened the specialized court in September 2024 to attract businesses with promises of fast, predictable rulings. Texas lawmakers opted to give parties the option to have a jury decide a case, something that isn’t available in Delaware’s Chancery Court where such disputes are tried to judges.

Powers, the jury determined, showed the Berry defendants executed a valid contract that gave him ownership and management rights. The jury calculated Powers’ attorney’s fees at $2.4 million, though it’s up to the judge on whether to award that amount.

Powers is also represented by Beck Redden LLP.

Lawrence Berry is represented by Gibbs & Bruns LLP.

Marvin Berry is represented by Henke & Williams LLP, Douglas Allison of Corpus Christi, Texas, and Roberts Markland LLP.

Bonnie Berry is represented by Jackson Walker LLP, Douglas Allison of Corpus Christi, Texas, and Alexander Dubose & Jefferson LLP.

The case is Powers v. Berry, No. 24-BC11A-0025, 2/20/26.