Cory M. Curtis

Biography

• University of Denver Sturm College of Law – J.D., 2003
• Hope College – B.A., 1999

Recognitions & Distinctions

• Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® for Construction Law (2026–2027)

Representation Experience

• After a week-long jury trial in Harris County District Court, won a complete defense verdict for a publicly traded E&P company on Plaintiff’s $50M+ claim for breach of contract and fraud in a dispute over a failed $30M deal to purchase oil and gas assets in the Permian Basin.
• Won a jury verdict and awarded $1M+ in damages plus $500K+ in attorney’s fees on the client’s breach of fiduciary duty claim against a financial advisor after a six-day trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado. Successfully defended the judgment on appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Murphy v. Schaible, 108 F. 4th 1257 (10th Cir. 2024).
• Secured jury verdict for possession and awarded attorney’s fees against the landlord and in favor of Harris County microbrewery in a commercial eviction case.
• Prevailed in a seven-day administrative law trial before the Texas State Office of Administrative Hearings for a Class 8 truck manufacturer by showing the manufacturer’s good cause to reduce the dealer’s area of responsibility due to the dealer’s poor sales and service performance. Successfully defended the case on appeal. Sweeten Truck Center, L.C. v. Volvo Trucks North America, No. 03-16-00068, 2016 WL 4979826 (Tex. App.—Austin 2016).
• Secured jury verdict for $2.5M+ and awarded $500K+ in attorney’s fees against a publicly traded oil and gas operator on behalf of a drilling company on a claim for breach of International Association of Drilling Contractors’ contract in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.
• Lead counsel before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in a dealership termination dispute between an equipment manufacturer and a dealer. The Sixth Circuit ruled for the client, holding that the dealer was not permitted to shield the federal case record from public access. Rudd Equip. Co., Inc. v. John Deere Constr. & Forestry Co., 834 F.3d 589 (6th Cir. 2016).
• Secured a jury verdict for a publicly traded engineering and manufacturing company in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado by arguing that the client’s carbon steel boat steering cable design was not defective and that the jury should decide the issue under the risk-benefit test, not the consumer expectation test. Successfully defended the judgment on appeal. Kokins, et al. v. Teleflex Inc., 621 F.3d 1290 (10th Cir. 2010).
• Awarded summary judgment to a component-part supplier in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in a product liability and fraud case involving a failed micro tunnel boring machine. Nada Pacific Corp. v. Power Engineering & Mfg., Ltd., 73 F. Supp. 3d 1206 (N.D. Cal. 2014).
• Awarded summary judgment in favor of an engineering client in a case involving alleged failure of an aggregate storage silo. Lone Star Industries, Inc. v. Besser Company, Civ. Action No. 11-1481, 2013 WL (April 17, 2013, E.D. Pa.).
• Favorable settlement as lead defense counsel for directors of publicly traded oil & gas company in shareholder derivative suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada.
• After nearly a decade of litigation in New York state court, secured an agreement to transfer venue to arbitration and won a complete defense
• award for the manufacturer facing claims by a former partner over a failed joint venture to sell equipment to masonry factories in Greece.
• Awarded summary judgment for a publicly traded engineering and manufacturing firm in a catastrophic injury and quadriplegia products liability case in Maricopa County, Arizona, defeating plaintiffs’ causation theory, where plaintiffs sought more than $30M in damages.
• Awarded summary judgment in a dispute between an American equipment supplier and a Russian sales agent in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
• Awarded summary judgment for the equipment seller in a New York County, New York, warranty case by arguing that buyers’ claims were barred by the statute of limitations. The court ordered buyers to pay the client for equipment installation services provided in China.
• Led the defense in a cross-border dispute in the Harris County District Court, involving claims brought by U.S. and Mexican distributors against the client, a Mexican dairy company, over a failed business venture in Texas. Secured a settlement for the client that ended litigation and terminated the client’s U.S. and Mexican distributor agreements.

Memberships & Affiliations

• American Bar Association
• Colorado Bar Association
• Texas Bar Association

Admissions

• Texas
• Colorado
• United States District Court: District of Nebraska
• United States District Court: Eastern District of Michigan
• United States District Court: District of Colorado
• United States District Courts: Northern, Eastern, and Southern Districts of Texas
• United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth and Tenth Circuits

Community Involvement

• Board Member, Alumni Council, University of Denver Sturm College of Law (2016–present)
• Chairman, Businesses of Thornton, Colorado Advisory Commission (2012–2014)