Biography
Matt Thompson is a Principal in the Houston office of Cokinos | Young with a focus on construction litigation and commercial disputes. Matt is licensed in both Texas and Louisiana, was named Rising Star in Construction Litigation in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023, and currently serves as an officer for the Construction Law Section of the Houston Bar Association, where he has served on the Council since being elected to the position in 2019.
In his construction litigation practice, Matt represents industry leaders in the commercial, industrial, and oil and gas sectors, advising contractors, subcontractors, and owners in all types of construction related disputes, including cases involving scheduling, delay, and loss of productivity claims, payment disputes, liens, performance and payment bonds, construction defects, bid contests, insurance coverage, and indemnity, among other issues that arise in construction and EPC contracts. With extensive experience in the courtroom and in arbitration, including international arbitration, Matt has litigated disputes involving pipeline construction and other midstream oil and gas operations; commercial and retail construction, including hospital, hotel, apartment, and condominium projects; and public projects at the federal, state, and local levels involving dredging, highways, airports, wastewater facilities, military bases, universities, and schools. Matt also drafts, reviews, and negotiates construction contracts for his clients.
As a commercial litigator, Matt has represented clients in a wide range of business disputes in the real estate, securities, energy, utilities, and healthcare sectors. He routinely handles complex commercial litigation matters involving commercial contracts, leases, debtor/creditor issues, and other matters integral to business operations. Matt has also represented clients in personal injury matters, multi-party litigation, multijurisdictional disputes, and class actions.
Matt also frequently assists clients in proactively avoiding litigation, often through early involvement in the negotiation and performance of construction and commercial contracts, strategic risk assessment, and alternative dispute resolution. Matt is a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin and earned his law degree from Louisiana State University, where he served on the Trial Advocacy Board.
Matt is a proud husband and father who enjoys coaching his kid’s baseball and softball teams and spending time with his family in the woods and on the golf course.
Education
- Louisiana State University – J.D., 2009
– Trial Advocacy Board - University of Texas at Austin – B.A., 2006
Recognitions & Distinctions
- Recognized as a “Texas Rising Star” in Construction Litigation in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 by Thomson Reuters
Representative Experience
- Obtained an eight-figure award for a pipeline contractor and fully defeated the owner’s eight-figure counterclaim in an ICC arbitration involving the construction of a pipeline and associated facilities.
- Obtained favorable defense award after three-week arbitration hearing on behalf of ENR Top 10 general contractor client against claims of over $37,000,000 brought by subcontractor and four pass-through sub-subcontractors. Case involved one of the largest commercial projects ever built in the City of Houston, and the largest healthcare tower project built to date in the Texas Medical Center, with construction costs that exceeded $500,000,000. After 28 witnesses and nearly 4,000 trial exhibits and demonstratives, claimants recovered nothing on loss of productivity and delay claims associated with alleged mismanagement, abuse, and intentional interference, and were denied request for over $6,800,000 in attorney’s fees and costs.
- Represented a general contractor in an arbitration proceeding involving a defaulted subcontractor and schedule delays. Following a five-day hearing, our client was awarded all supplementation cost incurred in connection with the defaulting subcontractor’s performance, as well as interest and attorney’s fees, and the defaulting subcontractor’s multi-million dollar counterclaim was denied in its entirety.
- Successfully defended a Houston-based construction company in an arbitration proceeding initiated by a property owner who sought over $2.6 million for alleged construction defects and construction delays. Following a three-day hearing, the owner was awarded nothing, and our client received a sizeable award for wrongfully rejected invoices and change orders.
- Obtained an eight-figure recovery for a dredging contractor in a matter involving differing site-conditions.
- Represented a mechanical subcontractor in a hotly contested adversary bankruptcy proceeding involving lien priority and perfection issues for work performed on a $160 million cryogenic gas processing facility, resulting in a multi-million dollar recovery for client.
- Absolved a heavy marine construction contractor of liability in high stakes litigation involving near-fatal injuries resulting from a pipeline pressure explosion and damages claimed in excess of $35 million.
- Secured a total defense victory for client following an arbitration hearing where the plaintiffs alleged gross negligence and sought damages of more than $1 million.
- Successfully defended a commercial property owner at trial against a general contractor’s breach of contract and lien foreclosure claims.
- Successfully defended a federal court lawsuit that alleged compensatory and exemplary damages in excess of $100 million. Following motion practice, the court dismissed the claims against client in their entirety.
Memberships & Affiliations
- State Bar of Texas, Construction Law Section
- Houston Bar Association: Construction Law Section, Secretary/Treasurer (2023-2024); Council Member (2019-2024)
- Louisiana Bar Association
- Texas Bar College
Admissions
- State Bar of Texas
- State Bar of Louisiana
- United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- United States District Court: Eastern & Southern Districts of Texas
- United States District Court: Eastern, Middle & Western Districts of Louisiana
- United States Bankruptcy Court: Southern District of Texas & Western District of Louisiana