Carlyle Chapman has extensive experience in counseling and defending employers in labor and employment matters before federal and state courts and agencies, including matters concerning claims related to hiring, compensation, evaluation, promotion, termination, retaliation, harassment, and discrimination under federal law (Title VII of the Civil Rights Act) and state law (Texas Labor Code); wages and hours of employment (Fair Labor Standards Act), disability and disability accommodation (ADA), leaves of absence and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA); layoffs and reductions in force (including the WARN Act); military leave (USERRA), workers’ compensation; workplace safety and/or misconduct; employee privacy, internet/social medial, workplace investigations, drug testing, medical exams and unemployment compensation issues; management and employee training and evaluation, and employment policies and handbooks; unemployment compensation issues and defenses; ERISA claims; and Fair Housing Act claims and “red-lining” claims.
Mr. Chapman also is well-experienced with preparing and enforcing employment agreements regarding compensation and benefits, non-disclosure, non-competition and non-solicitation provisions; as well as litigation of tortious interference, unfair competition, trade secret and confidential information misappropriation claims, and claims for breach of contract, defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law since 1980, Mr. Chapman has over thirty (30) years of trial experience in asserting and defending claims on behalf of his clients. Mr. Chapman is also a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, a trial lawyers’ organization of defense and plaintiff’s lawyers that requires twenty (20) or more trials taken to jury verdict for membership. As a highly experienced trial lawyer, in addition to labor and employment claims, Mr. Chapman has prosecuted or defended a wide variety of litigation claims for his clients, including general casualty and insurance claims, health care claims, claims for injunctive relief, commercial and contract claims, and public law clams involving the rights and interests of governmental entities.
Mr. Chapman also has broad experience in large-claim, serious injury and death claim casualty defense litigation, including insurance defense, healthcare claims defense, product liability defense, the Texas Tort Claims Act cases, and has over thirty (30) years of experience in federal and state courts, as well as federal and state appellate courts.
Mr. Chapman has experience representing the interests of governmental entities, and is well-versed in public law issues, and provides advice, counseling and litigates on behalf of governmental entities in matters impacted by federal and state governmental, municipal and county policies, politics, regulations, ordinances and resolutions.
Education
- J.D., University of Michigan Law School, 1973
- B.A., Government, with honors, Indiana University, 1970
Bar Admissions
Admitted To Practice
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas
Representative Experience
Recent Experience Summaries:
- Tried to jury verdict over thirty (30) cases, and hundreds of non-jury cases and matters before courts, agencies and boards.
- Handled the leading case on apparent agency law in Texas – NationsBank, N.A. v. Dilling, 922 S.W.2d 950 (Tex. 1996).
Judgments Obtained for Clients:
- In race and retaliation claims brought by finance department employee of governmental entity.
- In a national origins and race claim brought by a terminated supervisory employee of healthcare employer.
- In national origin and retaliation claims brought by a terminated employee of a governmental employer.
- In race and retaliation claims brought by an un-promoted employee of an insurance company.
- Worker’s compensation discrimination suit against airline employer non-suited and dismissed after the claimant’s deposition.
- In various worker’s compensation discrimination and unemployment compensation claims, upon showing the lack of meritorious claims.
- In wrongful death claims brought against a governmental entity by the family of a motorist who sustained fatal injuries on the entity’s highway facility.
- In a failure to provide safe premises claim brought by a tenant claiming rape and assault on the property-owners premises.
- In a failure to provide safe premises claim brought by a tenant’s widow claiming wrongful death of the husband on the property-owners premises.
- In a products liability claim for indemnity brought by the product manufacturer against the retailer.
- In a claim for damages brought against a governmental entity by motorist who sustained cervical fractures from a collision of the entity’s highway facility.
- In a breach of contract claim brought a party failing to pay for goods purchased.
Settled Matters for Representative Industries and Interests:
- FLSA collective action claims (class action) on a basis beneficial to the employer, after disqualifying the lead claimants as managerial employees.
- Threatened FLSA collective action claims (class action) upon a showing that other putative claimants were not qualified to assert claims similar to those alleged by the lead claimant.
- National origins suit against airline employer resolved for nominal amount after jury selection.
- Gender preference claims against banking employer resolved for nominal amount following claimant’s deposition.
- Client’s involvement in claimed $60M adversary proceeding in Bankruptcy Court after showing that Trustee’s agency claims were groundless.
- Race and First Amendment violation claims brought against governmental entity-client following trial and limited recovery to a nominal amount and only a portion of claimed attorney fees.
- Pursuit of printing industry client’s non-competition, non-solicitation, misappropriation of trade secret claims, with compensation and injunctive relief rights.
- Numerous Title VII Civil Rights Act claims for race, national origins, sex/gender, religious, retaliation and/or alleged wrongful termination claims in Banking, Governmental Entitles, Education, Transportation and Healthcare Services industries.
- Numerous disability and/or disability accommodation claims under the ADA in Banking, Governmental Entities, Education and Health Services industries.
- Numerous leave from employment and/or termination claims based on alleged FMLA violations in Governmental Entities, Telecommunications, Education industries.
Advice and Counsel:
- Title VII, Civil Rights Act: day-to-day and as needed to resolve and avoid issues presented to employers.
- ADA: advice regarding determination of disability status and/or effecting reasonable disability accommodation.
- FMLA: advice and counsel regarding leave requests, medical documentation, return to work and intermittent leave issues.
- WARN Act advice and counsel: Warehousing, Education, Governmental Entities and Banking Industries.
- OFCCP advice and counseling: Transportation Industry.
- Military leave advice and counseling: Governmental Entities.
Publications & Presentations
- Client Presentation, Union Avoidance: “The Game Is On” (2013)
- Client Presentations, Employment Issues: “How Not to Get Sued in the 21st Century” (2011, 2012)
- Client Presentation, Employment Issues: “How Not to Get Sued in the 21st Century” (2011)
- Speaker, Dallas Bar Association, Labor & Employment Section, Advanced Expert Witness Course II 2003 “Whistle While You Work: The Increasing Scope of Whistle Blower Protections” (An analysis of whistle blower laws, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002) Dallas, Texas (February 2003)
- Speaker, State Bar of Texas, Continuing Legal Education, Advanced Expert Witness Course II 2002 “Distinguishing Facts, Lay and Expert Opinions” Dallas, Texas (February 2002)
- Speaker, State Bar of Texas, Continuing Legal Education, Advanced Evidence and Discovery Course 2001 “Experts and the Hearsay Rule: Where are We Now?” Dallas, Texas (February 2001)
- Speaker, Locke Liddell & Sapp LLP, Labor and Employment Law Update “Title VII/ADEA Update” (August 2000)
- Speaker, State Bar of Texas, Continuing Legal Education, 45th Annual Institute on Labor and Employment Law (October 1998)
- Speaker, State Bar of Texas, Continuing Legal Education, 1998 Labor and Employment Law Update Austin, Texas (April 1998)
- Speaker, Locke Purnell Rain Harrell, Labor and Employment Law Update Seminar for Clients and Interested Professionals, New Orleans, Louisiana (April 1996)
- Speaker, Locke Purnell Rain Harrell, Labor and Employment Law Update Seminar for Clients and Interested Professionals, Dallas, Texas (March 1996)
- Moderator, University of Houston Law Center, Managing the Small Law Firm (September 1994)
- Speaker, Dallas Bar Association, Learning From the Masters – A One-Day Litigation Super Seminar “The Law of Cross Examination” (September 1993)
- Course Director, State Bar of Texas, Professional Development Program, Seventh Annual Advanced Personal Injury Law Course (August 1991)
- Lecturer, State Bar of Texas, Professional Development Program, Persuading the Jury From Voir Dire Through Closing Argument) “Admissions And Exclusions of Evidence” (October 1990)
- Lecturer, State Bar of Texas, Professional Development Program, Advanced Workers Compensation Seminar “Death Benefits” (1990)
- Lecturer, State Bar of Texas, Professional Development Program, Personal Injury and Wrongful Death (In Institute Series) “Dram Shop Liability” (1990)
- Lecturer, State Bar of Texas, Professional Development Program, Advanced Personal Injury Seminar, “Workers Compensation” (1989)
- Lecturer, State Bar of Texas, Professional Development Program, The Ultimate Trial Notebook “Final Argument: Plaintiff’s Perspective” (1989)
- Lecturer, South Texas College of Law Continuing Education, How to Offer and Exclude Evidence “Privileges: How to Get the Information; How to Protect It” (1987)
- Lecturer, University of Houston, Advanced Medical Malpractice Seminar “Evidence Update: Selected Recent Developments” (1988)
- Lecturer, State Bar of Texas, Professional Development Program, Workers Compensation, “Gross Negligence” (1988)
- Lecturer, State Bar of Texas, Professional Development Program, Winning through Preparation: Evidence and Discovery, “How to Offer and Exclude Evidence Under the Texas Rules” (1988)
- Lecturer, State Bar of Texas, Professional Development Program, Workers Compensation “Third Party Actions” (1986)
Professional History
Professional Affiliations & Achievements
- State Bar of Texas (1986 - Present)
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- Member
- Professional Development Program Committee
- Author and Lecturer
- Fellow, Texas Bar Foundation
- Fellow, Dallas Bar Foundation
- Member, Dallas Bar Association Courts Facilities Committee (1992 - 1993)
- Chair, Dallas Bar Association Court House Committee (1992 - 1993)
- Member, Texas Association of Defense Counsel, Inc.
- Master, American Inn of Court
- American Board of Trial Advocates
- National Board Member (2006 - Present)
- Foundation Board Member (2012 – Present)
- Diversity Committee Chairman
- President, Texas Region, American Board of Trial Advocates (2006)
- President, Dallas Chapter, American Board of Trial Advocates (2003)
- Member, American Board of Trial Advocates (1999 - Present)
- Named, Texas Super Lawyer, Texas Monthly Magazine (2002 - 2013)
Community Leadership
- The Hockaday School
- Board of Trustees (1990 - 1998)
- Vice President (1996 - 1998)
- Executive Committee (1996 -1998)
- Chair, Building & Grounds Committee (1994 - 1996)
- Hamilton Park United Methodist Church
- Administrative Board (1992 - 1998)
- Chair, Finance Committee (1995 - 1998)
- Board of Directors, Dallas Black Dance Theatre (2013 – Present)
- Board of Trustees, The Child Care Group (1999 - 2005)
- Board of Directors, African American Museum (1994 - 2010)
- Board of Directors, Jack and Jill of America Foundation (1990 - 1994)
- Board of Directors, The Center for Non-Profit Management, Inc. (1992)
- North Texas Public Broadcasting Corporation
- Board of Directors (1975 - 1986)
- Board of Community Advisors (1986 - 1996)
- Board Member, University of Texas at Dallas Advisory Council (1977 - 1984)
- Board of Counselors, University of Dallas (1993 - 1997)
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Related Practice Areas
Board Certifications
Personal Injury Trial Lawyer, Texas Board of Legal Specialization since 1980
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