Michael P. Royal

Selected Matters

Michael’s creativity and dedication have achieved outstanding results for his clients in numerous settings, such as:

Unfair Competition and Trade Secrets

• Non-compete, Tortious Interference. Obtained a dismissal with prejudice of all claims (and an award of attorney’s fees) on behalf of the defendants (an international marketing firm and its senior executive) in a lawsuit alleging the senior executive breached her non-compete and non-solicit agreements, and that the international marketing firm had tortiously interfered with the executives’ post-employment restrictive covenants.
   
• Trade Secrets, Non-compete. Obtained a Final Judgment and Permanent Injunction on behalf of an international manufacturing client against multiple former senior executives (and their new employer), which included expansive relief (e.g., an additional multi-year term of post-injunction non-compete/non-solicitation obligations; a bar on hiring additional employees by the competitor; a return of proprietary information; extensive electronic data source remediation process; etc.).
   
• Non-solicit, Tortious Interference. Obtained a Final Judgment and Permanent Injunction on behalf of a national insurance company against a former sales employee who breached his non-solicit agreement, and his new employer, who had tortiously interfered with employee’s post-employment restrict covenants.
   
• Non-compete, Trade Secrets. Obtained a Final Judgment and Permanent Injunction on behalf of a national home health company against multiple former senior executives who had breached their non-compete, non-solicit and non-disclosure agreements, and their new employer, who had misappropriated the company’s trade secrets.

Wage and Hour

• Fair Labor Standards Act/Class Action. Successful representation of national home health care provider in defense of an alleged failure to pay wages claim in accordance with the Fair Labor Standards Act, asserted on behalf of a former employee and all other similarly situated.
   
• Breach of Contract. Obtained summary judgment on behalf of an international therapeutic medical technology company in a federal court case involving an employee stock option forfeiture agreement.
   
• Gender, Equal Pay. Tried to a defense verdict in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas a suit filed against a subsidiary of a Fortune 100 company involving claims of gender discrimination, sexual harassment and violation of the Equal Pay Act.

International Employment Law

• Global Point of Contact. Michael has many years’ experience serving as a global point of contact for corporations with employment needs in the Americas and Europe. In this capacity, Michael provides strategic employment advice on a regional and global scale, manages multinational human resource initiatives, and connects clients with local counsel to facilitate their needs.
   
• Global Transfers and Mobility. Michael supports employers with their mobile workforces. He assesses his clients’ international transfer guidelines and practices; advises on the best approach to an employee traveling across borders; and drafts and/or updates the documentation necessary for secondments (long term and/or short term), transfers, localizations, and other mobility matters.
   
• Global Expansion and Workforce Restructuring. Michael assists companies with the employment aspects of their expansion internationally and/or their restructuring efforts that cross national boundaries.

Appellate Matters

• Fair Credit Reporting Act. The Fifth Circuit affirmed the dismissal with prejudice of an applicant’s claim against an international banking organization on the basis she had failed to state a claim against the defendant, and alternatively, that all of the plaintiff’s causes of action against the defendant were subject to dismissal with prejudice pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915 because of their frivolous nature.
   
• Disability. The Fifth Circuit affirmed the summary judgment entered on behalf of an international retailer against multiple plaintiffs, who alleged they had been discriminated and/or retaliated against in connection with their purported disabilities resulting from the employer’s alleged “sick building.“
   
• Sex Discrimination, Retaliation. The Fifth Circuit affirmed a summary judgment in favor of a defendant college against a former professor, on the basis she had failed to prove either a prima facie case or pretext.
   
• Age. The Fifth Circuit affirmed the granting of a summary judgment against a former employee of an international retail organization on the basis that the plaintiff had not presented any competent summary judgment evidence to suggest that the employer’s proffered reason was pretext.
   
• ERISA, 42 U.S.C. § 1981. The Fifth Circuit affirmed a summary judgment entered against an individual on behalf of an international charitable organization on the basis that plaintiff did not assert any evidence the organization had discharged, fined, suspended, or expelled her within the meaning of Section 510. Likewise, the Fifth Circuit found insufficient facts to indicate the organization had acted with racial animus and/or that the plaintiff had failed to allege facts supporting a causal connection between her protected activity and the adverse action that followed.
   
• Pre-Arbitration Discovery. In a seminal case, the Supreme Court of Texas held an El Paso trial court abused its discretion by determining pre-arbitration discovery was warranted in a discrimination lawsuit.

Other Matters

• Fair Credit Reporting Act/Class Action. The court granted a judgment on the pleadings and dismissed the plaintiff’s claim, filed on behalf of himself and a putative class of thousands, asserting that the defendants had violated the FCRA’s stand-alone disclosure requirement (citing 15 U.S.C. § 1681b(b)(2)).
   
• Fair Labor Standards Act/Class Action. Successful representation of national home health care provider in defense of an alleged failure to pay wages claim in accordance with the Fair Labor Standards Act, asserted on behalf of a former employee and all other similarly situated.
   
• ERISA retaliation. Obtained a summary judgment against an individual on behalf of an international charitable organization on a plaintiff’s ERISA retaliation claim (Section 510).
   
• Sexual Harassment, Assault, IIED. Tried to a defense verdict in Texas State Court a suit filed against a leading regional retail grocery company involving claims of sexual harassment, assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
   
• Disability, Retaliation, IIED. Tried to a defense verdict in Texas State Court a suit filed against a Fortune 100 company in the fashion industry involving claims of disability discrimination, workers’ compensation retaliation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
   
• Race, IIED. Tried to a defense verdict in Texas State Court a suit filed against a national retail company involving claims of racial discrimination and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
   
• Obtained numerous "no cause" findings for employers in connection with discrimination charges investigated by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, as well as state workforce agencies.
   
• Defended multiple employers in wage and hour audits by the U.S. Department of Labor and similar state agencies involving overtime pay and exemption classification issues.
   
• Conducted multiple internal investigations of sexual harassment, discrimination, retaliation, bullying and other misconduct involving C-Suite executives, senior management and human resources officials.
   
• Represented employers in the labor and employment aspects of business transactions involving equity or asset sales, mergers and reorganizations.
   
• Represented numerous employers and C-Suite executives in the negotiation and preparation of employment, retention, severance and related agreements.