Misty A. Farris
Attorney Profile
Top Rated Appellate Attorney in Dallas, TX
Selected to Rising Stars: 2004
Misty A. Farris is a partner with Fears Nachawati in Dallas, Texas. Widely regarded for her exceptional brief writing and appellate skills, Ms. Farris has become an indispensable member of the firm's team, and she is heavily involved with pharmaceutical and medical device litigation as well as with public client litigation, where she has represented various government entities with their matters involving environmental contamination and issues arising out of the recent opioid crisis. In addition, Ms. Farris handles appellate matters for attorneys outside the firm on a wide variety of issues.
Through her litigation practice, Ms. Farris has served on several trial teams focused on handling litigation for dangerous and defective medical devices and medications. She has served as counsel in multijurisdictional litigation involving Cook IVC Filters, and she helped secure the first-ever design defect verdict against the filter's manufacturer. She was also a member of the team of attorneys that received the Trial Lawyers of the Year award from Public Justice in 2006.
A 1988 graduate of the University of Houston, Ms. Farris obtained her Juris Doctor in 1996 from The University of Texas School of Law. She has also earned her Master of Divinity from Southern Methodist University. She has argued successfully before the Eleventh and Third Circuit Courts of Appeals, appellate courts in Texas, Louisiana, and Missouri, and various state and federal trial courts across the country. She authored an amicus brief to the United States Supreme Court supporting the rights of injured workers.
Highly active in her legal community, Ms. Farris is a member of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association, the Dallas Bar Association, the Dallas Women's Bar Association the Pound Institute, and the American Association for Justice, among her other professional affiliations.
- 60%Appellate
- 20%Environmental
- 20%Personal Injury - Products: Plaintiff
Selections
- Super Lawyers: 2004 - 2006
- Rising Stars: 2004
Additional Sources of Information About Misty A. Farris
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About Misty A. Farris
First Admitted: 1996, Texas
Professional Webpage: https://www.fnlawfirm.com/team/misty-farris/
Representative Clients
- Frosch Travel
- Grailey's Wines
- Salum Restaurant
- Numerous Individual Plaintiffs in Personal Injury/Pharmaceutical and Medical Device/Toxic Tort Litigation
- State of New Mexico
- State of Utah
- Johnson County, Texas
- Elllis County, Texas
- Rockwall County, Texas
- City of Albequerque
Educational Background
- University of Houston, BA
- Southern Methodist University, MDiv
Bar/Professional Activity
- U.S. Supreme Court
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas
- The Pound Institute
- American Association for Justice
- Texas Trial Lawyers Association
- Dallas Bar Association
- Dallas Trial Lawyers Association
- Dallas Women's Bar Association
Honors/Awards
- Awarded for battle over TCE contamination in Tucson community near Hughes Aircraft and the Tucson Airport., Trial Lawyer of the Year, Public Justice, 2006
- Top 100 Civil Plaintiff Trial Lawyers, National Trial Lawyers, 2020
- , Top 100 Civil Plaintiff Trial Lawyers, National Trial Lawyers, 2019
Scholarly Lectures/Writings
- Analysis of federal district court decisions finding mandatory bars survive Janus v. AFSCME and predicting future outcomes., Co-Author, Mandatory State Bars Likely to Remain Intact, for Now, Law360, Legal Community, 2020
- Analysis of legal decisions governing causation in toxic tort cases in Texas., Author, Understand Causation" The Heart of the Plaintiff's Toxic Tort Claim, Texas Lawyer, Texas Legal Community, 2015
- Exploration of alternative theories that may be used in environmental litigation., Co-Author, Alternative Theories for Environmental Contamination Cases, Trial, American Association For Justice, 2008
Verdicts/Settlements
- In the Fourteenth District Court of Appeals in Houston, successfully argued on behalf of a seaman’s family that DOHSA did not preclude and maritime law allowed damages for his pain and suffering. Andrews v. John Crane, Inc., No. 14-18-00573-CV, -- S.W.2d --, 2020 WL 3273297, at *1 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] June 18, 2020)., 2020
- In the Iowa Supreme Court, argued on behalf of family of injured worker in a case that clarified application of punitive damages in cases of industry-wide wrongdoing. Kinseth v. Weil-McLain, 913 N.W.2d 55 (Iowa 2018)., 2018
- In the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, argued on behalf of an Alabama woman injured by take-home asbestos exposure and won affirmance of district court ruling recognizing employer’s duty toward family members. Bobo v. Tennessee Valley Auth., 855 F.3d 1294 (11th Cir. 2017)., 2017
- Successfully argued that co-worker who did same work but not generally in the same location provided sufficient evidence of exposure to support mesothelioma verdict. Urbach v. Okonite Co., 514 S.W.3d 653 (Mo. Ct. App. 2017)., 2017
- In the United States Supreme Court, represented Amicus Curiae Public Justice. Court held that mental anguish damages resulting from the fear of developing cancer were recoverable under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act, 45 U.S.C.S. § 51 et seq., by the employees' suffering from asbestosis caused by work-related exposure to asbestos. The employee had to prove, however, that his alleged fear was genuine and serious. Norfolk & W. Ry. Co. v. Ayers, 538 U.S. 135, 123 S. Ct. 1210, 155 L. Ed. 2d 261 (2003)., 2003
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Last Updated: 5/15/2022