Practice Areas: Aviation & Aerospace, Products Liability, Business Litigation; view more
Licensed in Texas since: 1998
Education: Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law
Selected to Super Lawyers: 2015 - 2024 
Selected to Rising Stars: 2005, 2007 - 2013 Details
Ross Cunningham is a founding partner of Cunningham Swaim, LLP, located in Dallas, Texas. He focuses his civil litigation practice on a variety of matters, including aviation and aerospace law, personal injury cases and business disputes. Some of these matters involve aircraft disasters, the defense of products liability claims, construction defects, catastrophic personal injuries and commercial disputes that involve breach of contract, fiduciary duty and fraud as well as patent infringement and misappropriation of trade secrets.
As an undergraduate, Mr. Cunningham received his Bachelor of Arts in economics from Southern Methodist University in 1995. He then pursued his legal education at Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, from where he graduated in 1998 with his Juris Doctor.
Mr. Cunningham's representative clients include several Fortune 500 companies. This year alone he won a multi-million dollar verdict for his client, PHI, Inc., against Apical Industries for a product defect that resulted in the total loss of a helicopter. He has also won numerous cases on his clients' behalf, including a defense verdict for AIG Aviation Insurance Services, Inc., in a case in which the plaintiffs were seeking in excess of $48 million in damages. On the plaintiff's side in a patent infringement case against a Fortune 500 company, Mr. Cunningham won a $17.0 million judgment for his client that ranked in the top 50 in the nation according to the National Law Journal. He has additionally won numerous outright dismissals in defense matters and huge settlements for plaintiff matters.
Highly regarded by his fellow professionals, Mr. Cunningham has received a "Superb" peer review rating through Avvo, and an AV-5.0 rating through Martindale Hubble. In addition, Chambers USA has recognized him as one of the "Leaders in their Field" for his work in general commercial litigation. Admitted to practice in Texas, Mr. Cunningham is also admitted to practice before the U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Southern, Western and Eastern Districts of Texas and the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the 5th and Federal Circuits.
Practice areas
Aviation and Aerospace, Personal Injury - Products: Defense, Business LitigationFocus areas
Aviation, Trade Secret
- 50% Aviation and Aerospace
- 30% Personal Injury - Products: Defense
- 20% Business Litigation
First Admitted: 1998, Texas
Professional Webpage: https://www.cunninghamswaim.com/Attorneys/Ross-Cunningham.sh...
- Louisiana Association for Justice
- U.S. District Courts for the Northern District of Texas
- U.S. District Courts for the Western District of Texas
- U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals
- Dallas Young Lawyers Association
- All Courts in the State of Texas
- U.S. District Courts for the Eastern District of Texas
- U.S. District Courts in Indiana
- Dallas Bar Association
- Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce
- U.S. District Courts for the Southern District of Texas
- U.S. District Courts in Louisiana
- 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
- State Bar of Texas
- Obtained multi-million dollar award against major aviation engine manufacturer in private arbitration., 2018
- Representation of an individual inventor against a major oil company involving multimillion-dollar dispute concerning patent infringement and misappropriation of trade secrets
- National trial counsel for an international air taxi and aeromedical helicopter operator
- Obtained a $1.3 million verdict following a two-week trial in a breach-of-contract, fraud and unjust enrichment on behalf of furniture liquidator against one of the nation’s largest furniture manufacturers
- Obtained a complete defense verdict representing national manufacturer in two-week trial in state court in McAllen, Texas
- Obtained a $17,600,000 judgment for an individual inventor against a Fortune 500 company for patent infringment going back 15 years., 2015
- Successful settlement of plaintiff’s antitrust case for Fortune 200 defense contractor against a Fortune 100 defense contractor
- Representation of a national product manufacturer in a trial involving a breach-of-contract dispute
- Prosecution of covenants not to compete and misappropriation of proprietary information for national insurance company
- Representation of Fortune 200 defense contractor in a four-week trial in defense of trade secret misappropriation claim. $38,000,000 verdict in favor of the opponent overturned via motion for new trial based on post-trial discovery of opponent’s failure to produce documents
- RepresentationofDentonCounty,Texas,inamulti-weektrialconcerningtheproperlocationof150-year-old county line
- Obtained a complete defense verdict in less than 45 minutes on a double wrongful death case arising out of a plane crash where plaintiffs' counsel requested in excess of $48,000,000 in damages from the jury., 2015
- Obtained a $7.3 million verdict following a three-week trial in a breach-of-contract, fraud and tortious interference case on behalf of a casual game developer and publisher
- Obtained a judgment in excess of $4,000,000 after a two-week trial for an air charter helicopter operator against a major aircraft manufacturer involving a novel and complex product-liability theory
- Representation of a national insurance company involving a dispute with one of its managing general agents over a multimillion-dollar breach-of-contract dispute
- Obtained a defense verdict in the representation of an airport services company in a multi-week trial involving a catastrophic personal injury accident at DFW airport
- Obtained a complete defense verdict in less than 45 minutes for AIG Aviation Insurance Services, Inc. following a two-week trial in a double wrongful death case arising out of an fatal airplane crash in February 2012. Plaintiffs were seeking in excess of $48 million in damages
- Obtained a $5.9 million verdict against Fortune 500 company for trade dress and trademark infringement, including finding of “willful” infringement
- Obtained a $2,180,000 verdict for a major helicopter operator against a float system manufacturer in federal court in Lafayette, Louisiana for a case involving the total loss of a Bell 407 helicopter after the emergency float system failed due to a product defect., 2017
- Successful settlement for another Fortune 200 defense contractor in patent infringement suit against major competitor
- PHI, Inc., 2018
- Apple, Inc., 2018
- Arrow Aviation, 2018
- Liberty Helicopters, 2018
- Continental Motors, Inc.
- Alcoa, Inc.
- AIG Aviation Insurance Services, Inc.
- John Bean Technology Corp., 2017
- W. R. Berkley Aviation
- Raytheon Company
- Westwind Helicopters, Inc.
- Piper Aircraft, Inc.
- PlaneSmart, Inc.!
- Bell Helicopter Textron, Inc.
- Five Sigma Lighting Group
- Clearline Corporation
- Bodycote Thermal Processing, Inc.
- Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty
- Prime Turbines, Inc., 2017
- Ensco
- Celanese Corporation
- Gore Design Completions
- Austin Industries, Inc.
- Teledyne, Inc.
- World Fuel Services Corporation
- CV Starr Adjustment Services, Inc.
- Classic Aviation, 2017
- Energy XXI
- L-3 Communications
- Med-Trans Helicopters
- Spirit Airlines
- Western Healthcare, LLC
- Selected to the Chambers USA list of Outstanding Trial Lawyers, 2010-2013
- Nominated, D Magazine’s Top Lawyers Under 40
- Named as “Leaders in Their Field” in the 2013 edition of Chambers USA directory for work in general commercial litigation
- Named to the list of “Rising Stars” as developed by Super Lawyers and published in Texas Monthly magazine, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
- Southern Methodist University, B.A., 1995
- Panel discussion on unique aspects of helicopter litigation., Speaker, The Many Moving Parts of Helicopter Litigation, ABA Tort Trial & Insurance Practice, 2018
- Speaker, Vessel Status - You know it when you see it, Louisiana Bar Association's Annual Admiralty Conference, 2013
- Aviation Insurance Association
- Chambers USA
- Dallas Bar Association
- Helicopter Association International
Selections
- Super Lawyers: 2015 - 2024
- Rising Stars: 2005, 2007 - 2013
