Lake Jackson Council engages Porter Hedges LLP for construction dispute litigation

The City of Lake Jackson authorized outside counsel Porter Hedges LLP to represent the city in litigation identified in the meeting record as cause number 192626 CV, Mainline Industries v. City of Lake Jackson.

Council took the action after staff recommended Porter Hedges following a search for a specialized construction litigation firm. A motion to engage the firm was made and seconded and approved by voice vote.

City officials noted during discussion that Porter Hedges is a Houston-based litigation firm with a construction-contracts practice. City staff said the firm has begun work, has held meetings with city personnel, and will bill monthly. Council discussed the hourly rate and was told in the meeting that a senior attorney’s rate would be billed and some work would be performed by less-expensive staff attorneys; the transcript records the quoted rate as “$6.40,” which appears to be a transcription error — the meeting did not provide a verifiable hourly-rate figure in cents/dollars format. Staff said the firm has already started reviewing provided materials.

Councilman Bridal moved to engage Porter Hedges; the motion was seconded and carried on a voice vote.

Why it matters: hiring specialized outside counsel sets the city’s legal strategy and budget exposure for a pending construction-related lawsuit. Monthly invoices and possible recovery of attorneys’ fees were discussed but not finalized.

What council discussed: members asked about the firm’s experience, billing cadence and whether the city could seek attorneys’ fees if the city prevailed. Staff replied that fees could be requested if favorable outcomes occur and that invoices would be monthly.

Next steps: city staff will finalize a professional-services engagement with Porter Hedges and proceed with litigation-related tasks. Specific contract terms were not read into the record during the meeting and should be confirmed in the executed engagement letter.