A courtroom re-enactment played a crucial role in R. Clive Markland’s successful defense of Exxon Mobil Corp. in a recent trial in which the plaintiffs alleged a sink in the women’s restroom at a company-owned gas station caused an injury.
Markland won the premises liability and negligence suit at a challenging time for oil companies in the court of public opinion. With $4-a-gallon gas prices not uncommon these days, he made sure to ask potential jurors during voir dire about possible biases against Exxon, says Markland, a partner in Houston’s Powers & Frost.
