Travis S. Crabtree
Member
1300 Post Oak Blvd. Suite 2000
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Travis Crabtree brings a unique perspective to his internet marketing, online media and commercial litigation practice. Travis graduated from the University of Missouri School of Journalism and spent several years in television news before taking on a law career. Travis explores the emerging legal issues and trends for internet marketing and online media on his blog, eMediaLaw.com , which you can visit by clicking here . In addition, Travis represents plaintiffs and defendants in complex business matters including cases involving defamation, open records issues, antitrust, RICO, the False Claims Act, shareholder derivatives, minority shareholder oppression, corporate officer/director fiduciary cases, partnership disputes, trade secrets, the DTPA, the UCC, employment and class actions in both state and federal court. He provides advice and counsel to clients at all stages of conflict from avoiding disputes, to alternative dispute resolution, trials and appeals.
Area of Practice
Recent News
Representative Experience
Assist clients in obtaining domain names that rightfully belong to them through negotiations, purchase or arbitration claims.
Successfully prevented competitor from using client's trademarked name as part of a Google AdWords marketing program.
Advises companies in all industries of the new legal challenges presented by doing business online.
Representation of online marketing companies related to the law's interplay with always evolving emerging media and internet trends.
Successfully obtained several Freedom of Information rulings from the Texas Attorney's General to help clients obtain records from various school districts and other public entities.
Successfully defended individuals and entities sued for defamation obtaining dismissals before trial.
First-chaired a successful six-day jury trial for a minority partner expelled from a real estate development partnership. The jury awarded the client 35 times the amount originally offered by the partnership for the minority partner's proportionate interest of the partnership's assets.
Brought a shareholder derivative and shareholder oppression action that ultimately forced the seven-figure purchase of the minority shareholder's stock in a prominent software development company on grounds including misuse of corporate assets, usurpation of corporate opportunities for the personal benefit of the majority shareholder and mismanagement of the company.
Serves as counsel on the national Insurance Brokerage Anti-Trust MDL that has netted more than $150,000,000 in settlements for claimants nationwide.
Second-chaired a five-day jury trial for an electronic supply company collecting the entire amount owed, plus interest and all attorney's fees while defeating the defendant's DTPA counterclaim for $750,000.
As lead counsel, obtained a summary judgment for a family-owned company and its owners sued by a former investor in a related transaction dismissing all of the plaintiff's claims four months after the case was filed.
First-chaired the successful defense of a chemical trading company sued for the alleged deficiencies in the shipment of benzene in an international arbitration proceeding.
Successfully obtained tax rebates on behalf of owners of business and commercial aircrafts because the taxing districts failed to provide sufficient interstate allocation as required by the Texas Tax Code and the United States Constitution. These matters required first-chair representation at various Appraisal Review Board proceedings, bench trials at the district court level and arguments to the courts of appeal throughout the State of Texas.
As lead counsel for a civic club, obtained a final summary judgment resulting in the permanent injunction against various salvage yard operators prohibiting them from operating their businesses too close to churches, schools and homes in violation of the Texas Transportation Code. While advocating the client 's interest at the courthouse, Mr. Crabtree also assisted the client in its effort to work with local state representatives to strengthen legislative enforcement procedures.
Successfully obtained temporary restraining orders and temporary injunctions as lead counsel to enforce non-competition agreements against former employees and agents.
Successful representation as counsel of beneficiaries of a trust to prevent the trustees from diluting the trust estate of real property that resulted in the return of the real estate to the trust.
Obtained a summary judgment as lone counsel in a sexual harassment, assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress claim against corporate officer.
Successful defense of doctors, engineers and other professionals resulting in their dismissal prior to trial.
Prosecution of several False Claims Act claims with Jim Reed against companies bilking the federal treasury of millions of dollars by presenting false claims for payment to the Federal Government.
Professional Activities, Memberships & Affiliations
U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas, Eastern District of Texas.
The Fifth Circuit of Appeals.
The United State Supreme Court.
State Bar of Texas; Houston Bar Association-Litigation Section.
Radio Television News Director Association, Society of Professional Journalists; Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas.
Past - President of the University of Missouri Bayou City Tigers Alumni Association
Publications & Speeches
Legal Columnist for the quarterly publication on search engine marketing Visibility Magazine
Frequent Contributor to KRLD's Beyond the Headlines and Nightly News Roundup with Scott Braddock; KTRH NewsRadio 740
Co-Author, "Privacy Rights of Employees in an Electronic World," The Advocate, Vol. 56, Fall 2011
Panelist, This Week in Law, Episode 128 , September 9, 2011
Author, "Buying Another Lawyer's Name to Trigger Search Engine Ads - Illegal or Unethical ," BNA Insights , The Bureau of National Affairs, September 2011
Presenter, Online Defamation and Investigations, Texas Gulf Coast Chapter High Technology Crime Association, August 12, 2011
Moderator, Business Start Up and Going to the Next Level Webinar, May 2011
Author, "Take Action Now to Prevent Your Website Being Associated with a Porn Site ," April 2011
Do Not Track & Search Marketing, SMX West, March 2011, San Jose, California
Author, "FTC's net neutrality rules fix problems that don't exist ," The Houston Business Journal , January 14, 2011
Presenter, Representing Artists and Athletes in a Web 2.0 World, Houston Bar Association Sports and Entertainment Law Section, January 2011
Chairman, author and presenter, Social Media and the Law Seminar with faculty members from the Federal Trade Commission, Coca-Cola, Hewlett-Packard and others, October 2010
Author and Presenter, "Create It So It Gets Past Legal" The Houston Interactive Marketing Association, Interactive Strategies 2010 Conference, September 2010
Presenter, "Social Media and Your Company: Looking Out and Looking In" LRM Brown Bag Webinar Series, August 2010
Presenter, "Getting to the Tipping Point: Marketing Collaborative Practice Through Social Media and the Internet - The Who, What, Why, How, and What Not to Do" HBA Collaborative Law Section Meeting, March 2010
Author, "Don't Let Abuses Stifle Innovation on the Web" The Houston Chronicle , OpEd B10, October 4, 2009
Author, "Protecting Your Reputation Online, Sue or SEM? " SES Magazine , May 2009
Author, "Do Courts Understand Search Engine Marketing? ", SES Magazine , March 2009
Presenter, The Ethics of Lawyers on the Internet , Houston Bar Association, March 2009; South Texas College of Law, October 2009
Panelist, "Legally Speaking: Recent Legal News About Search," SMX West San Jose, Ca, February 2009
Presenter, Online Legal Issues for Small Businesses , Galleria Area Chamber of Commerce, August 2008
Quoted, "Like a good neighbor, cyber insurance is here" LAWYERS USA, April 21, 2008
Quoted, "Staying safe in the blogosphere takes effort and foresight," THE HOUSTON BUSINESS JOURNAL BUSINESS SURVIVAL GUIDE, April 18, 2004
Co-Author, Voir Dire , The University of Houston Law Foundation CLE, February 2008.
Author, Cyber Insurance Can Eliminate Insecurities about IT Protections , THE HOUSTON BUSINESS JOURNAL BUSINESS, February 1, 2008.
Author and Presenter, Legal Landmines in an Online World: What You Don't Know Could Hurt You , October 23, 2007.
Co-Author and Presenter, Which Ones Do You Want on the Jury and Which Ones Do You Strike-Ideas for Organizing the Educated Guesses that Determine Your Peremptory Challenges , State Bar of Texas CLE-The Jury Trial 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.
Author, Can a Houston firm be sued in Hoboken over its Texas Web Site? THE HOUSTON BUSINESS JOURNAL BUSINESS SURVIVAL GUIDE, April 14, 2006.
Author, Southworth v. Grebe: The Inquisition of the First Amendment, 34 Hou. L. Rev. 1093 (1999).
Education
1995 - B.J., University of Missouri at Columbia
2000 - J.D., University of Houston Law Center, Cum Laude, Order of the Barons, Order of the Coif, Houston Law Review - Associate Editor
Honors
