Drew York focuses his practice on representing plaintiffs and defendants in class action/mass tort litigation and complex commercial disputes before federal and state courts all over Texas and in many other jurisdictions across the country. He has obtained successful trial verdicts, dismissals and settlements in disputes involving a wide variety of challenging issues, ranging from genetically-modified crops and securities fraud to consumer finance and residential construction liability.
Drew played a major role in two significant cases to the agriculture industry. He currently represents thousands of corn farmers with claims in the Syngenta corn class action arising from the sale of two unapproved genetically-modified corn varieties in major U.S. corn export markets. Drew was a member of the trial team that successfully obtained a $217.7 million verdict for Kansas corn farmers in June 2017. That verdict ranked as the 10th largest in the United States that year. The verdict ultimately led to a nationwide class settlement $1.51 billion settlement with Syngenta that was approved by the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas in December 2018. Drew also played a major role resolving the In re Genetically Modified Rice Litigation multidistrict litigation involving the contamination of U.S. rice supplies with a genetically-modified variety developed by an international chemical and agricultural company. He was a member of the court-appointed legal team that reached a $750 million settlement on behalf of approximately 11,000 rice farmers across five states. Drew was also a member of the trial teams that took three bellwether trials to successful jury verdicts, one of which was ranked as the 42nd largest verdict in 2010 according to Verdict Search.
Clients also count on Drew to resolve many types of complex commercial disputes. He has significant experience in defending financial institutions against consumer actions involving automotive and personal loans and protecting homebuilders against defective construction claims brought by homeowners under the Texas Residential Construction Liability Act. In 2018 alone, Drew represented one lender in three separate arbitrations that went to final hearings. The consumers collectively sought $2.38 million in damages, but recovered only $8.818.66. Drew helps clients resolve disputes involving other issues as well, including breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, title issues and DTPA claims.
Drew is a frequent contributor on the firm’s business law blog, Tilting the Scales, where he provides commentary on trending business issues and how they impact the firm’s clients from a legal perspective.