Melissa Davis Andrews

Melissa Davis Andrews is a litigation attorney in Holland & Knight's Austin office, where she focuses her practice on civil appeals. Ms. Davis Andrews has represented clients in the U.S. Supreme Court, the Supreme Court of Texas and federal and state courts of appeals and trial courts across the county.

Ms. Davis Andrews is Board Certified in Civil Appellate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. She focuses her practice on appellate briefing and oral argument, strategic dispositive motions, expert challenges, preservation of error and jury charges. Her areas of experience include federal preemption, expert evidence, shareholder litigation, partnership disputes and oil and gas litigation. She has particular insight into judicial decision-making due to her experience working as an attorney for the Supreme Court of Texas and the First Court of Appeals in Houston, as well as a clerkship with the Supreme Court of Texas.

Representative Experience

• Prevailed for manufacturing clients on competitors' False Claims Act (FCA) claims against them for more than $100 million in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
• Obtained a tax-exemption victory for Texas electricity provider on an issue of first impression in the Supreme Court of Texas
• Represented amici in briefing in support of prevailing party in two federal preemption cases decided by U.S. Supreme Court
• Successfully opposed certiorari from the U.S. Supreme Court, preserving a defense victory for a railroad client in a multibillion-dollar class action lawsuit
• Represented Texas Oil and Gas Association in amicus briefing before the Supreme Court of Texas in case requiring interpretation of critical and customary oil and gas lease language
• Prevailed in a multimillion-dollar partnership dispute on a client's derivative claims and defeated opposing party's dissolution claims
• Prevailed on statutory construction issue of first impression before the Supreme Court of Texas and obtained recovery of attorney's fees for a client
• Repeatedly prevailed on appeal in a shareholder class action lawsuit, obtaining multiple reversals of orders certifying a class and subsequently obtaining affirmance of order denying class certification
• Prevailed in a high-profile oil and gas case establishing Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals precedent on floating and fixed royalty interests
• Prevailed in an FCA lawsuit for a medical device manufacturer client in U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
• Prevailed on appeal, obtaining reversal of trial court judgment and rendering of judgment in favor of a large retail client in a land dispute in Houston
• Obtained mandamus relief from Texas court of appeals directing trial court to abate litigation in a partnership dispute
• Prevailed in a Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals oil and gas case favorably construing Surface Use Agreement
• Obtained dismissal on appeal of partnership litigation for a hospital client in Austin
• Successfully represented a manufacturer client in wide variety of personal jurisdiction disputes
• Obtained a Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals opinion overturning a summary judgment based on qualified immunity in Section 1983 litigation
• Obtained and upheld on appeal summary judgment in favor of a manufacturer client in product liability lawsuit after successfully excluding all of the plaintiff's proffered experts