Pastrana v. Bestrenewedoil
- Summarized by Craig Geno , Law Offices of Craig M Geno, PLLC
- 1 month 1 week ago
- Case Type:
- Business
- Case Status:
- Affirmed
- Citation:
- 25-20021 (5th Circuit, Jan 09,2026) Published
- Tag(s):
-
- Ruling:
- (1) Applying Texas law, the 5th Circuit ruled that Appellees' claims were timely and the statute of limitations began to run when the fraud was discovered;
(2)Merger and waiver clauses in investment documents did not waive the right to sue for fraud when the Appellees later discovered that the representations they relied upon before signing the investment documents were fraudulent. The disclaimer/waiver provisions were not capable of disclaiming reliance on fraudulent documents;
(3)Appellees justifiably relied on the fraudulent representations and inducements;
(4)Damage award upheld.
- Procedural context:
- The trial Court was the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas which ruled for the Plaintiffs/Appellees. That decision was appealed to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas which affirmed the trial court's decision. The District Court decision was then appealed to the Fifth Circuit.
- Facts:
- The facts are voluminous and stretch over many years. In brief, Defendants/Appellants induced Plaintiffs/Appelles to invest in oil and gas schemes through the use of "dubious", "simply made up" and "without merit" fraudulent representations and projections in investment documents upon which Plaintiffs \Appellees relied in making their investments and investment decisions. At trial, compensatory and exemplary damages were awarded.
- Judge(s):
- Richman, Higginson and Oldham
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