Holli V. Pryor-Baze
Ms. Pryor-Baze joins Skelton Slusher Barnhill Watkins Wells with a focus on commercial and personal injury litigation and appeals. She has extensive experience in commercial, oil and gas, personal injury, bankruptcy, software, and health care litigation in federal and state courts and arbitrations. Representing both plaintiffs and defendants, she has handled claims for wrongful death, catastrophic accidents, anti-trust, multi-plaintiff environmental contamination, and product liability actions. She has secured multimillion dollar verdicts and defended against significant damages claims. She represents clients in Houston and throughout East Texas.
Ms. Pryor-Baze is licensed in state courts of Texas and the Eastern, Western, and Southern Districts for the United States District Courts of Texas. She has tried cases throughout the United States, has briefed appeals in multiple appellate courts for the State of Texas, and argued appeals in the United States Third and Fifth Circuits. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Pryor-Baze previously worked for national law firms in Houston and for an international oil and gas company in Houston, advising on personal injury dockets and the chemicals division.
Areas Of Practice
- Business and Commercial Litigation
- Healthcare
- Bankruptcy Litigation
- Software
- Environmental Compliance Litigation
- Contract Disputes
- Personal Injury
- Appeals
- Public Board Governance
Bar Admissions
- Texas
- U.S. District Court Eastern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court Southern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court Western District of Texas
Education
- University of Houston Law Center, Houston, Texas
- J.D. – 1999
- Honors: cum laude
- Law Review: Houston Law Review, Articles Editor
- Austin College
- B.A. – 1994
- Honors: cum laude
- Major: History / Political Science
Representative Cases
- Defeated insurer’s summary judgment based on pollution exclusion for insured sand mine. Atain Specialty Ins. Co. v. Triple PG Sand Dev., 4:21-cv-02122 (S.D. Tex. Mar. 1, 2023); Atain Specialty Ins. Co. v. Triple PG Sand Dev., LLC, No. 4:21-CV-02122, 2023 WL 4878902 (S.D. Tex. Mar. 22, 2023), motion to certify appeal denied, No. 4:21-CV-02122, 2023 WL 4878905 (S.D. Tex. Apr. 24, 2023).
- Successfully represented an international oil and gas exploration and production company in a confidential arbitration arising from the breach of a gas gathering and processing agreement.
- Obtained a significant arbitration award for a client in a confidential ICC construction arbitration involving the construction of liquefied petroleum gas (power plants in the Virgin Islands. Contractor asserted numerous delay-based claims and our client asserted numerous counterclaims for breach of contract.
- Obtained a jury verdict for $29.8 million for Lufkin Industries, an oil and gas services company, against defendant International Business Machines Corporation for fraudulent inducement, fraud, negligent misrepresentation and breach of contract in a software implementation case. IBM v. Lufkin, 564 S.W.3d 15 (Tex. App. – Tyler 2017); reversed Int’l Bus. Machines Corp. v. Lufkin Indus., LLC, 573 S.W.3d 224 (Tex. 2019), reh’g denied (May 31, 2019)).
- Obtained a jury verdict for $39 million for Jewelry Television in a fraud claim arising from failed business software. Am.’s Collectibles Network, Inc. v. Sterling Commerce (Am.), Inc., Case No. 3:09-cv-143 (E.D. Tenn. May. 6, 2019), affirmed Am.’s Collectibles Network, Inc. v. Sterling Commerce (Am.), Inc., No. 19-5625 (6th Cir. Jul. 24, 2020)).
- Venequip v. Mustang Mach. Co., No. 22-20520 (5th Cir. Aug. 7, 2023) (affirming 21-MC-2391 (S.D. Tex. Aug. 30, 2022).
- Pisharodi v. Columbia Valley Healthcare Sys., 622 S.W.3d 74 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi 2020, no pet.).
- Columbia Valley Healthcare Sys., L.P. v. Pisharodi, No. 13-16-00613-CV, 2017 WL 4416334 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi Oct. 5, 2017, no pet.).
- Rawson v. Oxea, 557 S.W.3d 17 (Tex. App. – Houston).
Publications and Speaking Events
Professional Associations and Memberships
- Texas Bar Association, Member
- Federal Bar Association, Member
- Texas Bar Foundation, Member
- Houston Law Review Board of Directors, Member