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Fort Bend County Wins Federal Civil Rights Case Filed by Former County Employee
May 15, 2012

HOUSTON – Fort Bend County won a take-nothing defense judgment in a civil rights lawsuit filed by a former sheriff’s department employee who claimed his First Amendment rights were violated when he was fired in 2010.

The complex commercial litigation and intellectual property law firm AZA, or AZA, won the verdict on behalf of Fort Bend County, continuing the firm’s track record of successfully representing government entities.

AZA attorneys John Zavitsanos and Monica Uddin defended the county against the federal lawsuit filed by William Butera, a former sheriff’s department employee who claimed his First and Fourteenth Amendment rights were violated when he was fired in 2010. Mr. Butera alleged that his termination resulted from his actions as president of the Fort Bend County Deputy Sheriff’s Association, and statements he made in testimony at the Texas Legislature.

“We were hired less than a month before trial, as often happens for us,” says Mr. Zavitsanos, a founding partner in AZA and an honoree in the Texas Super Lawyers list of the state’s Top 100 attorneys for five years running. “The evidence in this case was convincing, and the jury came back in only 90 minutes with a finding in favor of our client, Fort Bend County.”

The Houston federal court case is William Butera v. Fort Bend County, Texas, No. 4:11-CV-887. The final, take-nothing judgment was entered by U.S. District Judge Nancy Atlas.

AZA, or Ahmad, Zavitsanos & Mensing, is a Houston-based law firm that is home to true courtroom lawyers with a formidable track record in complex commercial litigation, including energy, intellectual property, securities fraud, construction and business dispute cases. AZA is one of only 32 firms in the U.S. to be recognized as “awesome opponents” in a nationwide poll of corporate general counsel who were asked to name the law firms they hope their companies never have to face in court. In fact, AZA has been hired on many occasions by the same companies the firm has prevailed against at trial. Read more at https://azalaw.com.

1221 McKinney St, Suite 2500, Houston, TX 77010 | (713) 655-1101
© 2024  Ahmad, Zavitsanos & Mensing All rights reserved.

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1221 McKinney St, Suite 2500
Houston, TX 77010
(713) 655-1101

© 2024 All rights reserved.

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