Rex Manning

U.S. Supreme Court

Rudisill v. McDonough (S. Ct.). Counsel for amicus the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States in support of Petitioner in veterans-benefits case involving interplay between the Montgomery GI Bill and the Post-9/11 GI Bill for veterans with separate and distinct periods of service. Court ruled 7-2 in Petition’s favor.

Mountain Valley Pipeline v. the Wilderness Society (S. Ct.). Counsel for amicus EQT Corporation in support of emergency application to vacate stay pending appeal of completion of natural-gas pipeline necessary to increase the reliability of natural-gas supplies and to facilitate the transition away from less-efficient energy sources. Vacatur secured.

U.S. Courts of Appeals

In re: Whittaker Clark & Daniels (3d Cir.). Counsel to Whittaker Clark & Daniels securing 3-0 affirmance of denial of motion to dismiss bankruptcy proceedings over claim that only out-of-state receiver, not company’s board of directors, could authorize its Chapter 11 petition.

Williams v. BP Exploration & Production, Inc., (5th Cir.). Counsel to BP securing 3-0 affirmance of summary judgment and exclusion of causation experts in toxic-tort lawsuit.

Ruffin v. BP Exploration & Production, Inc., (5th Cir.). Counsel to BP securing 3-0 affirmance of summary judgment and exclusion of causation expert in toxic-tort lawsuit.

Wunstell v. BP Exploration & Production, Inc., (5th Cir.). Counsel to BP securing 3-0 affirmance of summary judgment and exclusion of causation expert in toxic-tort lawsuit.

Smith v. BP Exploration & Production, Inc., (5th Cir.). Counsel to BP securing 3-0 affirmance of summary judgment in toxic-tort lawsuit following plaintiff’s failure to designate causation experts.

Yang v. Nobilis Health (5th Cir.). Counsel to former Nobilis executives securing 3-0 affirmance of dismissal of securities-fraud claims for failure to plead scienter.*

Polyflow v. Specialty RTP (5th Cir.). Counsel to Polyflow securing 3-0 reversal requiring arbitration of all claims against competitor for breach of settlement agreement and related torts.

The Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam v. Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (5th Cir.). Counsel to Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam securing 3-0 affirmance of summary judgment in trademark-infringement lawsuit after finding of no secondary meaning of asserted, unregistered trademarks.*

Korean Claimants v. Claimants’ Advisory Committee (6th Cir.). Counsel to finance committee securing 3-0 affirmance of rejection of attempt by certain creditors to secure double recovery from Chapter 11 settlement facility.*

District, Bankruptcy and State Courts

Palanki v. 3M (N.D. Fla.). Trial counsel to 3M obtaining complete defense verdict following two-week bellwether jury trial in historic multidistrict litigation concerning the Combat Arms Earplug.

Petty Business Enterprises v. Chesapeake Exploration (S.D. Tex. Bankr.). Trial counsel to group of mineral interest owners securing favorable summary-judgment rulings and settlement following two-week bench trial in royalty dispute with large oil-and-gas operator and its non-operating working-interest owners.*

Protopapas v. Whittaker, Clark & Daniels (D. N.J.). Counsel to Whittaker Clark & Daniels in bankruptcy appeal securing affirmance of denial of motion to dismiss bankruptcy proceedings over claim that only out-of-state receiver, not company’s board of directors, could authorize its Chapter 11 petition.

TI, Limited v. Chavez (S.D. Cal.). Counsel to defendant Alianza Marcas e Imagen securing dismissal for lack of personal jurisdiction in breach-of-contract and computer-crimes dispute involving travel-portal software.*

HControl Holdings LLC et al. v. Antin Infrastructure Partners (Del. Ch.). Counsel to Antin securing complete defense victory following bench trial in dispute over termination of merger agreement after seller’s refusal to satisfy closing conditions.

Lendlease Americas v. Thor Parent Holdings (Del. Ch.). Counsel to defendant Ranger Acquisition Sub securing denial of preliminary injunction request in third party’s attempt to stop sale of cellular-tower portfolio by claiming consent right over deal.

Reynolds v. Quantlab Trading Partners (Tex. 152nd Dist. Ct.—Harris County). Counsel to Quantlab securing summary judgment and six-figure sanctions award in fraud case seeking over $1 billion in damages.*

*Prior to joining Kirkland

Associate, Smyser Kaplan & Veselka

Associate, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

Prior to clerking, Rex founded a partnership with the University of Michigan Law School's Federal Appellate Litigation Clinic in which attorneys took over appeals when the Clinic's caseload exceeded what students could handle. In the process, Rex briefed an en banc petition and a cert petition in separate federal criminal appeals.

Since joining Kirkland, Rex has developed an active pro bono practice that includes representing habeas petitioners in state and federal proceedings and authoring amicus briefs in key cases at the U.S. Supreme Court.