Andrew Mytelka is an accomplished business litigator who oversees much of the firm’s litigation practice and focuses on representing the firm’s clients as both plaintiff and defense counsel in securities fraud and other complex litigation matters.
Originally hailing from New York, Andy has lived in Galveston, Texas for over 35 years. He represents a wide variety of the firm’s clients, including publicly traded entities, institutional investors, insurance companies, banks and other financial institutions, as well as individuals and central appraisal districts. Andy has extensive experience in business and tort law with a particular emphasis on insurance, tax, securities and accounting fraud matters. He has experience with breach of contract issues, lender liability disputes, fraud, civil conspiracy actions, matters arising negligent misrepresentation, and claims regarding tortious interference with business relations. Andy practices in both state and federal courts and is admitted to the Supreme Court of the United States as well as numerous other appellate courts.
Dedicated to the wellbeing and integrity of the greater Galveston community, Andy generously donates his time to, and shares his significant legal and business experience with, many worthy causes. For nearly a decade he was a Trustee of the Kempner Fund, a private foundation using its resources to improve the quality of life in the greater Galveston area. Andy was also involved in the formation of the Offshore Energy Center, a nonprofit created to expand awareness of energy production techniques, support global stewardship, and chronicle the unique heritage of energy communities. A member of the team that helped in the original acquisition of the Ocean Star Rig for the OEC, has also served as the Director of the Center’s Offshore Drilling Rig Museum and Education Center. Andy has also been involved with numerous charitable organizations as a board member and legal counsel and served as President of the Galveston Independent School District for several years.
One of the nation’s top civil litigators, Andy has been recognized as a Best Lawyer in America for Commercial Litigation since 2013 (The Best Lawyers in America© – US News and World Reports).
Education
- Tulane University – J.D., 1985 (Common Law)
- Boston University – L.L.M. in Taxation, 1986 (Journal of Tax Law)
- Grinnell College – B.A., 1982 (Chemistry and History)
Admissions
- Texas
- United States Supreme Court
- United States Court of Appeals
- Fifth and Tenth Circuits
- United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
- United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas
- United States District Court for the Western District of Texas
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
- United States Tax Court
Recognition and/or Publications
- Recognized as a Best Lawyer in America for Commercial Litigation since 2013 (The Best Lawyers in America© – US News and World Reports).
Professional Activities and Memberships
- Galveston County Bar Association
- American Bar Association
- State Bar of Texas
- Fifth Circuit Bar Association
Civic Involvement
- Kempner Fund
- Director – 2012 to 2020
- Galveston Independent School District
- Trustee – 2006 – 2011
- President – 2007 – 2010
- Offshore Drilling Rig Museum
- Director – 2008 to 2014
Representative Cases
- Acted as Co-Counsel in obtaining $567 million jury verdict after multi-month trial on behalf of multiple plaintiffs in accounting fraud litigation against Big Four auditor and various other financial institutions for their roles in creating false financial reporting for publicly traded defendant company.
- Served as Lead Trial Counsel representing various financial institutions in litigation and in a trial alleging accounting fraud against auditors for PharMor, Inc. Prior to closing, defendants paid 100% of actual damages to avoid punitive damages.
- Represented American National Insurance Company in a commercial fraud case against IBM relating to the design and implementation of a system for the processing of insurance claims. After obtaining full financial restitution for client in pre-trial settlement with IBM, additional claims went to trial which settled prior to closing arguments.
- Served as Lead Counsel representing commercial storage complex destroyed by a vast series of fires. Defended over 3,000 personal injury cases brought by individuals who were in proximity to the warehouse complex at the time of the fires, while prosecuting fire cause and analysis litigation against industrial depositors in the warehouse. All cases were successfully concluded, obtaining full financial restitution for commercial property owner client.
- Obtained substantial restitution on behalf of a national bank, several financial institution plaintiffs and numerous individuals who had opted out of a related accounting fraud class action litigation against the auditors for Sunbeam, Inc.
- Represented American National Life Insurance Company in multi-district litigation (MDL) class action alleging racially discriminatory premiums for African American purchasers of industrial life insurance policies. Successfully obtained MDL status, prevailed against plaintiff’s attempts to certify a class, and ultimately negotiated a successful non-class resolution of the case.
- As national counsel, represented Directv, Inc. in over 20,000 cases in federal and state courts throughout the United States involving commercial and residential signal piracy, dealer fraud, and other consumer actions. Established and maintained a litigation program pursuing individuals and commercial entities related to the alleged piracy of Directv’s satellite signals, developed databases and intranet access capabilities to manage the massive litigation effort, and coordinated far-flung local counsel, discovery and trial activities. Successfully tried numerous piracy cases to verdict and assisted Directv with eliminating an entire market dedicated to pirating Directv’s satellite signals.
- Represented a variety of financial institution plaintiffs in state and federal court cases against numerous defendants who violated federal and state securities laws and committed common law fraud by assisting Enron in falsifying financial statements between 1997 and 2001. Successfully resolved majority of cases for plaintiffs.
