Bryan was born in San Antonio, Texas, and was raised in Tulsa. He and his wife Jeanette have two sons, Jackson and Collin. Prior to joining Pierce Couch, Bryan practiced as a partner and member at several defense firms. He began his practice with Pierce Couch in 2014 and made partner in 2016.

As an experienced trial lawyer, Bryan has handled complex cases in both state and federal courts. He routinely handles the defense of large, catastrophic losses on behalf of transportation and logistics companies, including as primary Oklahoma counsel to a Fortune Global 100 logistics company. In addition to trucking cases, Bryan has experience handling products liability, medical malpractice, bad faith, construction and other matters.

Bryan received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Oklahoma and Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Tulsa. He is a member of the Oklahoma Bar and all Oklahoma federal courts. He is also a proud member of Trucking Industry Defense Association (TIDA), Defense Research Institute, Oklahoma Association of Defense Counsel, Transportation Lawyers Association and IADC. Since 2015, the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory has rated Bryan as AV Preeminent, its highest rating, and he has been recognized as a top rated Transportation attorney by Super Lawyers the last three years. In June, 2020, Bryan was also featured in the Oklahoma “405 Magazine” as a Top Attorney in Construction. 

While not practicing law, Bryan enjoys spending time with his family, watching OU/Thunder sports, reading, playing guitar, cycling and running.

Legal Assistant:

Brooke Clarkston, BClarkston@piercecouch.com

Experience:

• Negotiated favorable settlement in an admitted liability complex traumatic brain injury trucking case resulting in substantial reduction of assessed risk.

• Successfully defended claim for cattle diminution in value through week long jury trial, including finding of 20% negligence on the plaintiff despite a liability admission. Prior to verdict, the defense proved the cattle were not injured due to exposure to metal, obtained summary judgment on an intentional inflection of emotional distress claim, and won at trial on directed verdict for a negligence per se. The verdict of $42,400 was a fraction of the damages sought, which included a claim of punitive damages, and was less than half of an Offer to Confess submitted about six months into the approximate three-year litigation. Ronnie Pevehouse v. Five Rivers Distribution, LLC, No. CJ-2019-72, Adair County District Court, Oklahoma (transferred from Muskogee County District Court, Oklahoma, No. CJ-2017-467).

• Obtained judgment for an insurance company in the amount of $1,742,526.76 in a subrogation case against a contractor. All State v. Dane Butterfield, No. CJ-2012-5729, Tulsa County District Court, Oklahoma.

• Obtained defense verdict on claims and a favorable award on counterclaims on behalf of a show horse owner, including an award of attorney’s fees, in two-day bench trial. Acox v. Austin, No. CJ-2008-8643, Oklahoma County District Court, Oklahoma.

• Successfully litigated a bad faith claim in excess of a million dollars for about two years in federal Court at which time opposing counsel withdrew, no replacement counsel was timely entered and the case was dismissed resulting in no award.

• Obtained summary judgment on behalf of physician in case wherein claims of medical negligence were made. William Cawood, et al. v. Chad Thompson, M.D., Oklahoma County District Court, Oklahoma (Affirmed by the Court of Civil Appeals on January 19, 2018, No. 116,246).

• Represented landowner in an oil and gas dispute and obtained favorable verdict after four-day jury trial, including a finding of punitive damages. Jody Stamper v. WG Oil & Gas, LLC, CJ-2007-264, Okmulgee County District Court, Oklahoma.

• Defended transportation case through week long jury trial including finding of 40% comparative negligence assessment on the plaintiff with traumatic brain injury claims and resulting in a substantial reduction of verdict award.

Education:

• University of Tulsa College of Law, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 2001 J.D.
  Law Review: Tulsa Law Review, Senior Staff, 1999-2001

• University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, 1998 B.A.
  Honors: Dean’s List
  Major: Journalism

Bar Admissions:

• Oklahoma, 2001

• U.S. District Court Northern District of Oklahoma, 2001

• U.S. District Court Western District of Oklahoma, 2004

• U.S. District Court Eastern District of Oklahoma, 2005

Professional Associations and Memberships:

• Oklahoma Bar Association, Member

• Trucking Industry Defense Association, Member

• Transportation Lawyers Association, Member

• Oklahoma County Bar Association, Member

• Oklahoma Association of Defense Counsel, Member

• Defense Research Institute, Member

• Robert J. Turner American Inn of Court, Member

• American Bar Association, Member

• USLAW, Member

• International Association of Defense Counsel, Member

Professional Honors and Awards:

• AV Rated, Martindale-Hubbell, 2014 to present

• Selected for inclusion in Oklahoma Super Lawyers, Rising Star, 2013 to 2015

• Selected for inclusion in Oklahoma Super Lawyers, 2017 to 2019

Representative Cases:

• Woods v. Computer Sciences Corporation, 2011 OK CIV APP 17.

Publications:

• Challenging Discoverability and Admissibility of FMCSA Reports on Accidents, In Transit, DRI, published July 12, 2016

• Proven Strategies to Outsmart the Reptile, For the Defense, DRI, published December, 2017

• Strategies to Avert Risk in the Connectivity Age: The Good, Bad and Ugly of Mobile Phone Data, USLAW Spring Magazine, published April, 2018

• Defending the Evidence Spoliation Attack in Transportation cases, IADC Newsletter, published January, 2020

Presentations:

• Front End Triage: Recognizing and Overcoming the Catastrophic Claim, 2018, USLAW Transportation & Logistics Exchange, February 9, 2018

• Client Summit, Strategies to Avert Risk in the Connectivity Age: The Good, Bad and Ugly of Mobile Phone Data, April 11, 2019