(HOUSTON) – Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr, P.C. (Munsch Hardt) announced today that the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Chief Judge Randy Crane, entered Final Judgment exceeding $210 million in favor of the Firm’s client, Carlo Civelli, following the Firm’s previously secured $138 million federal jury verdict.
The Court adopted the judgment proposed by the plaintiff and awarded the full amount of damages found by the jury for breaches of numerous contracts, together with prejudgment interest totaling approximately $72.8 million at a rate of 6.75 percent. Phil Mulacek is liable for the full judgment. The judgment imposes joint and several liability for approximately $72 million in damages and $37 million in prejudgment interest against all the defendants, Philippe Mulacek, Michelle Mulacek Vinson, Pierre Mulacek, and Mauricette Mulacek.
The lead trial lawyer, Dick Schwartz, said, “We are delighted Chief Judge Crane entered judgment on the jury’s verdict in Mr. Civelli’s favor on all his claims and awarded him full damages, prejudgment interest at 6.75%, costs, and attorneys’ fees.” The amount of attorneys’ fees and costs will be determined as scheduled by the Court.
The Court did not award the lower prejudgment interest rate the Mulacek Defendants requested or reduce the amount of the judgment as the Mulacek Defendants requested. The Mulacek Defendants sought two reductions: one for $50 million and another for about $21 million based on a statute of limitations defense. The Court will address whether $50 million may be a payment against the judgment later.
Chief Judge Crane denied the Mulacek Defendants’ motion to limit the bond to $25 million under state law. The Court set an evidentiary hearing on the supersedeas bond for April 22, 2026.
Led by Schwartz, the trial team also included Michael Harvey, Mike Martin of Martin Walton Law Firm, and Andrews Meyers’ appellate team, Sharon McCally and Andrew Bender. Other members of Munsch Hardt assisted in the case development, including Todd Frank, Mitchell McFarland, James (Jim) McGee, Randall Miller, Haley Carter, and Julie Christensen.
The case involved claims for breach of contract related to a long-time business relationship and oil and gas interests in Papua New Guinea. After a multi-week trial beginning in late October 2025, the jury returned a verdict on December 4, 2025 in favor of the plaintiffs on all claims, which has now been fully incorporated into the Court’s Final Judgment.
Munsch Hardt previously announced the jury’s $138 million verdict in early December 2025. The entry of Final Judgment is an important step in carrying out the jury’s verdict.
Munsch Hardt worked closely with co-counsel Martin Walton Law Firm and the Andrews Meyers appellate team, whose collaboration, hard work, and support were integral to the successful result. The case, Carlo Giuseppe Civelli, et al. v. Philippe Emanuel Mulacek, et al., Case No. 4:17-cv-03739 (S.D. Tex.), received media coverage in Texas Lawbook, Texas Lawyer, and Law.com’s VerdictSearch.