We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Attempting to reconnect
Hon. Brian Stagner
Judge · Seat 8B
Texas Business Court · Eighth Business Court Division (Fort Worth)
Biography
Judge Brian Stagner serves on the Texas Business Court for the Eighth Division, located in Fort Worth, Texas. Before his appointment to the bench, Judge Stagner practiced law for 27 years at Kelly Hart & Hallman LLP, where he served as partner and co-chair of the firm’s Litigation Practice Group. During this time, he handled complex business litigation in more than 40 states, representing clients on both sides of the docket. His practice included corporate governance disputes, unfair business practices, e-commerce, insurance coverage, taxation, consumer class actions, and intellectual property matters. Judge Stagner has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America® annually since 2010. In addition to his judicial duties, Judge Stagner is an adjunct professor at Texas Christian University, where he teaches Business Law. He is a former Barrister of the American Inns of Court and is a sustaining Life Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation, as well as a Fellow of the Tarrant County Bar Foundation. Judge Stagner earned his law degree, summa cum laude, from Texas Tech University School of Law, where he served on the Law Review and was named to the Order of the Coif. He also holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Management from Angelo State University. Judge Stagner and his wife, Amy, have been happily married for 30 years and are proud parents of two daughters, Claire and Katie.
Opinions by Judge Stagner (2)
Rule 91a Dismissal Standards Applied to Veil Piercing and Individual Liability Claims in Acquisition Dispute
In Lensabl, Inc. v. RBH SPE One, LLC, the Texas Business Court's Eighth Division granted in part and denied in part a Rule 91a motion to dismiss, holding that fraud claims against an individual principal were adequately pleaded but dismissing breach-of-contract and veil-piercing claims for failure to state legally cognizable claims. The November 5, 2025 memorandum opinion addresses the pleading standards required to survive dismissal in a dispute arising from a $28.9 million acquisition agreement.
Business Court Retains Jurisdiction Over LLC Winding-Up Despite Parallel District Court Litigation
In Martens v. Lamkin Land & Cattle Company, Judge Stagner rejected defendants' attempt to dismiss or abate a Business Court action seeking involuntary winding-up of an LLC under Section 11.314, holding that the claim was not compulsory in earlier-filed district court litigation over sale proceeds and that the two cases were not sufficiently interrelated to invoke dominant jurisdiction. The decision clarifies that Business Court jurisdiction over entity governance disputes is not defeated by parallel contract claims in traditional courts.