Biography
Deva Solomon is the trial lawyer trusted with the cases that matter most to the firm’s clients. Over his career, he has successfully won cases at trial with more than $100 million at stake. In addition to his trial work, Deva is often called to accident scenes or to other incidents for emergency response. He earns clients’ trust by listening to them, understanding their businesses, and developing their strategy as a team. If litigation is in the cards, he creatively defends clients at trial and manages complex litigation, discovery, and negotiations.
Deva has experience representing energy companies in multiple shale plays, and has taken a variety of cases to trial to protect the interests of energy companies for contract, tort, and operational issues. He also focuses on the defense of claims of all types involving significant injury and death. He has extensive experience defending nursing homes, physicians, nurses, hospitals, and he has also defended attorneys in legal malpractice and breach of fiduciary duty claims.
Deva is the Practice Group Leader for the firm’s Professional Liability Group, which defends professional liability clients such as hospitals, nursing homes, physicians, nurses, lawyers, accountants, architects, and engineers on a national scale. When he is not at the office, he loves to ski, mountain bike, hike, run (if something dangerous is chasing him), and enjoy the outdoors with his wife, two children, and two dogs.
Representative Experience
- Lead trial counsel in cases worth a total of more than $100 million to clients
- Won (as lead trial counsel) bench trial for energy company in dispute with two other energy companies over ownership of oil and gas interests in North Dakota
- Lead trial counsel in six-day jury trial defending employee of oil field service provider in case involving double thumb amputation on well pad
- Defended nursing home in wrongful death jury trial to verdict
- Defended long term care facilities in COVID 19 litigation in State, Federal District Court, and Appellate Courts involving claims of immunity under the PREP ACT
- Won motions to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction for parent companies of nursing facilities in three different states
- Defended long term care facilities in wrongful death and resident care litigation in three different states
- Verdict following trial for client of $1.5M plus in breach of contract dispute over Joint Operating Agreement obligations between two energy companies
- Won summary judgment for operator in quiet title to resolve the distribution of in excess of $10M in revenue
- Won (voluntary dismissal after filing of motion for summary judgment) lawsuit for operator alleging improper deduction of post-production expenses
- Represented company in wrongful death litigation involving workplace accident in coal mine
- Verdict for client in excess of $1M in dispute over contract to purchase bitcoin
- Argued on behalf of government agency before Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia
Licensed In
- Colorado
- Pennsylvania
- West Virginia
Education
- J.D. West Virginia University College of Law
- B.A. West Virginia University
Memberships
- Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, Health Care Committee
- Denver Petroleum Club
- Leadership West Virginia Class of 2014
- Colorado Defense Lawyers Association
- Colorado Bar Association, Ethics Committee
- Defense Research Institute
- Sponsorship Chair for 2017 Defense Research Institute Civil Rights and Governmental Tort Liability Seminar
- Completed University of Virginia Trial Advocacy College
- Order of the Coif
- Phi Beta Kappa
- United States Courts of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit and Fourth Circuit
- United States District Courts for the District of Colorado, the Northern District of West Virginia, and the Southern District of West Virginia
Achievements
- 2017, 2018, and 2019 Colorado Super Lawyers® Rising Star
- 2015 and 2016 West Virginia Super Lawyers® Rising Star
Speaking Engagements
- “Developments in Colorado, North Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana Law, Which Could Impact Lease and Title Analysts,” National Conference, National Association of Lease and Title Analysts September 2018
- Deva Solomon & David R. Little, “To Speak with the Lawyers, Press 2: An Interactive Discussion Introducing the Litigation Process, Current Hot Topics, and How Engineers Can Help Reduce Risk,” Society of Petroleum Engineers International (Denver Chapter), May 2017
- Deva Solomon & David R. Little, “The Lawyers are at it Again: How to Save Your Lease when Operations are Shut Down and Associated Issues,” Denver Association of Lease and Title Analysts Spring Seminar, May 2017
- “An Introduction to Nuisance Law Across the Country as Applied to Large Industrial Facilities”, Nat’l Association of Railroad Trial Counsel, February 3, 2017, Snowmass, CO
- Deva Solomon & David R. Little, “Litigation 101 for Lease and Title Analysts,” Denver Association of Lease and Title Analysts, April 2016
- William E. Galeota & Deva Solomon, “Meeting the Risk Management Challenges of Electronic Medical Records,” West Virginia Society for Health Care Risk Managers Annual Meeting, May 2014
- 2014 Legal Malpractice Update, Defense Trial Counsel of West Virginia
- 2013 Legal Malpractice Update, Defense Trial Counsel of West Virginia
- “Navigating the Unchartered Territory of the Business Court,” West Virginia Continuing Legal Education, November 2012
- “The Times They Are A-Changin’: Update on Recent West Virginia Legal Decisions Affecting Long Term Care Providers in Litigation,” West Virginia Health Care Association Annual Meeting, May 2012
- Co-author, Defense Trial Counsel of West Virginia 2012 Civil Procedure Update
- Defense Trial Counsel of West Virginia 2011 Legal Malpractice Update
- “Spring Cleaning: Ten Cost Effective Ways to Reduce Risk Before the Heatwave of Litigation Arrives,” West Virginia Health Care Association Annual Meeting, May 2011
- “The 10 Plagues of Risk in Long Term Care: Vaccinate, Isolate, Eradicate!!!” Pennsylvania Health Care Association Annual Meeting, September 2010
- “Can Government Indefinitely Detain Individuals Accused of Being Enemy Combatants,” 34 Wm. Mitchell L. Rev. 5155 (2008)
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