Gaas, Patrick E.

Patrick E. Gaas

Partner

700 Louisiana Street Suite 4300, Houston, TX USA 77002

t 281.809.4076 | f 281.783.2068

Overview
Experience
Insights

Overview

With more than three decades of experience, Pat Gaas is regularly engaged by owners, contractors, and design professionals to handle some of the largest and most challenging commercial and industrial construction disputes and transactions both nationally and internationally, including workouts, document preparation, administrative proceedings, litigation, mediation, and arbitration. In addition, Pat handles or manages a broad variety of other matters for a select group of clients, including financial institutions, doing business both domestically and abroad.

Before joining Kilpatrick, Pat was a Shareholder and Director of a well-established law firm, where he served as Section Head in the Houston, Texas office in its construction practice group, then regarded as one of the largest and most accomplished on the Gulf Coast.

Pat has presented seminars to the American Bar Association, the Texas Bar Association, and many client groups with topics ranging from litigation strategy, project delivery methods, and construction, design and/or procurement contract provisions, to suretyship, lien laws, and insurance issues.

For many years, Pat has been recognized by Super Lawyers in the field of Construction Law. He has been listed for many consecutive years in The Best Lawyers in America® for Construction Law, most recently in the 2025 edition. He is listed in the 2024 and the six years immediately preceding editions of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business in the area of Construction. Pat was recommended by Legal 500 US in 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023 and 2024 for Construction Litigation. He is rated AV Preeminent® by Martindale-Hubbell.*

Experience

Lead arbitration counsel for mechanical subcontractor, the prevailing party, against EPC contractor, arising out of the design and construction of a $750M polypropylene plant, including competing claims for nonpayment and failure to issue change orders arising from schedule and productivity impacts, liquidated damages and warranty claims. Final award exceeded $46M, plus post award interest

Lead trial counsel in a “claw back” dispute for an Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) Contractor with an amount in controversy approximating $2.4 billion with chemical plant owner, involving competing claims over the design, procurement, and construction of the largest and most complex Propane Development Unit (PDU) facility in the world, with a cost approaching $3 billion. Length of trial approximately 3.5 months. Case settled favorably before final judgment, following the presentation of evidence.

Lead trial counsel for municipality, which was the prevailing party, in a suit by a general contractor for delay and other damages in a dispute arising from the construction of a new $50 million wastewater treatment plant in place of an existing one. The total damages differential claimed in the case is approximately $36 million. Length of trial approximately 3.5 months. Case currently on appeal.

Represented an EPC contractor in providing advice and document review of Front End Engineering and Design and EPC contracts, together with the related third party financing documents required of the contractor, for construction of an industrial plant facility incorporating two C3 Oleflex Process units and one UOP Huels Selective Hydrogenation Process unit with a combined production capacity of 1,020,000 metric tons per annum of polymer grade propylene and chemical grade propylene.

Lead trial counsel for EPC Contractor in International Arbitration (Helsinki, Finland) with Subcontractor arising out of the design and construction of two peat fired electrical power plants located in Ireland. The amount in controversy approximately 20,000,000 Euros; the length of arbitration hearing was approximately 50 days.

Represented an EPC contractor in International Arbitration (London, England) with owner regarding delay and extra work claims regarding two power plants located in former Soviet Union. The amount in controversy approximately 100,000,000 Euros; the length of arbitration hearing was approximately six weeks.

Lead trial counsel for non-destructive examination contractor in lawsuit with pipeline operator arising out of the remediation of a 31-mile natural gas pipeline in Ohio and Indiana. The amount in controversy approximately $60,000,000; the length of jury trial was approximately five weeks.

Represented an international chemical company in defense of contractor’s delay, productivity and other claims arising out of construction of air separation plant. The revised claim was alleged to be approximately $11,000,000, exclusive of fees and costs; the length of arbitration hearing was approximately two months.

Represented an EPC Contractor in a contract dispute involving basic engineering design and front end engineering design services for all process and auxiliary units, utilities, interconnecting pipe and all other facilities and associated integration, including technical assistance services for two premium refineries in Brazil, with capacities of 600,000 BPD and 300,000 BPD, respectively.

Represented an EPC Contractor in a contract dispute involving alleged defects in the fabrication of refractory for furnaces of a delayed coking unit, and arising from conduct as a procurement agent for owner and as the project manager for the Delayed Coking Facility portion of the Modernization Project.

Insights