Tammy Holt Prevails in Employment Contract Dispute at Supreme Court of Texas

Congratulations to Tammy Holt for an important win at the Supreme Court of Texas. 

In a May 30 ruling, the Texas Supreme Court denied HollyFrontier Corporation’s petition for review in a case DP&S previously won in Dallas’ Fifth Court of Appeals on behalf of a former HollyFrontier executive. The case focused on claims that HollyFrontier breached its employment agreement when the company demoted and later fired Patrick Gribbin to avoid paying severance benefits he would have been entitled to had he been allowed to resign. 

The ruling came after a full briefing on the merits and upholds an April 2024 Fifth Court of Appeals opinion that reversed an earlier summary judgment at the trial court. That ruling found that the severance benefits in Mr. Gribbin’s employment contract with HollyFrontier were ambiguous and that there were significant issues of material fact over his departure from the company. The Supreme Court of Texas ruling sends the case back to Dallas’ 44th District Court. 

The case is Patrick J. Gribbin v. Hollyfrontier Corporation, Holly Frontier Payroll Services, Inc,; Hollyfrontier Refining & Marketing, LLC, et al., No. 24-0499.