M. H. "Butch" Cersonsky

M. H. “Butch” Cersonsky has over 35 years of experience in the practice of law. His practice areas include commercial and consumer collections, appellate, complex business litigation, judgment enforcement and creditor’s rights, such as distressed debt and recovery on promissory notes.

Butch has represented the Department of Justice (DOJ) as private counsel since 1988, obtaining judgments on thousands of cases on behalf of the DOJ. Butch has spoken at over 25 continuing legal education (CLE) presentations for the State Bar of Texas, the Houston Bar Association and other organizations. Butch also teaches Creditor’s Rights and Remedies at the University of Houston Law Center, first having taught in 1994 to 2000, and again for the Spring Semester of 2016. Additionally, Butch has served as the Course Director for the State Bar of Texas’ Collections and Creditor’s Rights Course, as well as the State Bar of Texas’ Collections 101 Course.

Publications

• “Temporary Injunctions: How Lawyers Spell Relief,” The Houston Lawyers 1984
• “Deposit Agreements Between Banks and Their Customers – Wall of Protection or a Wall with a False Foundation?”, 31 Tex. Tech Law Review 1 (1999). Winner, Outstanding Lead Article, Texas Tech Law Review, 1999-2000.
• Contributor to Tex. Jur. Pleadings and Practice Forms 2d Ed., 1992: “Wrongful Termination – Whistle Blower Pleadings.”
• “Determining Attorney’s Fees: A Story in Two Parts,” 10(1) J. Consumer & Comm. L. 11 (Fall 2006)

Reported Cases

• City of Houston v. Leach, 819 S.W.2d 185 (Tex. App. B Houston [14^th Dist.] 1991, no writ)
• Bay Colony, Ltd. v. Trendmaker, Inc., et. al., 121 F.3d 998 (5^th Cir. 1997)
• Bank One, Texas v. Stewart, 967 S.W.2d 419 (Tex. App. B Houston [14^th Dist.] 1998, pet. denied)
• Catalina v. Cramer Financial Group, Inc. 01-96-00862-CV, 1998 WL 135120 (Tex. App.—Houston [1^st Dist.] March 19, 1998, no pet.) (mem. op., not designated for publication)
• United States of America v. Durbin, 64 F.Supp.2d 635 (S.D. Tex. 1999)
• Sixth RMA Partners, L.P. vs. Sibley, 111 S.W.3d 46 (Tex. 2003), denied, 125 S.Ct. 944 (2005)
• Abetter Trucking Company, Inc. v. Juan Angel Arizpe, 113 S.W.3d 503 (Tex. App. –Houston [1^st Dist.] 2003, no pet.)
• Sibley v. Sixth RMA Partners, L.P., 138 S.W.3d 455 (Tex. App. – Beaumont 2004, no pet.) [on remand from Texas Supreme Court]
• United States v. Thomas, 342 B.R. 758 (S.D. Tex. 2005)
• BancorpSouth Bank f/k/a Bank of Mississippi v. Albert Prevot, 256 S.W.3d 719 (Tex. App. – Houston [14^th Dist.] 2008, no pet.)
• Choy v. Graziano Roofing of Texas, Inc., 322 S.W.3d 276 (Tex. App.—Houston [1^st Dist.] 2009, no pet.)

Speeches

• Bank Accounts and Forged Signatures, Houston Bar Association, 2001.
• Post-Judgment Collections for the Texas Bar Association’s Advanced Consumer and Commercial Law, 2008.
• Planning Committee and Speaker, Texas Bar Association course on Collections and Creditor’s Rights, 2009-2011.
• Recurring speaking engagements regarding post-judgment depositions, locating assets and legal ethics, University of Houston Law Foundation, 1995-2009.
• Post Judgment Collections, Houston Bar Association, 2011.
• Director, Texas Bar Association’s Introductory Course on Collections, May 2012
• Planning Committee and Speaker on attorney’s fees, Texas Bar Association’s Collections and Creditor’s Rights Course, 2012.

Teaching Engagements

• Adjunct professor, Creditors Rights and Remedies, University of Houston Law Center, 1994-2000 and Spring 2016.