A Travis County jury on May 1 handed plaintiff Jimmy Gregory a verdict topping $116 million after finding his brother, Texas Disposal Systems CEO Bob (Bobby) Gregory, breached his fiduciary duties by steering company profits into businesses he controlled. The decision caps a years-long family and corporate feud and throws the company’s finances and governance under an immediate legal microscope.
According to The Texas Lawbook, the jury awarded roughly $91.1 million in actual damages to the Texas Disposal Systems companies, about $23 million in exemplary damages, and around $1.4 million to Jimmy Gregory on a contract claim. Lawyers for the plaintiff at Scott Douglass & McConnico said jurors concluded Bobby acted with a “specific intent to cause substantial injury,” and noted that the trial judge now has authority to enter a final judgment that could include appointing a receiver.
What the jury said the CEO did
The lawsuit accused Bobby Gregory of setting up outside companies, including Okapi Leasing and Okapi Environmental Services, that then leased trucks and labor back to Texas Disposal Systems and diverted profits away from the jointly owned waste businesses. That account also includes allegations that Txalloy bought TDS’s scrap metal business at a liquidation price that favored Bobby, according to Waste Dive.
How the split unfolded
The Gregory brothers launched Texas Disposal Systems in 1977, then reworked ownership in 1984 so that Bobby held 80 percent and Jimmy 20 percent. Tensions over access to financial records and estate planning intensified after 2016. As the Austin American-Statesman reported, Jimmy says he was pushed aside after he sought to value his stake, and that he and two of his children were removed from company roles in 2022.
What comes next
Bob Gregory has said he will challenge the verdict, while Jimmy Gregory’s legal team says it will move to enforce the award and ask the court for protection for the companies. Scott Douglass & McConnico notes that the judge could order remedies such as appointing a receiver to ensure the businesses are run with tighter oversight. Any appeal would likely stretch the conflict well beyond the trial, and Waste Dive earlier this month reported that the company expects to maintain day-to-day operations while the legal process continues.
Why Austin should care
Texas Disposal Systems runs a major landfill and materials recovery complex near Creedmoor, employs roughly 1,100 to 1,200 people, and holds municipal contracts that keep trash and recycling moving for the Austin area. That makes any court-ordered changes to corporate governance or cash flow a big deal for local customers and workers. The company’s public information and statements highlight that operations are expected to continue while judges sort out final damages and any post-trial oversight. Still, court orders that push funds back into TDS or bring in outside control could reshape how one of Central Texas’s largest independent waste firms is governed and financed.
