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Litigation Roundup: Match Group Hires Sidley to Defend Class Action; Judge O’Connor Recuses in CFPB Challenge - In this edition of Litigation Roundup, Jerry Jones gets a defamation lawsuit brought by a woman claiming to be his daughter dismissed after the plaintiff’s failed attempt to amend the claims, the ExxonMobil Oil Corporation gets its win in a coverage dispute with AIG affirmed by a Dallas appellate court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit calls out a federal judge in McAllen for denying a motion to dismiss a retaliation lawsuit with “no analysis period.” March 18, 2024Michelle Casady
SCOTX to Review MDL Transfer in Sex-Trafficking Case Against Facebook - The court responded to a call by former justice Scott Brister to clarify standards for a “tag-along” transfer to the existing Salesforce MDL in Harris County. Such direction has been lacking in previous reviews of MDL transfers over the past 20 years, Brister says. March 18, 2024Janet Elliott
Former Senior SEC Lawyer Scott Mascianica Leaves Holland & Knight for Hilgers Graben - Mascianica joins the firm as a partner and head of its Government Investigations and Regulatory Enforcement group. Mascianica shares why the career move was “too good of an opportunity to pass up” in an interview with The Lawbook. March 18, 2024Krista Torralva
Oversight Board Constitutionality Case Gets Transferred to D.C. District Court - U.S. District Judge Karen Gren Scholer of the Northern District of Texas said a John Doe auditor’s argument that the case should be heard in Texas is “unpersuasive.” The lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s disciplinary proceedings. March 15, 2024Krista Torralva
Come ‘World War or Power Outages,’ SEC’s FWRO Charges 17 in Alleged CryptoFX Fraud Scheme - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed federal fraud charges Thursday against 17 sales workers with a Houston-based cryptocurrency trading company for allegedly operating a $300 million Ponzi scheme targeting more than 40,000 investors — most of them Latinos. March 14, 2024Mark Curriden
Dallas COA Opinion Highlights How TCPA Framework Can be ‘Undermined’ - This week a three-justice panel of the Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas ordered Dallas County District Judge Staci Williams to hold a hearing on a motion to dismiss pending before her that was brought under the Texas Citizens Participation Act. The state’s anti-SLAPP law requires that a hearing on a motion to dismiss take place within 60 days, but Judge Williams’ staff told the relators in this case — who tried six times to get a hearing set — that, while it does its best to accommodate requests for hearings, its docket is “jammed packed” and “there is no way to SQUEEZE your motion into the requested docket.” March 13, 2024Michelle Casady
Sorrels Law Taps Doctor-Lawyer Hieu Dang to Open Dallas Office - Dr. Hieu T. Dang has an impressive résumé, packed with medical and legal experience as well as a diversity of languages. Dang will continue his anesthesiology practice while working for Sorrels and his own private practice. In a Q&A, Dang shares his keys for success and his winding career path. March 13, 2024Krista Torralva
Fifth Circuit Panel Decries ‘Rambo’ Tactics in Reversal, Scathing Opinion - A three-judge panel including the chief judge issued a rare reversal of a trial verdict on the grounds of improper jury argument. Two Texas lawyers who resorted to name calling, including one who threw a tissue box at opposing counsel, “employed nearly every category of what we have previously held to be improper closing argument,” the judges wrote. March 12, 2024Krista Torralva
Centerpiece
Kirkland Hires David Beck, Seeks Dismissal from Judge Jones Bankruptcy Romance Lawsuit - Kirkland & Ellis lawyers had no knowledge that former Houston Bankruptcy Judge David Jones was having a secret romantic affair with a former partner at a Texas law firm that served as its co-counsel in dozens of corporate restructurings and that Kirkland cannot be held accountable for the ethical lapses of the judge in those cases, according to court documents filed Friday. Lawyers for Kirkland, which include David Beck, argue that the Chicago-founded law firm should be dismissed from a federal racketeering lawsuit that accuses Kirkland and its co-counsel at Dallas-based Jackson Walker of exploiting the relationship between Judge Jones and former Jackson Walker partner Elizabeth Freeman. Jackson Walker has hired Rusty Hardin and Judge Jones is being represented by McKool Smith. March 18, 2024Mark Curriden
P.S. — People’s Law School, Fat Checks from Washington, Relief for Ranchers - This week's edition of P.S. features a disaster relief fund offering financial aid to ranchers affected by the Panhandle wildfires, Congressional funding news for civil legal aid in Texas, an upcoming legal knowledge education event for the public at a Central Texas law school and the Texas Bar Foundation’s recipient choice for its annual public service and legal ethics-oriented award. March 15, 2024Natalie Posgate
Expert Voices
Narrowing the Scope: The SEC Finalizes Its Climate Disclosures Rule - Following a nearly two-year wait, the Securities and Exchange Commission released its Final Rule — The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors — on March 6. The Final Rule requires publicly listed U.S. companies and foreign private issuers to disclose certain climate-related information in their registration statements and annual reports. This article identifies five key takeaways from the Final Rule. March 11, 2024Sarah Morgan, Matt Dobbins & Jon Solorzano
To Interview or Not to Interview — The $1.675 Million Question - Does the law protect a deaf applicant before the interview even commences? Yes. In fact, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently secured a jury verdict of $1,675,000 against a major distribution company for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act based on its refusal to interview a qualified deaf applicant. This article identifies five ways employers can train their hiring personnel to ensure compliance. March 8, 2024Alen Samuel & Jenny Crutcher
Stories You Might’ve Missed
- Brister, Gunn, Matthews Among Applicants for TX Business Court and 15th Court of Appeals - Twenty lawyers, including several former Texas appellate and trial court judges, have applied for appointment to the newly created business courts and intermediate appellate court. They include prominent figures such as former Texas Supreme Court Justice Scott Brister, appellate specialist David Gunn and Houston MDL Judge Sylvia Matthews. Five candidates from the Texas AG’s office also are seeking positions. Gov. Abbott will appoint the judges and justices, who begin hearing cases in September. The Texas Lawbook obtained the applications through a public information request. February 1, 2024Janet Elliott
- 2023 — The Year of Billion-Dollar M&A Deals in Texas - The size of a deal may not always be an indicator of its success, but 2023 in Texas will certainly go down in history as the year of some massive billion-dollar transactions. Despite the fact that the global M&A market saw a 17 percent decline in value and 6 percent decline in volume, Texas had the distinction of leading the world with the two largest megadeals: ExxonMobil's $64.5 billion acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources and Chevron's $60 billion purchase of Hess Corp. Even ONEOK's $18 billion acquisition of Magellan Midstream Partners made it to the top dozen deals worldwide, as Texas demonstrated its energy prowess across the globe. January 11, 2024Allen Pusey & Christi Trammell