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Ex-Judge Says He Ordered Quitman Police Captain’s Arrest Over ‘Total Pile of Crap’ Affidavit - Jeff Fletcher, Wood County’s former state district judge, joins fellow defendants in Terry Bevill’s wrongful-termination suit in denying there was any conspiracy to punish Bevill for saying in 2017 that a friend couldn’t get a fair trial in the East Texas county. September 17, 2024Bruce Tomaso
Arnold & Itkin Seeks Sanctions Against AZA Over ‘Inflammatory’ Media Coverage of Hurricane Zeta Case - Plaintiffs’ lawyers representing about 20 crew workers aboard the Deepwater Asgard drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico when Hurricane Zeta hit in October 2020 have asked a Houston judge to issue sanctions and possibly remove defense attorneys for Transocean Offshore Drilling for a “false and inflammatory” pretrial filing last week that the lawyers say “tainted the jury pool” and “deprived plaintiffs of their right to an impartial jury.” Attorneys for Arnold & Itkin claim that opposing counsel Ahmad Zavitsanos & Mensing violated disciplinary rules when AZA publicly accused the Houston plaintiffs' firm of being involved in a financial scheme that includes medical experts and a private equity funding source. September 16, 2024Mark Curriden
Jury Could Begin Deliberations in Fired Police Captain’s Case as Early as Midweek - Fired Quitman police captain Terry Bevill’s wrongful-termination case in Sherman could go to a federal jury as soon as midweek.
At the conclusion of Friday’s court session before U.S. District Judge Amos L. Mazzant III, Bevill’s lawyers said they have two witnesses yet to call, and will probably rest on Tuesday. September 16, 2024Bruce Tomaso
At the conclusion of Friday’s court session before U.S. District Judge Amos L. Mazzant III, Bevill’s lawyers said they have two witnesses yet to call, and will probably rest on Tuesday. September 16, 2024Bruce Tomaso
Samsung Hit With $192M Patent Infringement Verdict - A federal jury in Marshall found Samsung infringed on five patents obtained by California-based startup Mojo Mobility with the tech giant’s flagship smartphone Galaxy series and other products. Jurors awarded Mojo Mobility more than $192 million in damages and found that Samsung willfully infringed on at least one of the asserted claims. September 13, 2024Krista Torralva
Jury Begins Deliberations in Patent Infringement Case Against Samsung - A federal jury in Marshall began deliberating Thursday whether South Korean technology company Samsung Electronics infringed on cell phone wireless-charging patents obtained by California-based startup Mojo Mobility. McKool Smith lawyers asked for $303.5 million for its client. A legal team led by Paul Hastings denied Samsung infringed and asserted the patents at issue were invalid. September 12, 2024Krista Torralva
Two Defendants Deny Plot to Fire Quitman Police Captain - The other two defendants in Terry Bevill’s wrongful-termination suit are listed as potential witnesses in the ongoing jury trial before U.S. District Judge Amos L. Mazzant III in Sherman. September 12, 2024Bruce Tomaso
Quitman Police Captain Didn’t Deserve to be Fired, His Former Chief Testifies - Had it been up to him, Ex-Chief Kelly Cole said, his second-in-command “probably would have gotten couple of days off” for violating policy by signing an affidavit stating that he didn’t think his friend could get a fair trial in Wood County. September 11, 2024Bruce Tomaso
Centerpiece
Wallace Jefferson Reveals Clues to His Improbable Journey - The history-making justice and chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court recounts his personal and family history at a ceremony unveiling his portrait. The great-great-great grandson of a once enslaved man who served on the Waco City Council during Reconstruction, Jefferson remembers ancestor Shedrick Willis along with the judge who once held Willis in bondage but later joined him in guiding Waco into a new era. (Photo by Mark Matson) September 12, 2024Janet Elliott
SCOTX Hears Guardianship Divorce Case to Open Term - The $32 million estate of wealthy Laredo lawyer and businessman Carlos Benavides is at the center of the battle over a divorce initiated by his daughter and guardian. His fourth wife argues that her challenge to the divorce decree was not mooted by Benavides’ death amidst the appeal and that Texas law does not allow a guardian to petition for divorce on behalf of a ward. The daughter says that spousal lack of care for her mentally incapacitated father caused her to remove Benavides from his marital home. The Supreme Court this week is hearing other high-profile cases involving police immunity, defamation and professional discipline over a filing contesting the 2020 election. September 11, 2024Janet Elliott
Expert Voices
Lessons from the Wind-Up of the SEC’s First Major ‘Care Obligation’ Reg BI Enforcement Action - In 2022, the SEC brought its first enforcement action centered on the alleged failure of a broker-dealer and its associated persons to comply with the Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI) “care obligation.” The SEC sought to use the case to impose a new standard of knowledge and education about investments upon investment professionals. A close read of the case has important lessons for both financial professionals and attorneys who represent them. September 10, 2024Craig Warner
FTC Noncompete Ban Invalidated Until Further Notice - Judge Ada Brown’s opinion is both well-reasoned and well-written, but it is not surprising. In light of the invalidation of the FTC’s rule, employers can breathe easy. Of course, the FTC can, and likely will, appeal the decision. August 23, 2024John Sanders & Jackson Smith
Stories You Might’ve Missed
- SCOTX Transfers First Batch of Cases to New Fifteenth COA - In an administrative order issued Aug. 26, the Texas Supreme Court transferred to the newly-created Fifteenth Court of Appeals 88 cases that had been pending with various intermediate appellate courts. It’s no surprise to observers that the bulk of the cases, 49, were transferred from the Third Court of Appeals in Austin, which formerly decided most cases involving state agencies that are headquartered in the capital. August 29, 2024Michelle Casady & Krista Torralva