Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
A former reporter with The Indiana Lawyer in Indianapolis, Alexa covers litigation and trials for The Texas Lawbook. Alexa won two first place awards from the Indiana Society of Professional Journalists: one was for a story examining the foster care system and the other was for her coverage of the attorney general election and retention of Indiana Supreme Court justices.
Dallas County Judge Emily Tobolowsky, who is not seeking reelection, denied the motion to dismiss two elders from the defamation lawsuit against Gateway Church. The nondenominational, evangelical Christian megachurch has been tangled in several lawsuits following sexual abuse allegations against Robert Morris, its former senior pastor.
After over seven years as in-house counsel, Steve Ryan has switched back to private practice at Fletcher Held in Houston. He said he was ready for a change and missed the courtroom.
A two-and-a-half-week trial concluded with the jury awarding just over $20.2 million to a car dealership executive after finding his business partner liable for breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty. The pair are still business partners but are working toward untangling themselves so they can go their separate ways.
In an amended complaint filed Monday with the Texas Business Court, Clean Hydrogen Works has added Exxon Mobil as a defendant in an antitrust and unfair competition suit. Exxon’s affiliate Denbury Carbon Solutions filed a motion for partial summary judgment last week.
The U.S. Senate confirmed Nicholas Ganjei, who was the acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas, to a lifetime federal judgeship in Houston Tuesday. He succeeds retired Judge Lynn H. Hughes.
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, a veteran trial lawyer has been chosen to lead the South Texas College of Law Houston board and a First Amendment case is settled between a Texas Tech professor and an ex-dean. Meanwhile, the Department of Justice opposes Jackson Walker’s fee settlements related to the romance scandal between former U.S. Bankruptcy Chief Judge David Jones and a former Jackson Walker partner, while a Houston-area man pleads guilty in a Ponzi scheme.
Dublin-based Arigna Technology filed a lawsuit against Susman Godfrey and Longford Capital in Harris County over a $37 million award. The case in which the patent monetization firm hired Susman went to arbitration, and Longford was awarded over $37 million.
International law firm Smith, Gambrell & Russell added Mitch Ackal on Monday and hopes to grow an office in the Houston market. Before joining SGR, Ackal spent two decades at Gray Reed.
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board ruled that all claims of Masaba’s patent for sand-handling equipment are unpatentable as obvious over combinations of prior art references. Masaba accused Solaris Oilfield Services Operating of infringing on the patent in a 2023 lawsuit before the Wyoming District Court.
A Hays County jury found a truck driver and the company he works for liable for the death of an oil field worker. The jury awarded $46 million to the worker’s parents after deliberating for about four hours.
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