Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
The three-day trial ended Wednesday, with the jurors deliberating for a day before awarding parents and their young son $1.1 billion in damages. The boy was assaulted by his stepfather, a great-grandson of one of the original investors of Humble Oil, and suffered life-altering injuries.
A daughter’s lawsuit against pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson, alleging its product contained asbestos that caused her mother’s life-ending mesothelioma cancer, has concluded in a settlement. The settlement reached during the first week of trial was “unexpected.”
In this edition of Asked & Answered, Beck Redden partner Russell Post shares how he went from resisting the idea of attending law school to contemplating a career as a law professor. For Post, who recently secured a win at the U.S. Supreme Court, becoming a law professor is no longer a goal of his, but teaching isn’t out of the question.
In this edition of the Litigation Roundup, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of a Mississippi street preacher, a Gibson Dunn partner and former judge led an amicus brief in Anthropic case against the Department of War, as well as the Fifth Circuit held Corelle Brands retained indemnification rights tied to previously completed purchase orders following its Chapter 11 reorganization and more.
Dallas-based Rogge Dunn Group has filed a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitration claim against Goldman Sachs, alleging that it committed age discrimination, wrongful termination and unlawful withholding of earned deferred compensation. The complaint seeks more than $2 million in damages and $1 million in punitive damages.
A California judge has rejected a jury’s $950 million award of punitive damages against pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson. The jury awarded $16 million in compensatory damages in October 2025.
This is just one of many cases Dallas-based Dean Omar Branham Shirley is involved with against J&J at the moment.
In a short hearing, Dallas County Judge Emily Tobolowsky granted Robert Morris’ motion to clarify and stay so they can proceed with mandamus before the Fifth Court of Appeals. The parties had reached an agreement.
Hamilton Wingo continues to add experienced trial lawyers to the firm with its latest addition of Alex Wolens. Wolens spent the last six years with Winston & Strawn.
A San Patricio County jury awarded a woman $198 million in damages stemming from the sexual assault and attempted murder she experienced over a decade ago. The jury deliberated for two hours after the three-day trial Wednesday and found David Strickland liable for assaulting and shooting of Mary Kristene Chapa. They awarded $100 million in exemplary damages.
Jurors in Harris County found a man was not liable for the death of a woman who had run into the road to pick up tools that had fallen off a tow truck. The jury deliberated for three hours following an eight-day trial that was spread over two weeks before it returned its verdict last week.
© Copyright 2026 The Texas Lawbook
The content on this website is protected under federal Copyright laws. Any use without the consent of The Texas Lawbook is prohibited.
