Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
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.
In this edition of Asked & Answered, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan partner Chris Porter discusses what he loves about being a trial lawyer, his early dreams of being a restaurateur and how the door closing on his football career opened other opportunities.
An Austin jury found last week that the rideshare platform Lyft infringed one of Quartz Auto Technologies’ patents and awarded the company $1.05 million. Lyft, accused of infringing five patents, is calling the verdict a win.
Dallas-based Dean Omar Branham Shirley, which has brought several cases against pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson across the country, commenced its jury trial in Spokane, Washington, Monday morning. Jurors heard from the parties over whether the alleged asbestos in J&J’s baby powder caused Verna Richards’ life-ending mesothelioma cancer.
San Antonio jurors deliberated for nearly three hours after a four-week trial in a trade secrets case that’s been litigated for a decade between HouseCanary and Amrock. The jury found Amrock misappropriated HouseCanary’s trade secrets and defrauded the company.
At Southern Methodist University, Judge Bill Whitehill heard arguments Friday afternoon on the Dallas Stars’ summary judgment motion. The lawsuit was filed in October 2024 by the Dallas Mavericks, claiming the hockey franchise was in violation of its agreement over its shared lease of the American Airlines Center.
The Senate Judiciary Committee approved an Austin litigator and a Fort Worth judge for the federal bench Thursday morning. Tarrant County Judge Christopher Wolfe will be serving in the Waco Division, and Andrew Davis will be in Austin.
In this edition of Asked & Answered, Hilgers partner David Sillers talks about his First Amendment practice and shares his most memorable moments in his career so far. Sillers recently joined the firm and reunited with managing partner Grant Schmidt and partner Cynthia Schmidt, whom he met while clerking alongside them for former U.S. District Judge Barbara M.G. Lynn.
The families of nine Camp Mystic campers and counselors who died in the July 4 flood last summer filed a lawsuit Monday morning in the Western District of Texas against the Texas Department of State Health Services, claiming the agency should not have approved the camp’s license. The camp’s license expires next week, and it has announced it will reopen this summer.
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