Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
Janet has deep knowledge of Texas government, including the Texas Legislature and Texas Supreme Court. Her policy expertise includes public and higher education funding and policy, civil justice, pension and investment funds, and state budget. Janet's news media career has also included stops at the Houston Chronicle, The Wall Street Journal and Texas Lawyer.
A bankruptcy judge who brought an ethics complaint against McAllen lawyer Mark Cantu should not have been excluded from testifying in the resulting disciplinary trial, SCOTX has ruled in a per curiam decision. Janet Elliott explains why it was even a question.
AUSTIN – State securities regulation has always been something of a whack-a-mole endeavor, but today’s moles have gotten quite clever. As older Texans become more comfortable with smartphones and online interactions, scammers use websites like Craigslist and Facebook to troll for victims, Joseph Rotunda, director of enforcement for the Texas State Securities Board, told The Texas Lawbook in an exclusive interview.
AUSTIN - SCOTX held to its preference for plain language over industry custom, rejecting a $27.7 million verdict in a closely-watched farmout dispute. But the narrow 5-4 decision generated two very vigorous dissents. Janet Elliott reports.
Saying a lower court misconstrued its 2015 decision in Chesapeake Exploration v. Hyder, the Texas Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the deductibility of production costs from energy company royalties is a matter commanded by contractual language. Janet Elliott, who has followed the controversy, explains.
AUSTIN – When a navigation district leased out underwater acreage to an oyster farming business, the State of Texas took exception. Now their argument over leasing authority and oyster regulation has reached the Texas Supreme Court. Janet Elliott explains.
AUSTIN – It may have been “reprehensible” to sell as “new” a $19.85 million Bombardier Challenger 300 with a used and troubled engine, but when the contract limits liability then liability is limited, the Texas Supreme Court ruled last week. The decision snuffs a $5.39 million of an $8 million jury award, as Janet Elliott explains.
Anadarko has emerged the winner in a coverage clash with its surplus liability insurers as the Texas Supreme Court ruled last week that the underwriters are contractually obligated to pay Anadarko’s $112.5 million defense costs related to the Deepwater Horizon disaster. The Lawbook's Janet Elliott has the details.
After spending $22 million on some dry holes in North Texas, Barrow-Shaver Resources Co. jumped at a $27.7 million offer for its development rights. But one of 32 parties blew up the deal by asking $5 million for its approval. Now the Texas Supreme Court is being asked to resolve a question of industry use vs. oil and gas tradition. Janet Elliott explains.
In yet another show of support for mandatory arbitration, the Texas Supreme Court has ruled unanimously that a duly assigned arbitrator has the power to decide a dispute, even when it involves conflicting court orders. The Lawbook's Janet Elliott explains.
When Houston Astros owner Jim Crane and another investor bought a new aircraft for $19.85 million in 2010, they apparently expected it to be...well, new. When they discovered two years later it had been equipped with a used left engine with a troubled history, they sued. Now the SCOTX is weighing whether the evidence supports their $8M verdict.
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