In this edition of Litigation Roundup, a group of state attorneys general rally behind Texas’ first assistant AG in a disciplinary suit brought by the state bar, AT&T goes with Gibson Dunn in its U.S. Supreme Court appeal over an employee class action alleging violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, and the city of Dallas faces trial in a civil property rights dispute.
Lawyers Who ‘Art Car’
This Saturday, upwards of 300,000 people will line the sides of Allen Parkway just west of downtown Houston to take in what is called the world’s largest art car parade. The Lawbook spoke with three attorneys who have participated in the parade about why they chose to turn their vehicles into mobile pieces of art and why the event is one they’ve stayed involved with year after year.
2024 Houston Art Car Parade
Photos by Michelle Casady [metaslider id = “115138”]
Litigation Roundup: Fifth Circuit Undoes Transfer of Chamber, CFPB Suit; Souki Owes $100M
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, split panels of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit hit pause on the transfer of a lawsuit challenging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s plan to cap credit card late fees and nix a nearly $240,000 sanction against the former CEO of Highland Capital Management. In lower courts, Texas reaches a $6.6 million settlement over a 2019 petrochemical fire and Charif Souki is found by a bankruptcy judge to owe at least $100 million to his creditors.
Fifth Circuit Hears Mining Companies’ Bid to Undo Pecan Farm’s Jury Win
Just east of Austin, Martin Marietta Materials and TXI Operations operate a sand and gravel mine on the banks of the Colorado River. Their neighbor across the river, on the northern bank, is Good River Farms, a 377-acre pecan farm containing about 8,000 trees that has been owned and operated by the Wimberly family since 1959. This lawsuit was spawned from a major rain event — described as a 120-year flood — that hit the area on Oct. 30, 2015.
Fifth Circuit Zeroes in on ‘Act of State Doctrine’ in Fight Between Heirs, Museum Over Painting
A doctrine intended to keep courts from second-guessing official actions of foreign governments was front-and-center during oral arguments Tuesday before a Fifth Circuit panel tasked with deciding whether to revive a lawsuit brought by a family that alleges a work of art sold under duress to a Nazi art dealer in the 1930s belongs to them and not the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
Litigation Roundup: Judge Finds BP Violated ERISA; Fifth Circuit Stays Chamber’s Fight with CFPB
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, a judge in Houston sides with a group of former BP employees in an ERISA suit, the Fifth Circuit expedites oral arguments in a dispute between the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over plans to cap credit card late fees and Parkland Health prevails on appeal in an employment discrimination and retaliation lawsuit.
Houston Justices: Sexual Assault Isn’t Health Care Liability Claim
Dr. Azul Shirazali Jaffer is being sued by Michelle Maestas in Fort Bend County district court for
allegedly sexually assaulting her as she woke up in the recovery room in October 2022 following a
breast augmentation procedure. A Houston appellate court this week agreed with the Fort Bend
County district judge who declined to dismiss the suit in July 2023.
Insurer Wins Deposition Fight Against Doctor Facing Suit
In an opinion issued March 20, a three-justice panel of the Fourth Court of Appeals in San Antonio determined Barbara C. Barnett will not have to sit for a deposition in a lawsuit where insurer Texas Medical Liability Trust argues it should not have to cover the cost of defending a fraud lawsuit Barnett filed against her former oncologist, Dr. David J. Friedman. The ruling reversed a Bexar County district judge’s ruling that Barnett could be deposed.
Litigation Roundup: Chamber Takes CFPB Fight to Fifth Circuit; SXSW Wins Appeal in Covid-related Coverage Row
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, the Fifth Circuit issues a rare ruling reviving a covid-related coverage fight between SXSW and its insurer, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce takes steps