A jury had sided with Nissan in March, issuing a take-nothing verdict in the lawsuit brought by Deana A. Rios following the April 2022 death of her husband. In a 46-page opinion issued Thursday and authored by Chief Justice Terry Adams, the panel held Harris County District Judge Fredericka Phillips had abused her discretion by granting Rios a new trial, in part by relying on inadmissible testimony from some of the jurors about deliberations in the case.
Judge Isgur Tosses Insurers’ $1.3B Claims Against Zachry, Chiyoda
According to audio of the hearing available on the docket, Judge Isgur told counsel for the insurers about four minutes before he issued an oral ruling from the bench dismissing the subrogation that he wasn’t inclined to adopt his arguments. “I’m not even following a little bit of your argument, just so you know,” he said. “It seems obvious that you’re wrong.”
Dallas County Judge Ordered to Rule on Motion for Arbitration Pending Since July 2022
In an opinion dated Nov. 12 but not published to the court’s website until Monday, the panel found that “the trial judge has abused her discretion by failing to perform her ministerial duty to rule on Megatel’s motion to compel arbitration despite Megatel’s numerous attempts to set a hearing and request a ruling.”
Litigation Roundup: SCOTX Will Hear Anadarko Lease Dispute
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, Kroger strikes an $83 million deal to bring an end to opioid epidemic claims in Texas, the state is given a deadline to reply to a rehearing request in the longrunning litigation over the safety of the foster care system and a fried chicken trademark spat lands in the Eastern District of Texas.
Fort Worth Jury Convicts E-Discovery Firm of Class B Misdemeanor
Consilio, which claims to be the largest e-discovery firm in the world, committed a Class B misdemeanor offense when it accessed a woman’s computer without consent, a jury recently determined. Rob Miller of Miller Copeland, who represented the plaintiff, told The Texas Lawbook he believes this is the first lawsuit of its kind to be decided by a jury.
Litigation Roundup: PEMEX, Shell Sued Over Fatal Gas Leak, Frost Bank Gets Arbitration Win
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, we offer details on a recent $1.3 million arbitration win a team from Greenberg Traurig secured for Frost Bank, identify the law firm pursuing litigation in the wake of a fatal helicopter crash in Houston and explain a ruling from U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman that will likely change who can build transmission lines in Texas.
Jackson Walker Bankruptcy Fee Trial Pushed to April
During a roughly 80-minute hearing Tuesday, Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Eduardo V. Rodriguez set an April 21 trial date in the litigation that will determine whether the U.S. trustee can claw back millions in bankruptcy fees awarded to Jackson Walker in cases handled by former judge David Jones. The court has given the parties until Dec. 2 to file dispositive motions in the case.
Fifth Circuit Sides with Southwest Pilots Union in Fight with Airline
The Monday ruling from a three-judge panel undoes a September 2023 order from U.S. District Judge Barbara M.G. Lynn dismissing the complaint and effectively kicking the case to arbitration. Judge Lynn had concluded that the union failed to show there was “anti-union animus” that would have created an exception and allowed the case to proceed in district court.
Litigation Roundup: Rehearing at Fifth Circuit Goes Tesla’s Way in NLRB Dispute
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, we detail a 9-8 ruling from the Fifth Circuit that wiped out a National Labor Relations Board ruling against Tesla, offer new details on who is defending SpaceX in a fight with a neighboring South Texas landowner, and highlight a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that hits pause on a Fifth Circuit ruling in a case centered on the regulation of horseracing.
Gibson Dunn Leads Industry Challenge to FTC ‘Click to Cancel’ Rule
The Fifth Circuit has shown a willingness to invalidate agency actions like the FTC rule being challenged here. In recent years, the court has struck down a variety of rules after finding their implementation ran afoul of either the enacting agency’s authority or the federal Administrative Procedure Act.