Cheryl Butler, a former Southern Methodist University law professor, sued the university and several former colleagues in 2016, bringing claims for defamation, fraud and conspiracy to defame. She appealed to the Fifth Circuit in January 2023, the same month U.S. District Judge Ada Brown dismissed her case with prejudice after agreeing that the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act preempted the claims. The Texas Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in the case that will determine whether Butler will be allowed to proceed with a defamation claim against her former coworkers, who she alleges played a role in her being denied tenure in 2016.
Litigation Roundup: Buc-ee’s Goes to Court, Again, in TM Spat
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, we detail the outside lawyers Texas has hired to bring suit against some of the largest private equity firms in the world alleging they conspired to depress the market for coal and a Beaumont personal injury lawyer gets sanctioned for using Claude to write a brief that included made-up cases and quotes.
Jury Slams Natera with $292.5M Verdict in False Advertising, Unfair Competition Trial over Colorectal Cancer Test
Guardant Health and Natera had lodged false advertising claims against each other, with Guardant filing suit first in May 2021 and Natera following with counterclaims in June 2021. The jury, which was seated Nov. 4 and heard 10 days of testimony before returning a verdict Monday, awarded Guardant $75 million in damages for corrective advertising, about $41.5 million for disgorgement of Natera’s profits and $175.5 million in punitive damages.
Litigation Roundup: Google Goes After Ex-Engineer Over Allegedly Posting Trade Secrets Online
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, the U.S. Supreme Court agrees to review a Fifth Circuit decision against the Federal Communications Commission, we identify the Dallas lawyers who helped secure a nearly $100 million verdict for the family of Botham Jean, and Vedder Price is tapped to represent NFL quarterback Baker Mayfield in a $12 million family feud.
New Trial Order Predicated on Juror Misconduct Allegations Undone in Nissan Products Liability Case
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.