During oral arguments in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the configuration of Texas’ intermediate appellate court districts, the panel was asked to halt the March 5 primary election for the intermediate courts of appeals. The lawsuit brought by Keresa Richardson seeks to have the courts redraw the districts to address malapportionment. Richardson previously sought to have all members of the Dallas appellate court recuse themselves (two obliged) from hearing the case arguing they all have a conflict of interest “derived from the fact that this case will affect their elected status, their voting districts, and their future elected status, and thus they are all personally interested in the relief being requested and should not be the arbiters of the issues.”
Power Trader Brings Legal Challenge to PUCT’s Creation of Contingency Reserve Service
Aspire Power Ventures filed a direct appeal with the Third Court of Appeals in Austin on Tuesday, challenging three orders issued by the Public Utility Commission of Texas that created and modified a program to provide reserve power in emergency situations. While the stated goal of the ERCOT Contingency Reserve Service is to prevent grid issues like what the state experienced during Winter Storm Uri, Aspire alleges it instead “does nothing to increase actual electricity reserve capacity — in fact, it actually decreases capacity when it is most needed.”
Dallas Jury Awards $22M to Ousted Real Estate CEO
A jury heard eight days of testimony and deliberated for less than two hours before unanimously siding with Daniel Moos on his breach of contract claims. The jury rejected Pillar Income Asset Management’s counterclaims that Moss had breached his fiduciary duty to the company.
Litigation Roundup: Pension Fund Sues Pioneer Over Exxon Deal, Union Pacific to Face Fatal Crash Suit
In this week’s edition of Litigation Roundup, Pioneer Natural Resources draws suit over its $60 billion Exxon deal, a fight between faculty at MD Anderson spills into court, a jury renders a take-nothing judgment in a personal injury suit that had sought damages in excess of $10 million, and the Fifth Circuit revives a fatal crash suit against Union Pacific.
Longtime Thompson Coe Partner to Launch New Personal Injury Firm
William Moye is not only venturing out on his own for the first time after 20 years with Thompson, Coe, Cousins & Irons, he’s entering a whole new practice area. Moye Law Firm, slated to open March 1, will focus on handling catastrophic personal injury cases.
State Bar Releases Judicial Election Poll Results
The State Bar of Texas recently released the results of a straw poll it conducts every election cycle that asks its members to cast a ballot for the judge or justice of their choice for the various contested races across the state. Here, The Lawbook takes a look at the 2024 results for Texas Supreme Court races, but also compares the results of the 2022 and 2020 straw polls with the results of the general election in an attempt to offer insight into how often the voting members of the bar aligned with the Texas voting public at large.
Fifth Circuit Panel Hears Round 2 Challenge to SEC’s ‘No Admit, No Deny’ Policy
Christopher Novinger, of Mansfield, was before the Fifth Circuit for the second time on Thursday morning seeking relief from a “no admit, no deny” provision in a 2016 settlement agreement he entered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In July 2022 a different panel of that court rejected his attempt to free himself from the gag order provision via a Rule 60(b) motion that argued the “no deny” portion of the policy violated his First Amendment and due process rights.
Litigation Roundup: Fifth Circuit OKs Lockheed’s Win in Discrimination Suit, Exxon Says ‘Activist Shareholders’ Withdrew Climate Proposal
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, the dispute between ExxonMobil and two activist shareholders could be over, the battle between Yelp and Texas over pregnancy crisis center disclaimers continues and the Fifth Circuit agrees that a discrimination lawsuit against Lockheed Martin was rightfully tossed.
Vartabedian & Hester Announces New Name Partner, New Offices, 2 More Additions
The energy-focused team from Alston & Bird that launched a new firm in Fort Worth late last month has added Craig Haynes from Holland & Knight to become Vartabedian, Hester & Haynes. The firm has also officially opened an office in Dallas and is in the process of opening an office in West Texas.
SCOTX Answers Fifth Circuit’s Prompt Payment Question in Favor of Insurer
The court heard oral arguments in October in Rodriguez v. Safeco Insurance Company, a case that that asked the court to interpret a state insurance law as it related to recovery of attorney fees. “Rather than speculate about whether the Legislature intended recovery of attorney’s fees to be likely, unlikely, or impossible, we should instead stick with the bedrock principle that the Legislature intends the courts to follow its instructions as written,” Justice Jimmy Blacklock wrote for the unanimous court. “In this instance, the Legislature has required the use of a mathematical formula that yields zero attorney’s fees in cases like Rodriguez’s.”