A lender that recently emerged from bankruptcy sues its insurance company. An out-of-state bank defeats a Dallas-based homebuilder in a dispute over an airplane. Patent infringement litigation begins against two giants in the smartphone and beverage industries. This week’s Litigation Roundup details it all.
Litigation Roundup: Opioids, Psilocybin & (Alleged) Legal Malpractice
This week of the Litigation Roundup features a settlement, an attorney’s fees award and three new lawsuits. The litigation features a deceased Houston Rockets scout, a disabled NFL player, a Houston DEA agent who won awards for putting pill-pushing doctors in jail, the founder of a well-known Dallas hedge fund and a Houston litigation boutique’s role in a Freedom of Information Act request involving the clinical use of magic mushrooms in Washington state.
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Litigation Roundup: Nike Ghosts Patent Lawsuit, Tennis Star Double Faults in Court of Law, Energy Transfer Sued
Two jury verdicts that exceed $1 billion, including abortion issues involving Southwest Airlines and the adjudication of long-anticipated Dallas Police and Fire Pension dispute. Two new lawsuits against two major North Texas corporations — one involving alleged illegal horizontal drilling and another involving boiling water poured on customers. Two Ukrainian nationals accused of money laundering strike plea deals with federal prosecutors. All that and more in this week’s Litigation Roundup.
Three GCs Provide a Peek into Their Companies’ Diversity Efforts
The top lawyers at Jacobs Engineering Group, Southwest Airlines and El Rancho Supermercado spent Tuesday’s lunch hour speaking about multiple aspects of diversity within the legal profession — what diversity means for them and their organizations, why it’s important in both the in-house and outside counsel context and how it could be improved. The Lawbook attended the event, which was organized by the Dallas Regional Chamber, hosted by UNT Dallas College of Law and sponsored by Munsch Hardt and Carrington Coleman.
Litigation Roundup: An American Settlement, Money Laundering & Ducks
A couple feeds ducks in their neighborhood and now may lose their house from a costly lawsuit brought by their homeowners association. Elon Musk hires lawyers in Austin. Prosecutors in the Northern District of Texas score a plea deal in a money laundering case. In this week’s Litigation Roundup, Natalie Posgate details each case and invites you to tell your own HOA stories.
Appeals Court Reverses Nail Polish Verdict
A Houston appellate court has reversed a 2019 jury verdict that awarded European cosmetics distributor Benelux Cosmetics $2.7 million against Houston-based gel nail polish manufacturer GHP Nail Systems and its parent company. The decision by the Fourteenth Court of Appeals is a win for a group lawyers at Hicks Thomas and Wright Close Barger.
Litigation Roundup: TCU Hazing, Ripped Gloves, Attorneys’ Fees Galore
A final judgment in a commercial landlord-tenant dispute. Another juror contracts Covid-19, delaying trial proceedings for a second time. A group of Houston lawyers score big in Las Vegas. All that and more in this week’s litigation roundup.
Ben & Jerry’s Sues Parent for Backtracking on West Bank Ice Cream Sales Stance
Famed ice cream maker Ben & Jerry’s sued Conopco, a subsidiary of parent company Unilever, in Manhattan federal court Tuesday morning alleging a deal Unilever struck regarding sale of the company’s ice cream in the West Bank violates their 2000 merger agreement. The lawsuit, filed by AZA, presents a conflict between the prerogative of Ben & Jerry’s independent board to make decisions about its social missions and its parent company’s authority over finances and operations.
McDermott Opens in Austin
Chicago firm McDermott, Will & Emery has opened an Austin office with the hiring of eight intellectual property partners from Baker Botts. It’s the firm’s third office in Texas and 22nd worldwide.
Litigation Roundup: Pizza Hut Franchise Win, Charter Punis Phase Delayed, More Social Media Addiction
A juror gets Covid, delaying the punitive damages phase of a wrongful death trial that has already rendered a $375 million actual damages verdict. A denied PPP loan turns into litigation. Alleged gossip at a La Madeleine results in a pro se lawsuit. Elon Musk gets sued again. And more.