Civil jury trials in Dallas County were halted Monday until Jan. 28 in light of the “high number of Covid cases and the wildfire spread” of the Omicron variant and other Texas courts were proceeding with restraint.
Lynn Pinker Names Chris Schwegmann New Managing Partner
Schwegmann, who joined the firm in 2005, previously served as Lynn Pinker’s general counsel and succeeds Eric Pinker, who served as managing partner for 21 years.
Foro Energy Secures Trade Secrets Trial Defense Win Against Fellow Houston Co.
A trade secrets battle between two Houston companies in the energy industry ended Tuesday with a 40-page order by a local federal judge. The ruling was a win for a team of lawyers at Bracewell.
Top Commercial Litigation in 2021
When we turned the page on 2020, the promise was to get 2020 behind us, if nothing else. For trial lawyers that meant getting back to the courtroom. Not all did, but the significant cases and significant verdicts involving Texas lawyers showed a promising horizon: Not so cloudy, even perhaps for the lawyer starting his case by pleading he was not a cat.
Delaware Judge to ETE in $410M Merger Breakup Case w/ Williams: ‘Pay the Piper’
A Delaware chancery judge Wednesday ordered Dallas-based Energy Transfer to pay Tulsa-based The Williams Companies a $410 million breakup fee for the megamerger between the two companies that Energy Transfer called off in 2016 after market conditions in the energy industry became abysmal. The decision follows a six-day trial in May in Delaware that The Texas Lawbook covered in-depth.
Fifth Circuit Backs DOJ in Walmart Appeal of East Texas Case
A three-judge panel Wednesday unanimously affirmed an EDTX decision dismissing a case brought by Walmart challenging a federal investigation into widespread irregularities in the distribution of opioids through Walmart pharmacies in Texas and other states. Litigation writer Natalie Posgate has details.
Hilton Settles $44M Houston Sex Assault Case
Just weeks after a Harris County jury held Hilton 90% liable in the sexual assault of a Cleveland woman, the hotel chain settled with the victim for an undisclosed sum. By settling, experts say, Hilton is hoping the horrific details presented in court will “quietly go away.”
Fifth Circuit to RealPage: Go Phish
A federal appeals court Wednesday held that the Richardson-based property management-software company, a recent victim of a phishing expedition, cannot recover $6 million in stolen funds from its insurer, which affirmed a lower-court ruling that reached the same conclusion.
Houston Jury Awards $7M to Injured Nursing Assistant
The plaintiff, who was injured in 2016 while putting a bariatric patient into a wheelchair, was represented by a team of lawyers at Houston firm Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner.
Toyota and Reavis Family Reach Settlement
Toyota Motor Corp has reached a settlement in a case on appeal in which a Dallas family obtained a $213 million judgment in a car crash case, according to a joint motion the parties filed with the Supreme Court of Texas on Wednesday.
The settlement agreement follows the preservation of the nine-figure judgment this summer in Dallas’ Fifth Court of Appeals and a 2018 jury trial that rendered a $242 million verdict for Benjamin and Kristi Reavis and their two young children, Emily and Owen, who suffered permanent brain damage after a 2016 rear-end crash in the family’s Lexus ES 300.