Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
An online travel agency has sued eight major hotel chains claiming an agreement to suspend competitive bidding on each other's branded online search terms damaged its business. It's a complex allegation of anticompetitive behavior and Lawbook litigation writer Natalie Posgate explains it.
Two recent rulings for $178.5 million have ended what had been one of the longest running cases in the nation. The downside of the case, filed nearly three decades ago, is that only about 70 of the original 2300 plaintiffs have lived to see its end. The Lawbook's Litigation Writer Natalie Posgate has the bittersweet details.
Texas-based 1776 Energy Partners has settled for nearly $5 million a legal malpractice claim against a San Antonio law firm after one of its lawyers botched a lawsuit so badly that they were forced to settle as defendants a suit the company had pursued as the plaintiff.
Only four months before Texas Capital Bank General Counsel Kelly Rentzel became the bank’s first in-house lawyer, she tried to kill herself in her bathtub. Rentzel’s journey with bipolar disorder has seen both struggle and revelation. Natalie Posgate profiles Rentzel's remarkable personal trials and her brave new effort to educate others.
An appellate court ruled Thursday that the arbitrability of a $15 million legal dispute between Houston-based Apache Corp. and Fort Worth-based Wagner Oil Company will have to be debated in front of an arbitrator in Houston, not a trial court in Fort Worth as WOC had hoped.
It started with a Chapter 11 bankruptcy tied to an Austin affiliate of the Forest Park hospital. It ended with a revelation in a separate case in Dallas of multiple potentially illegal transfers of millions of dollars during the bankruptcy proceeding. The bankruptcy case has now reopened to determine whether a Dallas private equity manager, the recipient of these millions, should be held in contempt and hit with six-figure sanctions. The Lawbook has the story.
Most days, Hogan Lovells partner Kevin Lipson dives into complex legal matters for energy regulation law. But today, his attention was on an art auction that reeled in $5 million for the estate of famed artist Robert Indiana, known around the world for his "LOVE" images. Lipson represents the executor of Indiana's estate. Details here on how he got involved.
Houston-based MLP Natural Resource Partners recently got a $25 million payday thanks to their lawyers at Schiffer Hicks Johnson. The payment is tied to a $190 million settlement the firm obtained in a payment dispute tied to a couple coal mines owned by Foresight Energy. Details here.
There are three ways to defend an oil company involved in litigation, according to EDGE Litigation Consulting's Dan Jacks and Mark Sobus: the good, the bad and the downright ugly. But even if it’s ugly, it's best to start any defense with the reality of what jurors really think about your client going in.
If you were ever wondering what it takes to get hired on big cases for BP, Exxon or Chevron, look no further. A trio of lawyers from the major oil companies dished during a conference last week on qualities they’re looking for – or not looking for – in their outside law firms. Natalie Posgate was at the panel discussion and has the details.
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