A state court in Fort Worth has denied requests by Chesapeake Exploration and Total E&P USA to dismiss claims in multidistrict litigation brought by North Texas mineral interest owners over “sham” transactions tied to royalty payments. The ruling continues a widespread rebellion by mineral rights owners who claim the Oklahoma City energy giant cheated them on royalty payments. Details in The Texas Lawbook
Lawsuit Claims Funeral Home Wrongfully Moved 80-Year-Old’s Parents’ Remains
The 80-year-old scion of a Dallas oil and gas production company has sued the owners of Restland Cemetery for allowing the removal of his parents’ remains to another cemetery without his consent. The suit, though filed against Restland, evolved from a long-simmer business dispute between Dorfman and his late brother’s children. Natalie Posgate has the vivid details.
Chinese Counterfeit Producers: Say ‘Ni Hao’ to Patterson + Sheridan Duo
He knows trademark infringement. She speaks fluent Mandarin. Together they make the rounds at trade shows looking for illegal knock-offs of their clients’ products with the aim of friendly persuasion. Say “Ni Hao” to Bruce Patterson and Nan Carr, two lawyers with an unusual approach to their IP practice and a track record of sometimes surprising success. Natalie Posgate has the story.
V&E Wins $31M IP Defense Verdict for HTC
(May 14) – An East Texas jury on Friday threw out claims that HTC Corp. infringed on a former U.S. government rocket scientists’ patent on user interface and infrared universal remote control technology.
Texas Jury Awards $166M in Murder-for-Hire Case
A Fort Worth jury slapped a $166 million judgment against the daughter and son-in-law of a North Texas woman who was killed in 2014 for the proceeds of life insurance policies totaling $5 million.
Houston Appeals Court Reverses $17M Baylor Drowning Verdict
© 2018 The Texas Lawbook. By Natalie Posgate (May 4) – A Houston appellate court has tossed out a $17 million jury negligence verdict against subsidiary of Baylor University’s general
Remaining Named Gruber Hail Partners Land at New Firms
© 2018 The Texas Lawbook. By Natalie Posgate and Mark Curriden (May 3) – Gruber Hail Johansen Shank was never a huge firm in terms of lawyers, peaking at about
SBOT Election 2018: The Insiders, the Outsiders & the “I Don’t Care’s”
Election season at the State Bar of Texas ends today. The campaign has inspired a clash that has been full of sound and fury. The question is whether it actually means anything. As former bar president W. Frank Newton notes: “Some very smart people – lawyers who are very gifted – ought to know better than fool themselves into thinking that this is all terribly important.” Natalie Posgate has the story.
Swiss Deportee to File Claims Against his Lawyers, Federal Marshal for Malpractice, ‘Entrapment’
A Swiss businessman may soon be filing a malpractice lawsuit against the federal public defenders who represented him in a criminal bankruptcy fraud case, a recent letter to a federal appeals court indicates. This is a man who was a fugitive after fleeing a federal contempt order, a pro se party several times in litigation after failing to pay his lawyers’ retainer fees, and a big spender on cars and townhouses but not so much on a $2 million civil judgment from 2011 that he still owes to his courtroom opponent. The Lawbook has the latest on this truly remarkable legal saga.
Judges, GCs Speak of the Golden Rule at DBA Day of Civility
Though that legal degree on your wall is kind of important in order to practice law, it turns out that everything you need to know about civility in the profession boils down to the ‘Golden Rule’ that you already learned in kindergarten: treat others the way you would want to be treated.