Doubling down on a ruling earlier this year that intent governs whether employee lawsuits are excepted from the restrictions of the Texas Workman’s Compensation Act, a unanimous SCOTX tossed a $43.5 million jury verdict for a worker who lost a leg in what the court itself described as “an avoidable, unjustifiable, and grossly negligent accident.” Janet Elliott explains.
SDTX Federal Judges Release New Music Video: ‘We’ll Be Back’
A new video featuring Fifth Circuit Judge Jennifer Elrod and U.S. District Judge Charles Eskridge singing about the coronavirus’ impact on the federal courts in the Southern District of Texas is spreading across Facebook. The message: Don’t be sad or mad. Your fave judges will be back in their courtrooms soon.
Fight Involving Texas Legal Recruiter to Proceed in Hong Kong (Maybe)
A new Fifth Circuit ruling involves an Austin legal recruiter and a competitor who are sparring in litigation that has stretched from Texas to Asia and involves accusations of defamation and theft of trade secrets.
Texas SG Hawkins ‘Under Siege’ from Supreme Court Justices in Affordable Care Act Case
Oral arguments over the Texas-led challenge to the Affordable Care Act appeared to be an uphill battle for Texas Solicitor General Kyle Hawkins Tuesday. Questions about the Texas arguments, even from the conservative end of the bench, appeared to be “bludgeoning him,” in the words of one observer. Texas Lawbook Supreme Court reporter Tony Mauro explains.
Houston Appellate Races Remain Tight, Process far from Over
Three days after the election and with nearly all the votes counted, the four judicial races in Houston’s First and Fourteenth Court of Appeals are in a photo finish that seems to reflect that two Republican incumbent justices and two Democratic challengers are on the verge of winning.
Like President Donald Trump and Former Vice President Joe Biden, the fate of all eight candidates is still pending as they enter the weekend. One of the candidates has a lead of 0.6%.
“All I can say is we are ahead as of now,” Amparo Monique Guerra, a candidate for the First Court told The Texas Lawbook. Natalie Posgate has all the details.
UPDATED: Houston Appellate Races Tighten Between Red & Blue (Again); Dems Sweep Dallas COA Races
The four races for seats on Houston’s First and Fourteenth courts of appeals are incredibly close. Three incumbent Republican justices are leading their opponents by 1%, while one Democratic candidate is ahead of the GOP incumbent justice by 1%. By contrast, three Democratic district court judges are leading the incumbent Republican justices on the Dallas Court of Appeals by significant margins. Natalie Posgate has the details.
TX Supreme Court Stays Solidly All Republican
At a time when political analysts say Texas is trending blue, the state’s voters overwhelmingly decided to keep the Texas Supreme Court totally Republican. With 90% of the counties reporting, all four incumbent state Supreme Court justices cruised to re-election Tuesday. In fact, all four justices won their races by larger vote margins than did their colleagues in 2018. The Texas Lawbook has the details.
Texas Judicial Election Results
The Texas Lawbook has five journalists tonight – election night – covering the judicial appellate and trial court races and will provide details as the election results are provided.
