Energy companies that compensate employees by the day must still pay those people overtime because they are not exempt salaried workers under the strict wording of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Fifth Circuit has ruled. The appeals court decision is a huge blow to energy companies who have relied for decades on the idea that they could escape paying OT to workers paid an extra high daily wage. Dissenting judges say the decision overturns decades of standard practices within the energy sector and will have a devastating impact on the oil and gas industry. The Texas Lawbook has the full details.
Lehotsky Keller Launches a Supreme Court and Business Boutique with Half its Lawyers Former SCOTUS Clerks
Former Texas Solicitor General Scott Keller and former U.S. Chamber of Commerce Chief Counsel Steve Lehotsky are building a specialty boutique that has one foot in Texas and one in Washington, D.C. And they are attracting a lot of attention from their former law clerks on the U.S. Supreme Court. Texas Lawbook correspondent Tony Mauro has the details.
From Dallas to Denver: SCOTUS practitioner Dan Geyser Departs from Alexander Dubose & Jefferson
Dallas-based appellate whiz Dan Geyser is on the move again, both literally and figuratively. Geyser announced Monday that he is going to chair Haynes Boone’s U.S. Supreme Court practice from Denver. Lawbook SCOTUS correspondent Tony Mauro has the reasons and the details.
Are the ‘Bar Wars’ Headed to SCOTUS?
The controversy over McDonald v. Longley, the lawsuit that slammed the State Bar of Texas for using mandatory dues for political purposes, has subsided for the moment. But as lawyers for the organization strive to comply with guidelines set last month by the U.S. Fifth Circuit, the issue of mandatory bar dues may be heading for SCOTUS — but not necessarily from Texas. The Lawbook’s Tony Mauro reports.
Dallas Court of Appeals Faces Internal Turmoil, Allegations of Secret Shenanigans
Dallas Appeals Court Justice David Schenck issued an opinion late Friday apparently accusing fellow justices of intentionally delaying the public reporting of a decision by a three-judge panel in order to change the composition of the panel and possibly impact the decision. But Fifth Court Chief Justice Robert Burns said Schenck is mistaken on the facts and the law. The Texas Lawbook has details.
Former SCOTX Justice Eva Guzman to Join Chamberlain Hrdlicka
Justice Guzman, who resigned from the Texas Supreme Court in June, is running to unseat Ken Paxton as Texas Attorney General. But on Wednesday she will be Chamberlain Hrdlicka’s newest shareholder.
Insurer Must Cover Landry’s in Credit Card Hack, Appellate Court Rules
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit says the Houston-based restaurant chain’s insurance company is required to represent its client in litigation over an Internet breach that led to disclosure of millions of customers’ personal data.
Houston Appeals Court Declines to Revive Lawsuit Over O’Quinn’s Dead Body
After seven years, a legal fight over the disinterment of famed trial lawyer John O’Quinn’s body has been put to rest in Houston’s First Court of Appeals.
When Textualism Divides the Texas Court
In 2015, Elena Kagan famously announced: “We’re all textualists now.” By any reasonable measure, the Texas Supreme Court is often vehemently so. But when it comes to the “plain meaning” of statutory text, even textualists sometimes find different interpretations of the same simple words. Brandon Duke examines one recent SCOTX case — decided by plurality — that reveals the complexity that can dwell behind even the simplest words.
SCOTX Clarifies Scope of General Contractor’s Duty of Care to Subcontractor Employees
The Texas Supreme Court recently reaffirmed that the typical aspects of the general contractor/subcontractor relationship do not give rise to a duty of care to subcontractor employees. The JLB Builders case, however, is a timely reminder that general contractors who exercise too much control over the manner and means of its subcontractors’ work may find itself on the hook for injury claims brought by subcontractor employees. Cornelius Sweers of Porter Hedges considers the ramifications of the decision.