The Texas Lawbook

Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury

Appellate

Fifth Circuit Panel: En Banc Court Needs to Change ‘Favorable Termination’ Rule Precedent

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has developed a reputation for divisiveness among its members. But Thursday, Judge Don Willett, Judge Carolyn King and Judge Dana Douglas — three jurists with widely differing judicial leanings — issued a unanimous opinion that highlighted a major injustice, publicly sought a reversal of precedent by the full Fifth Circuit and demonstrated judicial restraint. The case is the story of Erma Wilson, who was falsely accused and wrongly convicted of cocaine possession 22 years ago in Midland.

“Erma Wilson placed her faith in the justice system, trusting she would get due process and a fair trial,” Judge Willett wrote. “Wilson’s faith was misplaced. In Wilson’s trial — and in hundreds of others in Midland County spanning decades — bedrock judicial norms were dishonored.”

Houston Appeals Court: Power Generators Had ’No Legal Duty’ To Retail Customers During Winter Storm Uri

In a significant legal blow to victims of Winter Storm Uri, large power generators in Texas scored a decisive multibillion-dollar defense victory Thursday when a Houston appeals court ruled that wrongful death, personal injury and property damage claims against the generators have “no basis in law or fact.”A three-judge panel of the First Court of Appeals in Houston ruled that “Texas does not currently recognize a legal duty owed by wholesale power generators to retail customer s to provide continuous electricity to the electric grid, and ultimately to the retail customers.”

Litigation Roundup: SCOTX Will Hear PUCT Authority Case, Short-term Rental Restrictions in Dallas Halted

In this edition of Litigation Roundup, Dallas residents were granted a temporary injunction that will prohibit the city from enforcing new ordinances that would severely restrict the availability of short-term rental homes, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton accuses the U.S. State Department of conspiring to censor conservative-leaning media outlets, and the Texas Supreme Court agrees to hear a case involving the scope of the Public Utility Commission of Texas’ authority.

The Fifth Circuit Takes on Generative AI — Everything You Need to Know About the Court’s New Proposed Rule

The Fifth Circuit is the latest court to address potential misuse of generative artificial intelligence. The court is seeking comments on an amendment to Rule 32.3 that would require litigants to certify that they reviewed and verified any GenAI-generated content in their filings. Failure to comply could result in striking the document or sanctions. The Fifth Circuit is the first federal appeals court to consider a GenAI-specific rule. But its proposal comes on the heels of a flurry of lower court standing orders aimed at addressing similar concerns. These issues make it essential for lawyers to stay informed about developments in GenAI technology and ensure they are complying with applicable court rules. Indeed, the only thing that is certain in this area is that there will continue to be change.

Fifth Circuit Gets First Latina Judge After 132 Years

More U.S. senators voted Monday to confirm Judge Irma Ramirez to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit than any of President Biden’s previous 37 appellate court nominees. The senate confirmed Judge Ramirez, currently a U.S. magistrate judge in Dallas, by a vote of 80-12. She is the first Latina judge in the 132-year history of the New Orleans-based court. “It is an historic moment to finally have a Hispanic woman on the court — a long time coming,” said Gregg Costa, the Fifth Circuit judge who retired last year and who Judge Ramirez is replacing. “The first few weeks are a whirlwind. She will need to meet and get to know her new fellow Fifth Circuit judges, hire four law clerks, set up her office and get up to speed on the court’s caseload. It is a steep learning curve.”

SCOTX Tells Fifth Circ. Deadline-Tolling Statute Applies in Flight Attendants’ Boeing Suit

The federal appellate court had asked the Texas Supreme Court to answer two questions clarifying how Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code § 16.064 applies to the claims of former United Airlines flight attendants, Marvin Sanders and Matthew Sodrok, who say they were injured when a smoke detector activated — despite the absence of smoke or fire on board — at such a high volume that it burst their ear drums, caused their ears to bleed and left them with permanent hearing loss. The justices’ answers revived the lawsuit against The Boeing Company and two companies that provided parts and maintenance for the allegedly defective smoke detector.

SCOTX Ponders if ‘Wrongful Pregnancy’ is Gift from God or Grounds for Damages

The Texas Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday morning in a lawsuit where mother of four Grissel Velasco is suing Dr. Michiel R. Noe for both his failure to perform a sterilization procedure she requested and his failure to inform her the procedure had not been done. Velasco is seeking pain and mental anguish damages for the so-called wrongful pregnancy that came about 15 months after she thought she had been sterilized.

Biz Community Tells SCOTX Abortion Ban Has Cost Texas $14.5B

An amici army 40 strong, led by dating app Bumble Inc. and joined by Match Group, SXSW, Amalgamated Bank, Central Presbyterian Church, a handful of boutique law firms, doctors and hospitality companies, filed their brief with the Texas Supreme Court Monday, about a week before the court is slated to hear oral arguments in Texas v. Zurawski. But the business community is far from the only voice trying to persuade the Texas Supreme Court. A group of 20 states filed an amicus brief, as did a group of 90 Texas legislators and a handful of national women’s rights organizations.

New Texas Solicitor General Inherits Platform to Change Federal Law and Policies

BYU law professor Aaron Nielson is a renowned scholar and “a key member of the conservative legal movement” with expertise litigating against alleged regulatory overreach by federal authorities, according to lawyers and academics familiar with his work and even those who have battled him in court. The new Texas solicitor is an expert on the Administrative Procedure Act, a 1946 law that governs how federal agencies develop and implement regulations and a statute that Paxton has repeatedly used to challenge the authority of federal agencies. But in this article, The Texas Lawbook examines Nielson’s work on a 2020 U.S. Supreme Court case in which he was appointed by the justices to, ironically, brief and argue in favor of the constitutionality of the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s structure — a position that legal experts agree his boss, Texas AG Ken Paxton and other anti-federal agency advocates opposed. Nielson’s arguments won the day.

Litigation Roundup: Paxton Gets TRO to Stop Razor Wire ‘Destruction’ at Border, ITC’s Win Against Enviro Claim Affirmed in Case of First Impression

In this edition of Litigation Roundup, a jury sides with a Baylor graduate in a lawsuit over the alleged mishandling of her sexual assault complaints, a woman sexually assaulted by her masseuse has a $1.8 million punitive award wiped out on appeal, and a judge in Texas puts a nationwide halt to a new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule that would require lenders collect certain data from small business borrowers.

© Copyright 2025 The Texas Lawbook
The content on this website is protected under federal Copyright laws. Any use without the consent of The Texas Lawbook is prohibited.