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Appellate

A Bar Member’s Visit to the Supreme Court

Though I have been counsel on SCOTUS cert petitions and responses and the occasional amicus brief over the years, I never had the opportunity to argue before the High Court. I realized I needed to make my own arrangements to watch our Supremes in action.

The argument I observed involved a lawsuit out of Texas and the Fifth Circuit challenging the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s funding mechanism. The nine justices were active in asking questions of counsel.

Litigation Roundup: Hunton AK Tapped to Defend Aetna in $1.3B Suit, Waco Jury Slams California Co. With $240M Infringement Verdict

In this edition of Litigation Roundup, Texas juries find infringement in one case involving smart thermostats and another involving cloud storage, a group of doctors want a Harris County judge to confirm a $153.5 million arbitration award in a dispute with UnitedHealthcare and federal prosecutors in Houston drop a female genital mutilation case.

Litigation Roundup: Katten to Defend $170M Healthcare Fraud Case, Fatal Crash Draws $100M Suit

In this edition of Litigation Roundup, a history professor at the University of Texas at Austin sees his retaliation lawsuit revived while a finance professor at the university sees his discrimination lawsuit tossed, a judge in the valley awards a man who had his leg amputated in a workplace injury $10.5 million, and a team of lawyers at Foley & Lardner get a win for their direct-selling client against the Federal Trade Commission.

Fifth Circuit Overturns Dallas Judge’s Order Boosting Former NFL Player’s Disability Benefits

The appellate court praised U.S. District Judge Karen Gren Scholer for casting light on the NFL retirement plan’s “disregard of players’ rights” and its “lopsided system aggressively stacked against disabled players.” But, it said, former running back Michael Cloud was not entitled, under the plan’s rules, to the increase in benefits that Judge Scholer ordered.

Texas Justices Wrestle with Attorney Fee Recovery in Prompt Payment Act Dispute

The Texas Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday morning on a certified question from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in a dispute that tees up the interpretation of a 2017 amendment to the Texas Prompt Payment of Claims Act. Noting a federal court split on the issue and that only one intermediate appellate court in Texas has addressed the issue, the Fifth Circuit asked: In an action under Chapter 542A of the act, does an insurer’s payment of the full appraisal award plus any possible statutory interest preclude recovery of attorney fees?

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