Cheryl Butler, a former Southern Methodist University law professor, sued the university and several former colleagues in 2016, bringing claims for defamation, fraud and conspiracy to defame. She appealed to the Fifth Circuit in January 2023, the same month U.S. District Judge Ada Brown dismissed her case with prejudice after agreeing that the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act preempted the claims. The Texas Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in the case that will determine whether Butler will be allowed to proceed with a defamation claim against her former coworkers, who she alleges played a role in her being denied tenure in 2016.
Texas Secretary of State Updates Results in Dallas Appeals Court Election
Wednesday afternoon, as lawyers left their offices for the long Thanksgiving weekend, Texas election officials quietly updated the official results of the race for the Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas. The final vote tally shows that Dallas County Criminal Court Judge Tina Clinton received nearly 1,600 votes more than her Republican opponent, giving the Democrats a sole victory among the eight races for state appellate court. But lawyers say that state Republican leaders are pressuring its candidate to challenge the results.
New Trial Order Predicated on Juror Misconduct Allegations Undone in Nissan Products Liability Case
A jury had sided with Nissan in March, issuing a take-nothing verdict in the lawsuit brought by Deana A. Rios following the April 2022 death of her husband. In a 46-page opinion issued Thursday and authored by Chief Justice Terry Adams, the panel held Harris County District Judge Fredericka Phillips had abused her discretion by granting Rios a new trial, in part by relying on inadmissible testimony from some of the jurors about deliberations in the case.
Hecht, Yes! Longest-serving SCOTX Member Had Unparalleled Impact on Business Litigation, Legal Aid
Not since the frontier days when Texas jurisprudence was being developed from Spanish law has there been a Supreme Court justice as influential as Nathan Hecht. While serving on the court for 35 years as a justice and chief justice, Hecht was a leader in the court’s transition from a plaintiffs-oriented body to one that pleased the business community with skepticism about large jury verdicts in tort cases. He played key roles in writing procedural rules that make litigation more efficient and vigorously advocated for civil legal services funding. As the longest-serving judge in Texas history hangs up his judicial robe due to state-mandated retirement, he recalls elections past and decisions that helped shaped the current court.