In this edition of Litigation Roundup, a $100 million defamation lawsuit against Marriott gets rolling, Dell Technologies gets a win in a $450 million patent infringement lawsuit and the Fifth Circuit agrees Landry’s is on the hook for data breach damages.
Baylor Law Dean to Step Down After 31 Years
This summer, Bradley Toben will return to the faculty, where he first began teaching law courses in 1983, following his tenure as the longest-serving dean of any American Bar Association-accredited law school in the country.
Just Energy Seeks to Join Litigation Against PUC Over Winter Storm Uri Pricing
Retail electric provider Just Energy has asked the Austin Court of Appeals to allow it to join a lawsuit brought by a half-dozen other Texas power suppliers challenging the legality of Texas Public Utility Commission orders increasing the price of electricity during Winter Storm Uri in 2021 by 650 percent.
‘Call Your First Witness’ – Fifth Circuit to Lawyers in Final Stanford Ponzi Scheme Trial
A three-judge panel of a federal appellate court has rejected a last-ditch effort by three banks to postpone an upcoming trial in which victims in the R. Allen Stanford Ponzi scheme are seeking billions of dollars in damages. The four most powerful words from the lips of a United States district judge are simply, ‘Call your first witness,’ and the veteran presiding judge will so state in a few short days,” the Fifth Circuit stated in the three-page decision.
Litigation Roundup: Paxton Settles Whistleblower Suit, Houston Attorney Guilty of Obstruction
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, a federal judge finds more flaws in the No Surprises Act, a Houston attorney is found guilty of obstruction of justice and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton agrees to apologize and pay-up to settle Whistleblower suit.
Texas Supreme Court Weighs Noneconomic Damages Cap
The state’s high court, minus three justices who recused themselves from the case, heard oral arguments Tuesday in a case that’s being closely watched by the insurance industry, economic and trial lawyer interest groups and law professors. The case presents the court with an opportunity to clarify the proper standard of review for noneconomic damages awards.
Former Texas Appellate Judge Rejoins Dykema
After eight years on the Dallas Court of Appeals, former justice David Schenck is practicing law at his old law firm. In an interview with The Texas Lawbook, Schenck said Dykema was the only firm he seriously considered.
Lawmakers to Consider Ending Mandatory Judicial Retirement Age
Currently, judges and justices in Texas are required by the state’s constitution to retire at age 75 in most instances. A legislator from Angleton has authored a resolution that would give voters an opportunity to amend the constitution and do away with that requirement.