Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
The Texas Supreme Court on Wednesday morning was told there isn’t enough evidence that the construction of a pipe manufacturing plant in rural Matagorda County was the cause of flooding that damaged several neighboring homes during Hurricane Harvey.
Ann Saucer will stand before the Texas Supreme Court Wednesday morning to argue the largest and possibly most important civil litigation dispute the state’s highest court has handled this decade. The Dallas appellate law expert represents 15,000 individuals and small business owners who are asking the Texas justices to allow their Winter Storm Uri-related claims for wrongful death, personal injury and property damage against the largest electric transmission and distribution utilities in Texas to move forward to trial. Combined, the plaintiffs seek billions of dollars in damages from the energy companies.
The ground had not yet thawed four years ago when the Texas courts were slammed with an avalanche of lawsuits. More than 30,000 individuals and small businesses filed wrongful death, personal injury and property damage lawsuits against ERCOT and the energy companies accusing them of gross negligence that caused much of the power blackouts. A separate class action accused energy companies and financial institutions of using Winter Storm Uri to manipulate prices and generate billions of dollars in profits. Four years later, not a single witness deposition has been taken and not a single case has been set for trial. And a growing number of legal experts predict that none of those cases will ever be heard by a jury of Texas citizens.
As an assistant attorney general, James P. Sullivan saw his petition in a habeas case struck for its tone and lack of respect. He says he apologized and learned from the incident. Gov. Abbott in January elevated Sullivan from his general counsel to the Supreme Court. Relatively unknown in the Texas legal community, Sullivan’s judicial application sheds some light on his judicial philosophy. Most of his litigation experience was in federal court, the document shows, with only 20 percent in state appellate courts.
Plaintiffs firm Arnold & Itkin has appealed a Harris County trial judge’s decision that allowed the law firm Ahmad Zavitsanos & Mensing to stay on as defense counsel to Transocean in multidistrict litigation stemming from offshore workers’ injuries, arguing the ruling was “in error” and “an abuse of discretion.”
Former Fifth District Court of Appeals justice Amanda Reichek has joined Dallas law firm Tillotson Johnson Patton as a partner after losing her re-election bid in November. Reichek, who previously worked in plaintiff-side employment law and union-side labor law, expressed excitement about returning to a small firm setting and joining a "top-notch" legal team. The firm’s name partner, Jeff Tillotson, praised Reichek's knowledge and skill, noting she adds tremendous value to their already strong appellate group.
One of the Supreme Court’s less-heralded decisions from last term promises to have major consequences for businesses affected by federal regulations: Corner Post v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
The en banc oral arguments came in a dispute between Abraham Watkins Nichols Agosto Aziz & Stogner and former associate Edward Festeryga, who the firm alleges tried to take its clients with him when he left. The whole court agreed to hear the dispute after Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan — who sat on the panel that sided with the law firm and affirmed a ruling that sent the case back to state court — called for the move in a July 2024 concurring opinion that said the crux of the court’s 1980 holding in In re Weaver was “incorrect.”
Some were surprised by Gov. Greg Abbott’s selection of Jimmy Blacklock as Texas Supreme Court Chief justice, but his eyes were always on big questions about the role of the constitution and development of the law. His leadership is likely to continue the court’s conservative rulings.
In an 18-page ruling issued Thursday, Chief Justice Jaime Tijerina and Justices Clarissa Silva and Lionel Aron Peña Jr. held that the lawsuit — alleging Google violated state law when it made certain representations about how user location information and browsing history data is collected — cannot proceed in Texas courts.
Chief Justice Jimmy Blacklock has been on the court since 2018 and has been elevated to fill the chief justice position left vacant by Nathan Hecht’s retirement. Hecht had helmed the court since 2013. Also on Monday, the governor named James P. Sullivan as the newest member of the Texas Supreme Court. Both men formerly served as general counsel to the governor.
Rulings in the two latest cases and a third decided in May set up a demanding standard for when police officers can be sued over injuries and deaths caused while pursuing suspects or responding to calls for help. Although the circumstances varied, the court said none of the cases met the emergency exception to governmental immunity.
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