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.

October 30, 2023 Michelle Casady

Regulations Cutting Roofers Out of Insurance Claim Process Challenged

Tensions between free speech and public protection were exposed during SCOTX arguments on licensing requirements for public adjusters. The justices posed hypotheticals about professions including lawyers, doctors and journalists, but the prevailing image was that of a roofer standing atop a house calling the insurance company.

October 27, 2023 Janet Elliott

SCOTX Denies Bid to Skip Over 5th COA in Judicial District Reapportionment Challenge

Keresa Richardson has argued to the courts that the malapportionment of the 14 judicial districts in Texas is a “disease” and that the use of docket equalization measures to even the workload among the courts is a “field dressing.” Richardson is alleging both issues constitute violations of the equal protection clause of the Constitution.

October 27, 2023 Michelle Casady

SCOTX to Decide if Thousands of Plaintiffs Can Sue Their Former Fen-Phen Lawyer 

Houston lawyer George Fleming says Texas law should bring an end to the claims of thousands of his former clients by analyzing “privity,” or the existence of a legally binding relationship between them, under standards articulated both in the U.S. Supreme Court’s Taylor v. Sturgell and Section 40 of the Restatement of Judgments. SCOTX justices heard arguments Tuesday and had plenty of questions.

October 25, 2023 Krista Torralva

Litigation Roundup: Ernst & Young Beats Fraud Claims, Sandy Hook Families Prevail in Alex Jones Bankruptcy

In this edition of Litigation Roundup, a massage company pays $1 million to end the sex assault claims lodged by two female customers, a lawsuit between the parent company of Ace Cash Express and a former business partner seeks as much as nine-figure damages, and American Airlines wins an appeal in a discrimination lawsuit venue fight.

October 23, 2023 Michelle Casady

Big Day for the Ho Family at SCOTUS

Allyson Ho called her husband, Fifth Circuit Judge James Ho, with exciting news: She’ll get to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court, her fifth time before the high court. He looked up the case and discovered SCOTUS was also taking on a case he’d drawn attention to.

October 23, 2023 Krista Torralva

Fifth Circuit Cites SCOTUS Precedent, Axes Win for McKinney Woman Whose Home Cops Destroyed

The panel determined that because the actions of the McKinney police took to end the hostage situation and standoff were “objectively necessary,” Vicki Baker isn’t entitled to compensation on her Fifth Amendment takings claim. The Fifth Circuit said U.S. Supreme Court precedent, which has long recognized an exception to the takings clause, mandated the outcome and that, as a lower court, “it is not for us to decide that fairness and justice trump historical precedent.”

October 18, 2023 Michelle Casady

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.

October 17, 2023 Paul C. Watler