WWHD? — Should the Question ‘What Would Hamilton Do?’ Inform the Fifth Circuit’s Separation-of-Powers Jurisprudence?

Seven federal courts, including the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, have rejected arguments that federal financial regulators should not be funded by assessments made outside the usual budgeting process. The reasoning was those fundings are done pursuant to acts of Congress.

The Fifth Circuit in Community Financial Services Association of America v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau saw matters otherwise and cited several drafters of the Constitution, including the ubiquitous Alexander Hamilton.

October 24, 2022 David Coale

Behind the Scenes: How a Pair of Texas Friends Prepped for a SCOTUS Argument

Ed Sullivan and Sam Kaplan (pictured center) have been friends for 30 years, beginning when they met at the University of Texas as undergraduates. Later they both decided to become lawyers.

Their friendship continued but never as intensely as it did this year, while working together on a case that would go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The case, argued Oct. 12, was Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. v. Hewitt, a dispute about whether highly paid employees are eligible for overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act. It is an important issue for the oil and gas industry. The case was brought by Michael Hewitt, a “tool-pusher” on an offshore oil rig. Other amicus briefs indicated that the outcome of the case could affect a range of organizations including nursing.

October 21, 2022 Tony Mauro

Full Fifth Circuit Will Rehear Dallas Jailers’ Discrimination Suit

In an order issued Wednesday, the court vacated a panel’s Aug. 3 ruling that ended the lawsuit and set the case for rehearing before the entire court. The three-judge panel that issued the original ruling siding with Dallas County called for en banc review in the opinion, lamenting that court precedent mandated dismissal of the suit challenging a gender-based scheduling policy.

October 14, 2022 Michelle Casady

Texas Grape Growers, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Pick Sides in Crop Damage Case

The Texas Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Oct. 26 in the case that asks it to decide whether a group of cotton farmers suing Helena Chemical Co. for crop damage allegedly caused by the aerial application of an herbicide have presented enough evidence to survive a no-evidence motion for summary judgment. In amicus briefs recently filed, the Chamber and the Texas Wine and Grape Growers Association each warned the court of dire consequences that could flow from its ruling.

October 13, 2022 Michelle Casady

Sherman Murder Defendant Loses Effort to Overturn His Death Penalty in Racially Tinged Prosecution 

The U.S. Supreme Court denied review — and habeas relief — for the killer in a notorious 2004 Sherman case who murdered his estranged wife, turning down his argument that he was denied effective assistance of counsel after his trial counsel failed to strike any of three jurors who stated religious objections to interracial marriage or mixed-race children. The habeas corpus effort lingered on the Supreme Court’s docket for more than a year from when it was filed in September 2021 and drew amicus support by leading Texas jurists and ex-PepsiCo general counsel and former deputy U.S. attorney general Larry Thompson.

October 11, 2022 Osler McCarthy

Texas Supreme Court Weighs Meaning of ‘Double Fractions’ in Ancient Oil-and-Gas Agreements

In one case alone, $50 million in disputed royalties are at stake. And that could be just the tip of the iceberg.

October 11, 2022 Bruce Tomaso

Texas Supreme Court Halts Compelled Remote Jury Trial

In a list of orders issued Friday morning, the state’s high court decided the case without hearing oral argument, agreeing with the plaintiff and defendant in an underlying lawsuit over an automobile crash that Harris County District Judge Dedra Davis abused her discretion in ordering the remote trial. Three prominent trial lawyer groups filed amicus briefs in the case arguing the order was unconstitutional.

October 7, 2022 Michelle Casady

SCOTX Focuses On Expert Requirement In Assisted Living Center Fall Case

The court is being asked to determine whether claims arising out of a resident’s fall on the facility’s sidewalk is a premises liability claim or a health care liability claim requiring an expert report.

October 5, 2022 Janet Elliott