Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
The defamation suit brought by a woman accused by D Magazine of living in University Park while on a federal food program took a step closer to trial last week when the Fifth Court of Appeals refused to dismiss her case against the Dallas publication. The court ruled that enough issues of fact have been raised by the plaintiff to preclude a summary judgment. Allen Pusey has details.
The first Hispanic woman elected to statewide office in 2010, Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman announced Monday that she is resigning from the state's highest court this coming Friday. Guzman, who has been a judge in Texas for 22 years, gained a reputation as an aggressive questioner during oral arguments. The Texas Lawbook's Allen Pusey has the details.
A three-judge panel in the Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas Thursday affirmed a $213 million trial court judgment against Toyota Motor Corp. The case revolved around a rear-end collision in 2016 that left two children severely brain-damaged. A Dallas jury concluded in 2018 that the injuries were exacerbated by a defective seatback design in the family's 2002 Lexus. The Lawbook's Natalie Posgate has details of the court's 2-1 decision.
When the Texas Supreme Court reversed a trial court on an issue over electronic signatures, Justice Jeffrey Boyd had a problem. The court had already decided the case, he noted in dissent, 90 years ago. The Lawbook's Allen Pusey reviews Judge Boyd's singular opinion in which he takes Bob Dylan along for the ride.
In two decisions filed Friday, the Texas Supreme Court extended long overdue immunity from non-client lawsuits to the work of transactional lawyers, but declared limits on lawyer media outside the courtroom. The Lawbook has the details.
In a case closely observed by First Amendment advocates, the Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday that a trial court erred when it agreed to seal from public scrutiny exhibits that had been subject to trade secret protections but were revealed in open court.
Investment firm Unity Resources scored a significant victory Thursday in a hotly contested securities fraud litigation when the Fifth District Court of Appeals in Dallas agreed that a lower court erred in not allowing the company to name Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton as a “designated responsible third party” in the case.
Two important energy cases are being argued before the U.S. Supreme Court this coming week. One involves hardship exemptions; the other, the use of eminent domain to build energy pipelines. Both are being closely watched by an anxious industry. The Lawbook's Tony Mauro reports from Washington D.C.
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