SCOTX Provides Clearer Guidance for Workplace Injury Cases
The Supreme Court of Texas issued a potentially precedent-setting decision that may have significant future implications for both workers at Texas businesses and the employers.
SCOTUS: Baker Botts Loses Battle over Fees in Bankruptcy Case
The justices ruled that lawyers who vigorously fight with their own clients in bankruptcy court over legal fees cannot seek reimbursement for the time they spent battling over those fees – even if the bankruptcy judge rules the lawyers did a great job and deserve the money.
DMN: Justice Willett – Tweeter Laureate in Texas
The Texas Legislature, before it adjourned, created the position “Tweeter Laureate” and it named state Supreme Court Justice Don Willett to be the first person to fill the position.
Supreme Court Sends ‘Bodacious Bar-B-Q’ Patent Case back to East Texas for Round Three
Commil USA v. Cisco Systems is definitely not the run-of-the-mill dry, unemotional patent infringement case. But any litigation that is known as the “Bodacious Bar-B-Q case” must be fascinating. The U.S. Supreme Court officially memorialized the case in the annals of legal history last week. Now the induced infringement case is headed back to East Texas for a third jury trial. More than $100 million will be at stake. This article examines the history of the case and the Supreme Court's decision.
SCOTUS Awards Gruber Hurst Client Precedent-setting Victory
In 2005, a Chicago man filed a lawsuit against Plano-based Wellness International, a maker of nutritional products. For a decade, the case alleging fraud bounced around. Nearly every court that review the case tossed it for lack of evidence. On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court may have finally ended the litigation by issuing a precedent-setting decision stating that federal bankruptcy judges are able to decide legal issues outside of their normal authority if the parties in the case consent. This article examines the decision and the history behind it.
Texas Supreme Court Removes Obstacle to Corporate Cooperation in DOJ and SEC Investigations
Texas justices, in its recent opinion in Shell Oil v. Writt, provide comfort that information shared with the government will not form the basis of a defamation claim by an individual identified in that information (at least in Texas), thus alleviating the potentially untenable position faced by companies that ostensibly had to choose between seeking cooperation credit and defending related defamation claims. The opinion also serves as an important reminder that concrete steps should be taken to preserve claims of privilege during the course of the FCPA investigation.
TX Supremes: Shell’s Allegedly Defamatory Claims Privileged in FCPA Inquiry
Information provided voluntarily by businesses to federal prosecutors as part of a foreign corruption investigation is covered by absolute privilege – even if those details contain false allegations that would otherwise be considered defamatory, the Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday.
Bell Nunnally Brings Question of First Impression to Fifth Circuit – Updated
It’s a predicament many white-collar and other criminal lawyers will never have to face, but certainly would want guidance on if, God forbid, it ever happens: What if the trial court fails to record your client’s plea hearing, and how harmless is that error? As it stands right now, it either could be like striking gold for the lawyer handling the appeal or it would make no difference, but no one knows which one it would be. Appellate associate Jason Steed of Bell Nunnally is seeking to solve the mystery. The Texas Lawbook has the scoop.
Prescription for Preemption: Texas High Court Strikes Down Hurdles To Arbitration In Care Provider/Patient Agreements
A few weeks ago, the Texas Supreme Court issued a landmark holding for health care providers seeking an easier path to arbitration. The justices essentially overturned a state law that placed onerous requirements on care providers seeking to require potential patients to prospectively submit disputes to arbitration before agreeing to admission at a facility. This article is an analysis of the decision and the impact it will have on health care providers.
UPDATED – Texas Supremes: Balancing the Bundle of Rights that Comprise a Mineral Estate Creates a “Conundrum”
In a highly watched oil and gas case, the state's highest court issued a mixed decision in a case in which royalty owners allege self-dealing by executive mineral right-holders who negotiate drilling agreements. Experts say the ruling will likely lead to greater scrutiny by trial courts. The plaintiff's lawyer says his client is disappointed that oil and gas operators will not be held responsible in these kind of mineral rights disputes.
Why Texas Will Never Recognize Underground Water Migration as Trespassing
To the disappointment of many landowners, the Texas Supreme Court avoided controversy by instead focusing on the issue of which party bears the burden to prove consent as it relates to the claim of trespass. Although there will be future cases that try to bring the issue back to life, it will continue to be a difficult road for plaintiffs to establish a claim for trespass for deep subsurface wastewater migration. If one day they do prevail, the stakes will be high.
Akin Gump Scores Appellate Win in Discrimination Lawsuit
A federal appeals court in Virginia has affirmed a lower court’s opinion that rejected discrimination claims that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission brought against Freeman, a Dallas-based marketing solutions firm.