Fifth Circuit’s SCOTUS Report Card: 3-8 This Term
Texas Lawbook research shows that, for the second year in a row, the judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit were among the most reversed jurists in the United States.
SCOTX Wipes Out $116M Judgment Against Werner in Fatal Crash Case
A case that began 11 years ago with a fatal crash on an icy stretch of highway near Odessa was ended Friday by the Texas Supreme Court when the justices issued an opinion wiping out a more than $100 million verdict against trucking company Werner Enterprises and its driver.
Lease Operator Owns ‘Produced Water,’ SCOTX Says
The Texas Supreme Court addressed ownership of “produced water,” an oilfield byproduct made increasingly valuable by new treatment methods. Absent a specific conveyance, the court said in a closely watched case, a surface estate does not retain ownership of the water separated from hydrocarbons during hydraulic fracturing operations.
SCOTX: Winter Storm Uri Lawsuits Seeking Billions of Dollars Narrowed But Still Alive
The Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday that the Winter Storm Uri lawsuits brought by thousands of individuals and small businesses against electric transmission and distribution utilities in Texas are legally flawed, but the justices allowed lawyers for the plaintiffs to amend their lawsuits to fix the legal issues and even provided a roadmap for their possible success. In a unanimous decision, the state’s highest court dismissed allegations of intentional nuisance and gross negligence against Oncor, CenterPoint and American Electric Power, but the decision to allow the plaintiffs to replead their gross negligence claims is viewed by attorneys for the plaintiffs as a significant victory because it keeps their lawsuits alive and moving forward. (File photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)
Ex-SMU Law Prof Sees Defamation Suit Partially Revived
After receiving some guidance from the Texas Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has determined that a former law professor at Southern Methodist University will get another chance to bring defamation claims against some of her former colleagues.
Dallas Associate Scores Split Decision in First SCOTUS Case
In a five-to-four decision, the U.S. Supreme Court handed Gibson Dunn senior associate Stephen Hammer a partial victory Thursday in a major immigration law dispute that divided the federal circuit courts of appeal and could impact thousands of asylum cases pending in the lower courts.
SCOTX Sides With Southwest Pilots Union in Boeing Suit
The Texas Supreme Court delivered some bad news for The Boeing Company on Friday morning when it issued an opinion clearing the way for the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association to sue the company for damages caused by its alleged misrepresentations about the airworthiness of the 737 MAX. Even with the court’s ruling, the union could face an uphill climb to prove and collect any damages in the case.
No Texas Jurisdiction Over Foreign Airplane Engine Maker, SCOTX Says
The Texas Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit from a woman who was severely injured in a small plane crash in North Texas. The court found that she failed to produce evidence that the Austrian manufacturer of the plane’s engine specifically intended its product to enter the Texas stream of commerce.
Jackson Walker Hires Bracewell Partner to Lead Appellate Group
Roughly one month after adding former Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan Hecht to its ranks, the firm has tapped Jeff Oldham to be the firmwide chair of its appellate section. Oldham had most recently been an appellate partner in Bracewell’s Houston office.
Winter Storm Uri Victims Ask SCOTX to Reinstate Their Claims
Lawyers for about 20,000 Texans and Texas businesses have asked the Texas Supreme Court to revive their Winter Storm Uri-related lawsuits and allow their negligence claims against power generators such as Luminant, NRG Power and Calpine to go to trial. In court documents filed Thursday, Dallas appellate law expert Ann Saucer told the justices that a 2023 decision by the First Court of Appeals in Houston that the power generators are immune from the Winter Storm Uri lawsuits “relied on invented facts” and “stifles the common law and threatens legal ossification and economic stagnation” and needs to be reversed. (Feb. 2021 AP file photo)
New UT Law Grads Make Courtroom Debut in Federal Appeals Arguments
In their career debuts, two newly minted University of Texas law school graduates and incoming Kirkland & Ellis associates faced pointed judicial questioning from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in a prison conditions case. Gabrielle Olubanke Howells and Lizeth Badillo Garcia spoke with The Texas Lawbook about rising to the rare occasion of presenting oral arguments in a federal appeals case before even taking the bar exam.
SCOTUS to Consider Chevron Removal Case
In April, a Louisiana state jury decided that Houston-based Chevron Corp. owes Plaquemines Parish $740 million for harm done to the local coastal environment by Chevron and its corporate predecessors during oil and gas exploration more than seven decades ago. On Thursday (May 29), the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to consider a grant of certiorari for an argument by Chevron and other oil companies that the case shouldn't have been heard by a state court in the first place. The Texas Lawbook backgrounds the case.