Justice Scalia Visits SMU: An Essay by Mark Curriden
Scalia and Bryan Garner lecture on their new book, and cause a bit of controversy and misunderstanding.
Five Tips for Fifth Circuit Business Cases in 2013
Pleading requirements, relationships that create personal jurisdiction, insurance coverage and the limited availability of mandamus relief greatly influences how a case develops, and the Court’s restrictive attitude about mandamus may mean finality for district court decisions about them.
Texas Supreme Court Task Force: Open the Door for Foreign Lawyers – Updated
The Texas legal system has long been one of the most hostile states toward foreign lawyers practicing law, handling cases or advising clients in the US, but that may soon change.
Texas Supreme Court Orders Mandatory, Uniform E-Filing
All filings in all civil cases, including family, probate, county at-law and district courts in the large metropolitan areas and in all appellate courts will be electronic by Jan. 1, 2014
Jeffrey Boyd Appointed to Texas Supreme Court – Update
Gov. Rick Perry has appointed his chief of staff and former general counsel to fill the seat left open when Dale Wainwright resigned in September. Boyd is a former litigation partner at Thompson & Knight and was state deputy attorney general over litigation between 2000 and 2003. More than a dozen sitting Texas appellate and trial court judges applied for the state Supreme Court position. Initial reaction from Texas appellate lawyers has been positive.
Texas Supreme Court Seeks Comments on Mandatory Limits on Discovery and Trials
Defense and plaintiffs lawyers are critical of the one-size-fits-all cases approach. Litigators also worry that language in the order that might allow the court to apply the rules to disputes involving more than $100,000. Click on the headline to read the full story.
Eastland Appeals Court Sides with Occidental in $10.5 Million Royalty Dispute
Lawyers say ruling sets precedent for valuing gas containing high content of injected carbon dioxide, which is then separated out to make marketable hydrocarbon products.
5th Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Blogging Lawyer’s First Amendment Case
Lubbock lawyer John E. Gibson will get his day in court to argue for the domain name texasworkerscomplaw.com.
State Business Tax Withstands Latest Constitutional Challenge
The Texas Supreme Court Friday rejected another high-profile challenge to the state’s main business tax, ruling that the levy is applied in an equal and uniform manner. Food and drink giant Nestle USA Inc. argued for a refund of $8.68 million it paid to the state and an injunction against future collections.
$29 Million Wind Energy Contract Dispute Reaches Texas Supreme Court
Industry says legal battle could harm state’s renewable energy credit market; TXU says those claims are overblown. Nina Cortell of Haynes and Boone argues for FPL Energy, while James Ho of Gibson Dunn represents Luminant Energy.
Edith Jones Resigns as 5th Circuit Chief Judge
Chief Judge Jones is stepping away from the leadership role for “various family reasons,” but she will stay on the court as a judge. Her resignation means that Judge Carl Stewart, a 1994 Clinton appointee, will become the first African-American to serve as chief judge of the Fifth Circuit. The timing of Judge Jones' announcement is not without controversy on the court.
Class Actions Evolve in the Fifth Circuit
The federal appeals court signals the potential future of federal class litigation in the Fifth Circuit after Dukes, writes David Coale.