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Appellate

Fifth Circuit Revives Racial Discrimination Suit Against Chili’s Franchisee

In a ruling issued Wednesday that drew a concurrence from two of the three judges on the panel, the Fifth Circuit determined there was a fact issue that should have precluded Chili’s from getting an early win in the lawsuit brought by Sharnez Hager. Hager, who is Black, filed suit alleging the restaurant refused to seat her family at an open table, told her it was reserved for someone else, then sat her white fiancé at the table when he entered the restaurant moments later.

SCOTX Hands Fen-Phen Clients Win in Suit Against Their Former Attorney

The Texas Supreme Court, in a unanimous ruling issued Friday, decided Houston attorney George Fleming was barred — or judicially estopped — from arguing the claims of his former clients were substantially similar after he earlier defeated class certification by arguing the claims were too distinct and therefore not suitable for class treatment. Fleming’s about-face on whether the claims of his former clients were similar or distinct came in the wake of his win in a bellwether trial against six former clients referred to in court documents as the Harpst plaintiffs.

TxDOT to Face ‘Takings’ Claim Over Tree Removal, SCOTX Says

The Texas Supreme Court rejected the state transportation department’s claim that it thought the large oaks and elms were in its right of way when it directed a contractor to have them cut down. Such a ruling would “eviscerate our constitutional bulwark against uncompensated takings,” the court said.

Houston Not Liable for Cop Car Crash with Bicyclist

Justices decided the first of three cases that test cities’ immunity when officers were involved in vehicle crashes while responding to calls for service. The court dismissed a
wrongful-death case filed by the family of a Houston bicyclist killed by a cop car speeding at night without emergency lights and sirens. The court found that the officer acted in good faith while responding to a suicide in progress call.

Texas Supreme Court Reverses $12M Verdict Due to Racially Biased Closing Argument

The Texas Supreme Court reversed a $12 million jury verdict on Friday because the plaintiffs’ lawyer during closing arguments injected the idea of racial and gender bias as a possible reason that the defendants wanted reduced amounts awarded to the plaintiffs, one of whom is an African American woman. The justices said the plaintiffs’ lawyer injected “inflammatory argument that was uninvited and unprovoked” in his final comments to the jury that essentially accused opposing counsel of race and gender discrimination when no evidence of either existed in the trial record.

SCOTX Clarifies What Damages Are Recoverable in ‘Wrongful Pregnancy’ Cases

Justice Rebeca Aizpuru Huddle, writing for a unanimous court, explained in a 21-page ruling that in so-called “wrongful pregnancy” cases only a narrow category of damages is available: those costs incurred during pregnancy, delivery and postpartum. But in this case, Grissel Velasco was seeking to recover a much broader category of damages — including the costs of rearing her daughter, mental anguish, and physical pain and suffering.

Third COA: Court Reporters’ Suit Against Certification Commission May Proceed

Court reporter Jo Ann Holmgren and her firm, Preferred Legal Services, are seeking a court finding that the Judicial Branch Certification Commission failed to do its job when it dismissed a complaint of alleged violations of court reporting laws by a digital recording company. The Third Court of Appeals rejected the JBCC’s appeal and remanded the case to the trial court.

Fifth Circuit Undoes $1.6B Judgment Against IBM

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit determined Tuesday that U.S. District Judge Gray H. Miller got it wrong when he handed down a massive $1.6 billion judgment against International Business Machines for breach and fraud in a lawsuit against Houston-based BMC Software.

SCOTUS Revives Texas Landowners’ Takings Suit Against State

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday unanimously revived the lawsuit that the U.S. Fifth Court of Appeals had dismissed with a one-paragraph ruling. Daniel Charest of Burns Charest, who is the lead trial attorney for the landowners, was confident about the outcome of the case when he was present for oral arguments in January and heard what he viewed as an important admission from Texas Solicitor General Aaron L. Nielson, who was arguing for the state.

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