In June, a New Jersey jury hit Janssen Products with a $150 million verdict. The final judgment trebled damages and assessed a whopping $1.27 billion civil penalty but did ax about $30 million in damages to the states under the False Claims Act after the judge agreed with Janssen that not enough evidence was presented to sustain that portion of the award. Dallas boutique Reese Marketos was brought into the case two years ago to take it to trial.
Family of Ex-SMU Quarterback Sees CTE Case Against NCAA Revived
Roger S. Braugh Sr. played both quarterback and defensive back for the Southern Methodist University football team from 1960 until 1962. He died in March 2019 and an autopsy performed at Boston University showed the cause was stage IV CTE. A Dallas County judge dismissed the suit after agreeing with the NCAA that the two-year deadline to bring the lawsuit had lapsed.
Q&A with Trial Lawyer Michael Lyons
Michael Lyons is a student of heroes. An avid reader, he concentrates on what makes a hero and how they’re portrayed in stories. It’s no wonder that the trial lawyer finds heroes in his own cases, whether it be a man killed saving his fiancée from the deadly 2021 Astroworld crowd surge or a Good Samaritan who comforted a dying truck driver.
Swift and Rigorous — Texas Business Court’s Primexx Energy Ruling and Its Implications for Corporate Governance
Texas is at the forefront of a new era in corporate governance. As businesses question decades of wisdom that led to an unflinching resolve to incorporate in Delaware, everyone seems to be asking the same question about Texas, Nevada and other states: “What do you offer that’s better?” A recent decision from the Texas Business Court helps answer that question.
Litigation Roundup: Fifth Circuit Revives Coast Guard Vaccine Mandate Challenge
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, we give readers one guess as to why Buc-ee’s filed a new lawsuit in Missouri, CBS moves to dismiss a federal lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump, and we detail two new state court lawsuits each seeking more than $100 million in damages.
Q&A with Trial Lawyer Whitney Wendel
Rounding out the five-lawyer Reese Marketos team that secured a $150 million false claims verdict against Janssen Products last summer was a young, chipper associate named Whitney Wendel, who joined the Dallas-based firm in 2023. In her short career, she has fortified herself as a litigator, her colleagues said. Wendel enjoys preparing for trial, which she compares to memorizing lines and building sets before a stage play, she said in a November interview with The Texas Lawbook.
Energy Transfer Wins $660M Jury Verdict Against Greenpeace in Dakota Access Pipeline Case
The torts and defamation case centered on the role of Greenpeace, the activist international environmental group, on protests in 2016 and 2017 against a controversial North Dakota pipeline. Greenpeace, based in the Netherlands, said the verdict could cause an end to its U.S. organization. Trey Cox, a Dallas partner at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, led the legal effort for the plaintiffs with an all-Texas team.
Justices Dig Into Preemption Issue in Boeing, Southwest Airlines Pilots Association Case
The crux of the case is whether the Railway Labor Act preempts the claims brought by SWAPA. Boeing says it does because deciding the case requires interpretation of the collective bargaining agreement between Southwest Airlines and its pilots. SWAPA says the RLA does not preempt its suit because the act only applies to claims between airline carriers and employees, and Boeing is not either of those.
Special Master Tells Judge Gilstrap ‘Bad Faith Conduct’ Requires Sanction of Irell & Manella Lawyers
Samsung had asked the court to sanction opposing counsel in a sealed motion filed in October, alleging attorneys representing CogniPower had deposed a Samsung representative using a doctored document. David Folsom of Texarkana was appointed by the court to serve as special master and investigate the issue in October.
NCAA Beats Back Texas’ ‘Sex Screening’ Temporary Injunction Bid
The NCAA had told the court there was no evidence to support Texas’ contention that any men were competing in women’s sports. “As previously represented to this Court, the NCAA is not aware of any transgender female student-athletes in any division of women’s college basketball. Moreover, even if there were, the 2025 policy would prevent them from competing.”