Trials & Litigation Archives - The Texas Lawbook

From Risk to Reckoning: How a Dallas Lawyer’s Long Fight Delivered Vindication

Dallas attorney Laura Benitez Geisler agreed to represent former police captain Terry Bevill after hearing his story. He had been fired, arrested and charged with a felony for signing an affidavit questioning whether a coworker could receive a fair trial in Wood County, putting him at odds with powerful rural officials.

Despite losing his job, health insurance and facing legal uncertainty for 16 months, Bevill said he would act the same way again because it was his duty to uphold the Constitution.

Moved by his conviction, Geisler felt a responsibility to take his case.

June 19, 2026 Mark Smith

Union Pacific Prevails on Appeal in Case Where Jury had Awarded $557.1M

An error in the jury charge means Union Pacific Railroad Company will be getting a new trial in a lawsuit brought by a woman who drunkenly fell asleep on the tracks in a seated position and sued the company for her injuries.

June 16, 2026 Michelle Casady

Litigation Roundup: Sidley Represents Big 12 in Suit Against Texas Tech

In this edition of Litigation Roundup, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Fort Worth regional office gets a final judgment against a Mansfield man accused in a $2.9 million fraud, and a company that offers an array of services to fuel retailers turns to the Texas Business Court in pursuit of $21 million in damages.

June 15, 2026 Michelle Casady

The Nine Most Common Mediation Mistakes

Mediation is intended to resolve disputes, not to check a procedural box or make a perfunctory settlement attempt. Too often, avoidable missteps derail that objective. Here are common mediation mistakes that make resolution harder to achieve.

June 15, 2026 Phil Appenzeller

Dallas Influencer Sues Over Apparel Company’s Deepfake, Partially Nude Instagram Post

A Dallas influencer who has cultivated an image for her 400,000 followers of a body-positive, health-conscious, family-friendly mother of three alleges an intimate apparel company “disempowered and humiliated” her by posting an AI-generated deepfake image appearing to show her partially nude body on Instagram. Tranchin’s lawyer, Brett Rosenthal of Reese Marketos, told The Texas Lawbook that EBY had not only disclaimed responsibility for the post, but at one point also threatened his client with a breach of contract claim after she declined to provide additional content to the company.

June 11, 2026 Michelle Casady

Dallas Jury Sides with Defense in Dispute Over Commercial Property Sale

Following a weeklong trial, the 12-member jury awarded no damages Thursday morning after deliberating for nearly four and a half hours. A group of 13 investors had sued a Houston lawyer claiming he breached his fiduciary duty when he sold a property that formerly housed an LA Fitness for $8.5 million instead of a higher value.

June 11, 2026 Alexa Shrake

Dallas Developer Faces Accusers in Sexual Assault Jury Trial

Jerry Jones’ neighbor, reality TV show actor and Dallas developer Bill Hutchinson, has been sued by three anonymous plaintiffs claiming he sexually assaulted them. The women also sued Virgin Hotel Dallas, of which he used to be a minority owner, alleging it was negligent and aware of his behavior toward young women but failed to act. Counsel gave opening statements Thursday morning.

June 11, 2026 Alexa Shrake

DOBS Gets $32M Win in California J&J Case

A Los Angeles jury hit Johnson & Johnson with a $32 million verdict in favor of the family of a woman who used the company’s baby powder for years and died of mesothelioma. Johnson & Johnson has vowed to "immediately appeal."

June 10, 2026 Michelle Casady

Austin Commercial Litigation Partner Moves from Kirkland to Latham

Shayne Henry, a commercial litigation partner, has joined Latham & Watkins in Austin after six years at Kirkland & Ellis across town. He will focus his practice on commercial and intellectual property disputes in state and federal courts, as well as domestic and international arbitration.

June 10, 2026 Elle Grinnell

What the Feds Took, Texas May Protect

Earlier this year, a financial executive opened an AI chatbot to think through his legal exposure before calling his lawyers, then watched a federal judge hand all 31 of those documents to prosecutors.

The lesson looked clear. A Texas court has now complicated that lesson. Same conduct, two courts, opposite results. For Texas litigators, the gap between the two is worth understanding.

June 9, 2026 Chris Schwegmann & Ben A. Barnes

Litigation Roundup: SCOTUS Reverses Fifth Circuit in AT&T Case

In this edition of Litigation Roundup, a Houston appellate court parses who owes a duty of care in a wrongful death lawsuit involving a crash allegedly caused by a driver who was engaging in phone sex, and investigators with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Fort Worth regional office reach a deal to end claims a Dallas-based real estate investment company president was lying to investors.

June 8, 2026 Michelle Casady

Business Court Passes on Challenge to Its Own Constitutionality

After a highly successful, productive and largely uncontroversial first 18 months, the burgeoning Texas Business Court recently faced its first constitutional challenge. This article analyzes the plaintiff's arguments and considers what will happen if the question ever reaches the Texas Supreme Court.

June 4, 2026 Brad G. Hubbard & Ben A. Barnes