U.S. Magistrate Judge David Counts in Midland heard two felony pleas agreements Thursday morning and recommended to the U.S. District judge that they be accepted. After lunch, Judge Counts accepted the pleas of a handful of criminal felony defendants. Between the two court appearances, he was sworn in as the new U.S. District judge for the Western District of Texas. The Texas Lawbook has an exclusive interview with Judge Counts.
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Dallas Lawyers Think Better of Their Judges than Houston Lawyers (Then Again, Maybe…Or Not)
The Houston Bar Association recently released its biennial survey of lawyer ratings for judges. Dallas released a similar survey last May. Taken at face value, Dallas lawyers are a lot more comfortable with their local judges than Houston lawyers. The problem is you can’t take it at face value. And if you look closely, the results may be reversed. Natalie Posgate explains in The Texas Lawbook.
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Updated: Next Round in Hopper Family’s $8B Probate Battle Against J.P. Morgan Commences
Jo Hopper and her step-children won an $8 billion jury verdict against J.P. Morgan last year over the handling of her late husband’s estate. But a fight over attorneys’ fees in a Dallas probate court this week shows the real battle is just beginning. Natalie Posgate has the details in The Texas Lawbook.
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Federal Circuit Denies Nintendo’s Appeal of iLife’s Patent
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit denied an appeal by Nintendo challenging a $10.1 million patent infringement verdict by a Dallas jury. The Texas Lawbook has coverage of the appeal and the trial verdict that sparked it.
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Dallas Jury Slaps BBVA Compass with $98M Fraud Judgment
Derrick Boyd scored the biggest courtroom victory of his 23-year career last week when a Dallas jury found that a bank had defrauded his client, a North Texas developer, and awarded $98 million in damages. The Decatur-based trial lawyer said the trial turned on emails from bank executives. The Texas Lawbook has the inside details.
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Jury Clears Servergy CEO of Most Charges, but Keeps Liability on One
An East Texas jury on Wednesday found William E. Mapp liable for one count of negligence for misleading investors about the business prospects of company that he founded and formerly led, McKinney-based Servergy. But it also cleared Mapp of seven other charges that Mapp committed fraud and offered unregistered securities.
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Updated: Pecos Judge Enters Final Judgment in Pickens Case – Finally
Summary: A West Texas judge has entered a long-awaited final judgment in the T. Boone Pickens lawsuit against his former partners in an oil and gas deal. The judge’s order is a mixed bag worth more than $117 million for Pickens, but the real value may be in the court battle it took to get the judge to file it. Natalie Posgate has the details.
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Fish Secures $1M in Attorney’s Fees in Bed Bath & Beyond Patent Dispute
You may as well just call it Bed, Bath & Money. A group of Dallas Fish & Richardson intellectual property lawyers said Tuesday that they scored $932,000 in attorney’s fees for their work on New Jersey-based Bed Bath & Beyond’s patent infringement victory over Inventor Holdings in August 2015.
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Texas Lawbook Exclusive: UDF Sues Kyle Bass & Hedge Fund Amid Flurry of Law Enforcement Investigations – Updated
The two-year feud between Hayman Capital Management hedge fund manager Kyle Bass and United Development Funding erupted publicly last week when UDF filed an explosive lawsuit accusing Bass and Hayman of illegally spreading false information about the Grapevine-based real estate development lender in an effort to destroy its business and reap financial gain by short-selling UDF stocks.
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Lamar Hunt Private Equity Firm is Betting More Lawyers Will Outsource Trial Work
Dallas private equity firm Trinity Hunt Partners, which is sponsored by the Lamar Hunt family, is betting on a growing trend of lawyers outsourcing part of their grueling trial work to outside specialists.