Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
The final chapter of Energy Transfer and Williams’ legal battle over their failed mega-merger from 2016 will unfold in a six-day trial that begins Monday in Delaware. If you forgot what they’re still fighting about, not to worry. Natalie Posgate has the who, what, when, where and why to refresh your memory.
For the second time this spring, a Fort Worth federal judge has dismissed with prejudice a lawsuit that stemmed from a business deal that fell apart between Arlington-based Six Flags Entertainment Corp. and Riverside Investment Group related to the development of Six Flags parks in China.
Mediation has always been an important part of patent litigation – especially in the Eastern District of Texas. Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, virtual mediations have become an important and successful way to resolve patent disputes. We have conducted or participated in more than 50 virtual patent mediations since the pandemic began, and these recommended best practices are based on our experiences over the past year.
A Houston jury ruled Thursday afternoon that Houston-based TechnipFMC did not own trade secrets related to subsea drilling designs that the company had accused hometown rival Dril-Quip and ex-FMC engineer Rick Murphy of misappropriating, handing FMC a take-nothing verdict.
Lawyers for Dril-Quip and Murphy said they were thrilled with the result. An attorney for FMC said the company respects the verdict, but promised an appeal.
For a day and a half, a Houston jury has been weighing whether Houston-based Dril-Quip and one of its engineers stole trade secrets from TechnipFMC, a rival competitor in the subsea drilling industry, and if so, how much those trade secrets are worth. They return Thursday morning to continue the debate.
A federal jury in East Texas has cleared patent infringement liability for APCON Inc., an Oregon-based network security company with significant operations in Plano. The jury also invalidated five patents owned by the plaintiff, Gigamon.
Nearly two months after a Waco jury rendered a $2.175 billion verdict for VLSI in the first installment of its three-part patent infringement legal battle with Intel, a separate jury in the same courtroom Wednesday rendered a victory for Intel, sending hedge fund-owned VLSI home with zero dollars. Legal experts told The Lawbook why they thought Intel had better success this time around.
A decade-plus-old trade secrets legal battle is closer to a resolution after a jury awarded $86 million to Plano-based AMS Sensors USA on Friday. The litigation has gone before two East Texas juries, two federal trial judges and the Federal Circuit. Natalie Posgate details the twists and turns for AMS and its lawyers at Munck Wilson Mandala.
A dozen years of work for Baker Botts partner Kevin Sadler, a lawyer for the receiver in the Stanford financial fraud case is paying off. This month, the 18,000 victims of the Ponzi scheme are splitting $216 million, bringing the total paid so far to $935 million. Two more cases are nearly close, which will add another $190 million. And then there's the biggie against the banks.
For those following the patent jury verdicts unfolding in Judge Albright’s court, the game count is now tipping toward defense wins, 2-1. Roku was the latest to score a defense win on Friday, which came after a separate defense win Roku scored in October during Judge Albright’s first patent jury trial. But those aren’t even the most notable facts of the case. Natalie Posgate has the details.
TechnipFMC lawyers told jurors Thursday that a former chief engineer, Rick Murphy, went to work for competitor Dril-Quip and stole valuable trade secrets for cutting-edge, ocean floor oil extraction equipment. But defense lawyers challenged that narrative and argued that the trial is just a way for FMC to compete in the courtroom instead of the free market. Natalie Posgate has details from day one of the trial in state Judge R.K. Sandill’s court.
Advocates and opponents of the plan to create a separate civil court system for business versus business disputes made their arguments to the Texas House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee Tuesday. No vote was taken and very few questions were asked.
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