BoyarMiller Begins Year with New Practice Area & Chair of Litigation Group
Houston law firm BoyarMiller has kicked off 2019 by adding a practice area through an acquisition and naming a new chair of the firm’s litigation group.
Former Houston Judge Returns to Private Practice at Susman Godfrey
Randy Wilson, who was defeated in his bid for re-election in November after 15 years on the bench, was one of the original partners of Susman Godfrey when the firm was founded in 1980.
Sayles & Werbner Going Separate Ways After 25 Years
National law firms seeking to open in Texas repeatedly called Dick Sayles and Mark Werbner in recent years, but the duo always chose to stay partners at their Dallas litigation boutique. Until now. After 25 years, Sayles Werbner has closed.
Judge Reed O’Connor is the ‘Go-To Judge’ for Political Conservatives
U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor has become the federal judge that Republican state attorneys general and politically conservative special interest groups across the U.S. turn to when they want a federal law or policy overturned or banned. And he has not disappointed. Legal experts say that O’Connor’s decision Friday striking down the Affordable Care Act made him an automatic finalist for future openings on the federal appeals court.
Neiman Marcus Countersues Creditor Hedge Fund
Neiman Marcus countered a $1 billion fraudulent transfer lawsuit filed by one of its debtholders, charging that the suit is part of an illegal scheme for the debtholder to injure the Dallas-based luxury retailer and “extract improper benefits for itself.” The Lawbook's Natalie Posgate details the new litigation.
Patent Suit Against Baylor Rejected After UT Refused to Join as Plaintiff
Baylor College of Medicine and the inventor of a cancer immunotherapy won, in effect, dismissal of a patent-infringement suit when a federal judge ruled that Baylor rival, the University of Texas, had a sovereign right to refuse to participate as a plaintiff. The loser: the company that tried to drag UT into the litigation. Natalie Posgate explains.
TX Supremes Weigh Reliance on Contracts v. Texas Law
Mercedes-Benz is asking the Texas Supreme Court to declare that signed written contracts are sacrosanct and override all extra-contractual statements, even if those extra-contractual promises amount to felony fraud, directly contradict Legislative policy and cause severe financial harm to a Texas business. The Texas Lawbook has details.
Gray Reed Closes Syngenta Case with $1.51B Settlement
A Kansas federal judge Friday approved what may be the largest agricultural settlement in U.S. history. It marks the end of a four-year legal battle in which farmers alleged Syngenta released genetically modified corn into the marketplace, causing major disruptions in the corn trade between the U.S. and China. A Dallas attorney took part in the deal.
Eight Major Hotels Sued in Antitrust Lawsuit in EDTX
An online travel agency has sued eight major hotel chains claiming an agreement to suspend competitive bidding on each other's branded online search terms damaged its business. It's a complex allegation of anticompetitive behavior and Lawbook litigation writer Natalie Posgate explains it.
SCOTX Mulls: ‘When Is An Investigation Not An Investigation?’
SCOTX heard oral arguments last week over efforts by the Dallas Morning News to dismiss a libel suit against them. Owners of a now-defunct compounding pharmacy claim a 2016 article in The News falsely suggested they were under federal investigation. That claim of falsehood is complicated by a federal raid on their offices the very day they argued in court.
$178.5M Arbitration Award Ties Off 1990 South Texas Asbestos Case
Two recent rulings for $178.5 million have ended what had been one of the longest running cases in the nation. The downside of the case, filed nearly three decades ago, is that only about 70 of the original 2300 plaintiffs have lived to see its end. The Lawbook's Litigation Writer Natalie Posgate has the bittersweet details.
Johnston Tobey Baruch Scores $5M Settlement Against San Antonio Firm
Texas-based 1776 Energy Partners has settled for nearly $5 million a legal malpractice claim against a San Antonio law firm after one of its lawyers botched a lawsuit so badly that they were forced to settle as defendants a suit the company had pursued as the plaintiff.