Vegas Jury Awards TeamHealth Millions, Says ‘Yes’ to Punis

A Vegas jury returned a roughly $3 million verdict on Monday in the first trial involving emergency room doctor reimbursement from employer-sponsored health insurance. But TeamHealth's AZA lawyers from Houston expect millions more could be awarded when they meet the defense team for UnitedHealthcare back in court next week for the punitive damages phase of the trial. Natalie Posgate details the case and how TeamHealth’s lawyers won the first phase of the trial.

November 30, 2021 Natalie Posgate

Rapper Travis Scott Hires Dan Petrocelli in Astroworld Litigation

Prominent Los Angeles trial lawyer Daniel Petrocelli sent an electronic letter late last Wednesday to lawyers for the plaintiffs in the Astroworld Festival tragedy announcing that he now represents rapper Travis Scott and offering to pay the funeral costs of those who died at the Nov. 5 concert in Houston.

“Your client’s offer is declined,” Corpus Christi attorney Bob Hilliard, who represents the family of 9-year-old Ezra Blount, who died at the concert, said in an email response to Petrocelli.

November 29, 2021 Mark Curriden

Live Nation Hires Susman Godfrey; Lawyers Predict Astroworld Defendants’ Legal Strategies

Three weeks after 10 people died and hundreds of others were injured at the Astroworld Festival tragedy, the number of lawsuits, plaintiffs and named defendants continues to mount. The demand for damages now tops $3 billion and the lawyer headcount involved in the litigation exceeds six dozen, including some of the most prominent and powerful law firms in Texas. But there are big questions: about insurance coverage, possible bankruptcy and questionable defenses.

November 26, 2021 Mark Curriden

Lawyers Get Personal in Landmark ER Doc Pay Case Closings

A Las Vegas jury began deliberating Wednesday morning over whether to order UnitedHealthcare to pay a physician staffing firm millions. The impending verdict will decide the fate of the first case to go to trial involving the compensation of emergency room doctors through commercial health insurance plans provided by employers.

November 24, 2021 Natalie Posgate

Updated: Hilton Hit with $44 Million, Record-Breaking Sexual Assault Verdict

A Harris County jury has returned a $44 million verdict in connection with a woman's allegation that she was assaulted at a Houston hotel during a business conference in 2017. The Nov. 18 verdict allocated 10% of the damages against the man she accused of assaulting her and 90% against Hilton Management for having failed to protect her when summoned to the scene. Litigation writer Natalie Posgate has the names of the lawyers involved.

November 23, 2021 Natalie Posgate

Houston Judge Overseeing Winter Storm Uri Lawsuits Praised by Plaintiff and Defense Lawyers

Houston trial lawyers say Judge Sylvia A. Matthews is smart, fair, well-prepared, smart, organized, hard-working, smart, efficient, decisive … and smart. Those traits well serve Matthews, an experienced commercial litigator and trial judge, as she presides over pretrial matters in more than 150 (and counting) lawsuits stemming from one of the deadliest, costliest disasters in Texas history – Winter Storm Uri, the icy blizzard that paralyzed Texas and its electric grid last February.

November 22, 2021 Bruce Tomaso

EasyKnock v. Feldman & Feldman: To TRO or not to TRO?

A Houston federal judge is mulling over whether he will issue a temporary injunction that would order Houston plaintiff’s firm Feldman & Feldman to take down statements from its website that its courtroom opponent, residential sales leaseback firm EasyKnock, alleges are false and defamatory. EasyKnock alleges not doing so would cause irreparable harm, while Feldman & Feldman argues doing so would amount to prior restraint — a strict standard in First Amendment law.

November 19, 2021 Natalie Posgate

Astroworld Lawsuits Now Number 100+ with 250 Alleged Victims

The number of lawsuits filed in the wake of the Nov. 5th Astroworld tragedy that killed 10 people has surpassed 100, including the first wrongful death case to be officially filed. The complaints – all filed in Harris County District Court – include about 250 plaintiffs and a dozen defendants, including Live Nation, rapper Travis Scott, the operator of NRG Stadium and some newly identified defendants.

November 18, 2021 Mark Curriden