Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
The U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board refused to deny a challenge by a French pharmaceutical to a patent held by Seattle-based Immunex. The ruling sets the stage for a full-scale challenge to a patent on drug treatment for allergies, rhinitis and other immune system problems. Natalie Posgate has the details in The Texas Lawbook.
Far from crumbling in the face of a lawsuit that accuses him of pushing fake news for profit, Kyle Bass is doubling down on his accusers, United Development Funding. In a recent filing, Bass declares that he and his company, Hayman Capital Management, had a responsibility to turn in UDF to the SEC and the FBI. That Hayman made $60 million in the process is hardly the point, Bass says. And in the coming weeks, the SEC and the FBI may have a lot to say about it. Natalie Posgate has the story in The Texas Lawbook.
Don Griffin, Jr. and Billy Coe Dyer have secured what is believed to be the largest jury verdict for a property owner in a land condemnation case against the State
A Tyler, Texas jury has awarded a former chemical company executive more than $43 million for lifelong damages he suffered after a local hospital allowed him to go under the
The Dallas County Democratic party has retained Randy Johnston and Chad Baruch of Johnston Tobey Baruch to defend it in the lawsuit the GOP filed against it seeking the removal of 128 Democratic candidates off the March 6 primary ballot. Johnston has a few things to say about it. Details here.
Lawyers for a group of blind law students said Wednesday that they have settled their claims against Dallas-based bar examination preparation course giant BARBRI. The students alleged in a lawsuit filed two years ago that BARBRI failed to address issues that prevented them from adequately preparing for the bar exam despite spending thousands of dollars on the course.
Tom Mason and Tonja De Sloover and their legal department at Energy Transfer Equity are finalists in the 2017 Outstanding Corporate Counsel Awards for Business Litigation of the Year. And they’ve had a lot of that to deal with: In Delaware, a $33 billion fight over a failed merger: in North Dakota, endless legal struggles over the Dakota Access Pipeline; in Texas, they’re leading the battle to restore a $535 million jury verdict on appeal. Learn more about the philosophy behind their aggressive approach to litigation in The Texas Lawbook.
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.
Dena Stroh says she had no idea that government law could be fascinating. But in 2017, she guided the North Texas Tollway Authority through one of the largest government bond issues in the U.S., as well as a potentially major class-action lawsuit. For that, and more, she and what she calls her “excellent lawyers” are nominated in two categories of the 2017 Outstanding Corporate Counsel Awards. Read the details in The Texas Lawbook.
A 2014 East Texas jury verdict that Trinity Industries violated the False Claims Act resulted in a $663 million judgment against the Irving-based manufacturer of highway guardrails. Instead of cratering, Trinity launched a counter-offensive led by the company’s top legal officers, Theis Rice and Sarah Teachout. In 2017, the duo and their outside counsel scored an historic reversal—earning them nominations as finalists in three categories of the 2017 Outstanding Corporate Counsel Awards. The Texas Lawbook explains.
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.
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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