Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
This week, Dallas County Judge Sally Montgomery ordered the longtime owner and president of Home Marketing Services to pay $5.7 million for workplace sexual harassment. The findings of fact were handed down Monday. A six-day bench trial concluded last month.
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, the state of Texas secures a temporary restraining order against Johnson & Johnson from a judge in rural West Texas. The order came a few days after the pharmaceutical company asked a Travis County judge to bring an end to what it said were four retaliatory investigations launched after Johnson & Johnson got a win in Tylenol-related litigation the attorney general initiated in rural East Texas.
A Kaufman County jury found the corporate outing at Cornerstone Ranch was not properly planned and led to Felissa Gamero being struck in the hand with a 9mm projectile and needing surgery.
A Southern District Court jury in Houston awarded $138 million to Carlo Civelli, who claimed Philippe Mulacek owed him money he loaned to him and broke agreements they made. The pair had worked together in a company, InterOil, which invested in properties in Papua New Guinea for potential oil and gas.
“It's been a long and hard-fought battle to get to this point,” said Munsch Hardt's Richard Schwartz, who represents Carlo Civelli.
Toyota allegedly sold driver data to Progressive Insurance and other third parties, a class action claims. In a Tuesday order, Chief Judge Amos Mazzant ordered a stay pending arbitration in the case.
Farm and construction equipment manufacturer Bobcat claims competitor Caterpillar is infringing on five of its patents, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in the Eastern District of Texas. The company has also filed actions against Caterpillar in the U.S. International Trade Commission, German court, and the Unified Patent Court of the European Union.
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, a businessman faces sexual assault allegations, a Texas attorney is ordered to pay fees to Google, and one of the plaintiffs in the private-equity dentistry lawsuit in Dallas was found in contempt for violating the temporary injunction.
Western District of Texas Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Craig A. Gargotta issued a 199-page opinion and order Tuesday in a case he’s been presiding over for six years. He wrote that the trustee failed to prove all but one of its claims for relief and awarded just $1 in damages. “Further, there was insufficient evidence to support an award of damages or attorney’s fees in this case,” he wrote. “The result may be viewed as harsh, but it is appropriate.”
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