The legal liabilities will reach into the hundreds of millions of dollars for the producers, promoters, performers and subcontractors – including security firms – of Houston’s Astroworld Festival Friday night that resulted in the deaths of eight people and dozens of others who were injured, legal experts predicted Saturday. Rapper Travis Scott, who was performing at the time of the crowd surge, may also face significant liability.
Updated – Houston Judge Weighing $352.7M Verdict for Paralyzed Airport Worker
A hearing Friday on plaintiff lawyer Randy Sorrels’s motion for entry of judgment dealt only with relatively minor calculations of a just sum – an indication that both sides expect District Judge Ravi Sandill to uphold in whole or large part last week’s jury verdict on behalf of Ulysses Cruz, who sued Allied Aviation Fueling Co. of Houston.
AZA Begins Next TeamHealth Trial in Sin City
Six women and two men are currently hearing opening statements in a trial that began today in Las Vegas between Blackstone-owned ER physician staffing company TeamHealth and UnitedHealthcare over reimbursement rates of ER physicians. It’s the first trial in a series of TeamHealth cases to involve a major insurer that provides health plans through employers. Litigation writer Natalie Posgate is tuning into opening statements and will report back later.
Encompass Health Sues DFW-Based Founder for Violating Noncompete & Trade Secrets Theft
A new lawsuit in Dallas County District Court pits Alabama-rooted Bradley Arant and Encompass Health Corp. against former Encompass CEO April Anthony, a Dallas millionaire and large figure in the at-home health world who left the company she founded this summer for a competitor.
Bench and Bar Mourns Death of Former NDTX Chief Judge Jorge Solis
Jorge Solis was a tough prosecutor, a fair and learned judge, a mentor for dozens of lawyers and once considered a candidate for the U.S. Supreme Court. A former chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Solis died Friday of an apparent heart attack while attending Mass. He was 70.
BMC and IBM Prepare to Head to Trial in SDTX; $791M Potentially at Stake
After four years of heavy litigating, lawyers at Bracewell, Yetter Coleman and Quinn Emanuel are preparing for battle. An upcoming trial between the lawyers’ clients, IBM and KKR-owned BMC, will involve mainframe software, a lucrative project for AT&T and a nine-figure damages model.
Time’s Up in Texas: State Expands Scope of Liability for Workplace Sexual Harassment Claims
In a surprise move for the typically employer-friendly state, Texas laws on sexual harassment officially became more protective of employees than federal law on Sept. 1. The “new Texas Sexual Harassment Law” expands liability for sexual harassment to employers of all sizes, and to individual managers, who may now be held personally liable for failing to remedy sexual harassment. The new statutes also heightened the standards on employers to take action and extends the deadline to file charges of discrimination based on sexual harassment.