West Texas Jury Awards $229M in Patent Case
For infringing one patent held by Viasat that covers technology used in flash memory, jurors Thursday afternoon determined Kioxia owes $229 million in damages in the form of a running royalty.
The Real Harry Potter’s ‘Magic Wand — Loyalty to the Law’
“Your boss is a crook!” Arthur Golden, a partner at Davis Polk & Wardwell and a lawyer for Big Tobacco, screamed into the telephone in the fall of 1998. “A crook!”
On the other end of the line, Harry Potter, then a special assistant attorney general in Texas running the tobacco litigation, who was appointed three decades ago by then-Texas Attorney General Dan Morales to lead the historic lawsuit brought by the state of Texas against Big Tobacco. Potter and Golden had negotiated the details of the historic $15.3 billion settlement agreement between the state of Texas and large cigarette makers.
“Arthur was extremely angry — livid,” Potter said. “He talked about secret lawyer contracts. I didn’t know anything about it, but it sent chills throughout my body."
In Part II of The Texas Lawbook's series on the tobacco litigation, learn the story of the real Harry Potter, a Houston lawyer whose secret power was his ethics and commitment to the law.
Asked & Answered with Yetter Coleman’s Tim McConn: Trials, Travel and a Calling
In this edition of Asked & Answered, Yetter Coleman partner Tim McConn talks about the first time he took the lead on a case and the most memorable case in his career so far. He also discusses trends he is seeing in his oil and gas practice and using AI.
Fourth Bellwether Trial in Watson Grinding Explosion MDL Against 3M Begins
Opening statements in the fourth bellwether trial against 3M Company — stemming from a fatal explosion that rocked a West Houston neighborhood in 2020 — had an air of déjà vu Tuesday as the plaintiffs’ lawyers urged jurors to find 3M at fault, while attorneys for the multinational conglomerate argued the actions, and inactions, of Watson Grinding and Manufacturing leadership was solely to blame.
Former Dallas COA Justice Picks Cantey Hanger
William “Bill” Pedersen III has joined Cantey Hanger as a partner in Dallas. The former appellate justice will represent clients in litigation and appellate matters across a broad range of disputes.
Litigation Roundup: ExxonMobil Gets Directed Verdict in Baytown Refinery Home Damage Case
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, a jury in Austin determines a company that makes synthetic turf fields “fraudulently concealed” material defects in the product and awarded an injured former high school lacrosse player about $2.7 million, and we detail two cases involving issues of first impression.
It ‘Far Exceeded Our Wildest Imaginations’
Then-Texas Attorney General Dan Morales sued Big Tobacco for racketeering and fraud in 1996. Thirty years later, the litigation against the cigarette makers has proven to be an annual financial bonanza for the state of Texas — more than $15.8 billion so far and another $450 million payment expected any day now. And while less than one-tenth of one percent of the payments have gone to antismoking efforts, youth cigarette use overall has plummeted. In a two-part series, Mark Curriden, the former Dallas Morning News legal affairs writer who covered the tobacco litigation full-time for three years, looks back at the historic litigation and its impact three decades later.
Cuban Files Presuit Petition in Mavs Arena Row
Mark Cuban has some questions about how the majority owners of the Dallas Mavericks struck a deal to buy the Valley View Mall property — the proposed site of the team’s new home — and how that deal may impact his contractual rights. And he’s asking a judge in Dallas County to give him the chance to find some answers.
The Five Major Reasons Business Leaders Dislike Mediation … And Why Those Reasons Are Wrong
“Many of my C-Suite clients really dislike mediation. They avoid it religiously.” These were the words a trial attorney said to me a few weeks ago. As a professional mediator who focuses on business disputes, I wanted to explore the accuracy of this observation — or risk losing access to the heart of my mediation practice.
Fortunately, as a former general counsel/CLO, I have access to executives whose perspectives I value. Upon speaking with a number of them, I found that my colleague's remark was correct. However, that negative opinion of mediation is also likely misinformed.
Report: Reitz Named U.S. Attorney for SDTX
Aaron Reitz, a former Trump administration official and top lawyer for the Texas attorney general, has been selected as the next U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas, according to a Bloomberg Law report published late Tuesday night.
The Texas Lawbook's Mark Smith talked to Reitz during his campaign for Texas attorney general.
Kyle Bass Entities File Takings Lawsuit in East Texas Water Row
In a new federal lawsuit filed Tuesday, two East Texas real estate entities owned by Dallas hedge fund operator Kyle Bass accuse the Neches and Trinity Valleys Groundwater Conservation District of violating the constitution by effectively “taking” property without compensation.
Work Product Is Not for Sale: AI, Access, and Texas Rule 192.5
Consumer AI tools do for clients what lawyers have always advised: document the facts, organize the timeline, and come prepared. This article argues that Texas Rule 192.5 already extends work product protection to AI-assisted litigation preparation under the same doctrine that covers handwritten notes and voice memos. Building a rule around automatic waiver would not eliminate AI’s role in Texas civil litigation but would create a sharp divide. It would grant enterprise-level protection to clients with the budget for managed AI platforms while leaving everyone else without it.