Democrats, Republicans Lock Arms to Extend Polling Hours After Election Day Storms Rocked Dallas 

Thanks to joint efforts by the Dallas County Democratic and Republican parties, voting hours were extended after severe weather that knocked out more than 100 polling locations. Lawyer Robert Tobey, representing the Democrats, and GOP chair Jennifer Stoddard-Hajdu, a lawyer herself, worked together and later consolidated cases with the sheriff who hired Carter Arnett to also extend voting hours. The parties got an assist from the Dallas County district attorney’s office, which represented the Elections Department.

May 30, 2024 Krista Torralva

Be Careful Where You Seek Pre-Suit Discovery: Appellate Divide on TCPA Deepens

In Amarillo, Austin, and just recently Fort Worth, the party resisting pre-suit discovery under Rule 202 can (in the right circumstances) file a motion to dismiss under the Texas Citizens Participation Act (TCPA), requiring the petitioner to meet the TCPA’s evidentiary hurdles or risk paying the other side’s fees and getting sanctioned, all while potentially engaging in a protracted process that spoils the entire purpose of Rule 202 petitions. But both Houston Courts of Appeals have rejected the applicability of the TCPA to pre-suit discovery. Until the Texas Supreme Court resolves the split, where a pre-suit petition for discovery is filed can have a dramatic impact on the outcome.

May 30, 2024 Jeremy Fielding, Nick Brown & Michael Kalis

ExxonMobil Wants $725M Award Wiped Out or Knocked Down to $250K

Lawyers from Dallas-based Waters Kraus Paul & Siegel earlier this month convinced the jury in a 10-2 decision that their client, Paul Gill, was entitled to damages from ExxonMobil for its failure to warn consumers about the risk of exposure to benzene that is in its petroleum products, including gasoline. Gill, who worked as a Mobil service station mechanic between 1975 and 1980, was diagnosed in 2019 with acute myeloid leukemia and testified about using gasoline to clean car parts.

May 29, 2024 Michelle Casady

Litigation Roundup: Anti-ESG Class Action Certified Against AA; Samsung Defeats Patent Suit in EDTX

In this edition of Litigation Roundup, Samsung beats back a patent suit seeking half a billion dollars in damages after arguing the plaintiff had unclean hands, a jury in Marshall renders a $445 million infringement verdict and we detail what led American Airlines to replace Wilson Elser as its outside counsel in a lawsuit involving a bathroom recording of a 9-year-old girl.

May 28, 2024 Michelle Casady

Judge Starr Cites Fifth Circuit’s ‘Hopelessly Amorphous’ Multiplier Test, Denies 1.9 Multiplier in $33M Fluor Class Action

Invoking The Simpsons, U.S. District Judge Brantley Starr on Thursday issued an opinion denying a request from plaintiffs’ lawyers who represented Fluor Corporation shareholders in a securities class action to tack a 1.9 multiplier on their fee award in the lawsuit that resulted in a $33 million settlement.

May 24, 2024 Michelle Casady

Ex-SDTX Bankruptcy Judge, Liz Freeman and Jackson Walker Seek Dismissals in Two Separate Fraud Cases

Within hours of each other late Wednesday, three key players in the romantic relationship scandal that has infected the Southern District of Texas Bankruptcy Court filed motions in two separate cases seeking to have the cases against them dismissed — and all three for different reasons.

May 23, 2024 Mark Curriden

Litigation Roundup: Jury Argument, Venue Doom $222M Wrongful Death Award

In this edition of Litigation Roundup, an improper jury argument wipes out a $222 million award on appeal, a Dallas firm notches a $15 million verdict in a Connecticut mesothelioma case and the Texas Supreme Court declines to revive a lawsuit a couple dozen cities brought against streaming giants Disney+, Hulu and Netflix.

May 20, 2024 Michelle Casady

Litigation Roundup: American Airlines Sued Over In-Flight Death of Teen

In this edition of Litigation Roundup, a mother from the Bronx sues American Airlines in federal court in Fort Worth over the in-flight death of her 14-year-old son, USAA is accused in a proposed class action lawsuit of covertly operating a two-tier benefits system and a divided ruling from the state’s court of last resort for criminal cases makes a surprise appearance in this civil courts-focused article.

May 13, 2024 Michelle Casady