A federal jury in East Texas awarded Plano-based property management software company ResMan with a $152 million verdict after finding a former customer improperly accessed ResMan’s software to develop its own rival product with a third party. The verdict is the conclusion of only one of two trials in the case, the first of which resulted in a mistrial due to a Covid-19 outbreak. Natalie Posgate has the details.
‘You’re Fired! Thank You.’ New Firm Forever Connected to Iconic RoboCop Scene
Burke Bogdanowicz may be only a month in existence, but it turns out that the firm’s office space has a storied history as the filming location for the final boardroom scene in the 1987 film RoboCop. The lawyers learned this last week when a Netflix crew and the writer of RoboCop paid their office a surprise visit. Founding firm partners Aaron Burke and Rob Bogdanowicz detailed the experience for The Lawbook.
Mark Werbner Goes It Alone
Dallas trial lawyer Mark Werbner, who was a pupil of the great Jim Coleman, partnered for two decades with Dick Sayles and then practiced the past two years at Winston & Strawn, has started his own law firm. Werbner, who made global headlines in 2014 when he led an historic billion-dollar jury victory against a Middle Eastern bank accused of aiding terrorists, plans to do more plaintiff’s litigation and white-collar criminal defense work.
Plaintiff’s Lawyer on $63M Samsung Verdict: ‘The Courtroom is a Great Equalizer’
After three hours of deliberation, a Marshall, Texas federal jury of three men and four women found Samsung Display Company infringed on two smartphone screen display patents owned by an Irish company. The prevailing side spoke with Natalie Posgate about how they won the case.
Securities Fraud Case Concerning Six Flags China Parks Dismissed
A Fort Worth federal judge has dismissed a securities fraud class action against Arlington-based Six Flags Entertainment Corp. after finding the allegations of two anonymous employees unreliable — allegations that essentially anchored the plaintiffs’ entire case.
Weil Dallas Nabs New Partner from Litigation Boutique
Weil’s Dallas office is starting its Monday having gained another lawyer in the firm’s complex commercial litigation practice. The lateral hire reflects on a current trend of litigation boutiques losing their partners to elite national firms.
IP Experts Examine VLSI v. Intel Trial: ‘Waco Jurors are not Afraid to Award Large Damages’
If you’re an intellectual property lawyer, you might still be thinking of the VLSI v. Intel trial and the whopping $2.175 billion judgment that the jury rendered for VLSI. Beyond the fact that Waco jurors can get down with giving plaintiffs big bucks, what else did we learn? A handful of IP experts weighed in on their biggest takeaways.
TX Chief Justice Talks: In-Person and Remote Hearings, Backlog of 9,000 Jury Trials
Exactly 358 days after the Texas Supreme Court issued its first Covid-19-related emergency order closing most state courtrooms to in-person hearings and trials, the justices issued their 36th order Friday officially lifting the statewide ban. But the pandemic caused a backlog of thousands of civil and criminal jury trials that Texas Chief Justice Nathan Hecht told The Texas Lawbook needs to be addressed.
Remembering Clyde Siebman, ‘The Guiding Spirit Behind the EDTX Bench Bar Conference’
When the biggest corporations in the world – Toyota, Walmart, Phillip Morris, Boeing and Huawei – needed a lawyer in East Texas, they called Sherman’s Clyde Siebman. So did single moms, the elderly and veterans. Siebman, a zealous advocate for the right to trial by jury, died Friday. He was 62.
Judge Albright Adjourns from Trial to Chat Courtroom Practices, IP Trends
Even as U.S. District Judge Alan Albright was in the middle of one of the most closely-watched patent infringement trials of the year, he gave The Texas Lawbook and the IP community some of his time to sit in the hot seat and discuss patterns and trends unfolding in and out of his courtroom.