Fifth Circuit Revives Racial Profiling Suit Against Mesa Airlines

A three-judge panel on Friday determined that disputed fact issues should have precluded U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor from granting Mesa Airlines a summary judgment win in the lawsuit brought by Issam Abdallah and Abderraouf Alkhawaldeh. The men booked their tickets through American Airlines for a flight Mesa operated. Both frequent fliers on American Airlines, Abdallah holds gold status and Alkhawaldeh holds executive platinum status.

October 13, 2023 Michelle Casady

Dallas Rental Owners are Latest to Challenge Restrictions Aimed at Airbnb, VRBO Hosts

Owners of Dallas properties available for rent on platforms such as Airbnb and VRBO have lodged a suit seeking to stop enforcement of a city ordinance that would largely ban short-term rentals in the city. It’s the latest in a long line of lawsuits challenging the ability of cities to regulate the short-term rental market, an issue the Texas Supreme Court has yet to weigh in on.

October 11, 2023 Michelle Casady

DLA Piper L&E Lawyers Outline New Employment Laws, Federal Agency Priorities to Watch

Recent laws are creating a more worker-friendly environment, panelists said at a CLE program for the DFW chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel.

October 11, 2023 Krista Torralva

Sorrels Law Expands Footprint in Austin, Hires Veteran Lawyer Judy Kostura

Kostura, a leading expert on subrogation and liens, calls herself “a plaintiff's lawyer through and through.” She was instrumental in creating a 2013 Texas health insurance reform law.

October 10, 2023 Krista Torralva

Litigation Roundup: Katten to Defend $170M Healthcare Fraud Case, Fatal Crash Draws $100M Suit

In this edition of Litigation Roundup, a history professor at the University of Texas at Austin sees his retaliation lawsuit revived while a finance professor at the university sees his discrimination lawsuit tossed, a judge in the valley awards a man who had his leg amputated in a workplace injury $10.5 million, and a team of lawyers at Foley & Lardner get a win for their direct-selling client against the Federal Trade Commission.

October 9, 2023 Michelle Casady

Yetter Coleman Wins $25.7M Winter Storm Uri Contract Dispute for DC Transco

U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman last week ordered Rainbow Energy Marketing Corporation to pay $25.7 million to DC Transco as part of dispute over a series of derivative financial transactions related to Winter Storm Uri in February 2021.

October 5, 2023 Mark Curriden

Houston Judge Beats the Buzzer on Facing Contempt Proceedings

According to a time-stamped copy of a letter Harris County District Judge Ursula Hall sent to the First Court of Appeals Monday, she avoided by one hour and 44 minutes what the justices had threatened would be the “immediate initiation” of contempt proceedings for her lengthy delay in ruling on two pending motions in a foreclosure dispute. When the court issued a writ of mandamus to Judge Hall Sept. 25, she had failed to rule on a motion for summary judgment for three years, five months and 18 days.

October 3, 2023 Michelle Casady

Be Careful 😳: A Texted Emoji 👍 Might Create an Enforceable Contract

A recent ruling by a Canadian court declared that an emoji can confirm the acceptance of a contract. This article addresses how this opinion might be applied under U.S./Texas law, implications beyond contract law and other emerging digital contracting issues.

October 2, 2023 Aimee Fagan