A stomach virus and a potential security threat sidetracked the ongoing jury trial in Las Vegas between TeamHealth and insurance giant UnitedHealthcare. The security threat proved false, but a juror was lost to the stomach virus. AZA, the Houston litigation boutique, is representing TeamHealth, a network of physicians and medical professionals complaining of systematic underpayment for their services by UnitedHealthcare. UnitedHealthcare, represented by O’Melveny & Myers, says TeamHealth charged too much in the first place. The Lawbook’s Natalie Posgate is monitoring the trial that both sides hope to conclude by Thanksgiving.
Updated – Chad Pinkerton Knows the Game Plan Against Live Nation and Travis Scott
Within hours of eight people dying and scores of others being injured at the Astroworld Festival Friday night, the website of Houston lawyer Chad Pinkerton was blowing up. He was getting calls and emails from victims and their families. Pinkerton is one of a dozen prominent lawyers – including Richard Mithoff, C.J. Baker and Rusty Hardin, to name a few – likely to file lawsuits this week seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in damages against Live Nation, rapper Travis Scott and a plethora of other potential defendants connected to the tragedy that took place outside of NRG Stadium.
But unlike many other lawyers, Pinkerton has been in court before against Live Nation and he knows the concert producer’s modus operandi.
Houston Music Festival Tragedy Lawsuits Coming, “Hundreds of Millions in Damages” Predicted
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.
Randy Sorrels: $352M Houston Jury Verdict ‘Could Have Been More’
If anything, the noted Houston plaintiffs’ lawyer claims, jurors should have given Ulysses Cruz, a paralyzed airport service worker, more for the lifetime of pain and anguish he faces after being hit by a van on a tarmac at George Bush Intercontinental Airport. And Sorrels believes the verdict exceeding one-third of a billion dollars will survive appeal.
Tarrant County Court Denies Injunction in American-Sabre Courtroom Fight
A Fort Worth state judge this week denied a temporary injunction sought by American Airlines that would have enjoined ticket distribution vendor Sabre Holdings Corp. from utilizing its New Airline Storefront display product and paying travel agents incentives to book higher-priced Delta Airlines tickets over American tickets.
Shearman & Sterling Snags Litigation Pair from Haynes and Boone
The securities and class action defense experts are notable additions for Shearman, which has focused most of its growth in Texas on the corporate transactional side to date.