Among the law firms involved in the litigation sprawling across state and federal courtrooms in California, Texas, Louisiana and New York are Gibson Dunn, Holland & Knight, Sheppard Mullin, Quinn Emanuel and Bradley Arant Boult Cummings. It all began in December with the filing of a since-dismissed Jane Doe lawsuit in the Southern District of New York that accused Jay-Z and Sean Combs of “drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl” in 2000.
Litigation Roundup: DOL’s ESG Investing Rule Survives Post-Loper Bright
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, the Texas Supreme Court answers two certified questions from the Fifth Circuit, and a plaintiff who saw her $222 million jury award canceled abandons her appeal.
Judge By Day, Director By Night: How Judge Christine Weems Balances the Bench and Backstage
Judge Christine Weems of the 281st Civil District Court in Harris County is ruling on cases by day and acting and directing by night. Weems’ new show, The Five Minute Mile, put on by a 13-person ensemble cast, is slated to open Feb. 15.
Winter Storm Uri — Four Years Later, Zero Jury Trials for 30,000 Victims of Historic Storm
The ground had not yet thawed four years ago when the Texas courts were slammed with an avalanche of lawsuits. More than 30,000 individuals and small businesses filed wrongful death, personal injury and property damage lawsuits against ERCOT and the energy companies accusing them of gross negligence that caused much of the power blackouts. A separate class action accused energy companies and financial institutions of using Winter Storm Uri to manipulate prices and generate billions of dollars in profits. Four years later, not a single witness deposition has been taken and not a single case has been set for trial. And a growing number of legal experts predict that none of those cases will ever be heard by a jury of Texas citizens.
CPS Energy Hit with $109.5M Verdict in Residential Explosion Trial
A cap on damages agreed to by CPS Energy and Robert and Virginia Rymers in advance of trial means the utility will only owe $60 million. The Rymerses suffered burns, and lost two pet dogs as well as all possessions inside their rental home as a result of the blast.
Litigation Roundup: Another OAG Alum Heads to Washington
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, Beck Redden and Dykema Gossett go head-to-head in a jury trial in Harris County, a group of Dallas residents get an appellate win in the fight over restrictions on short-term rentals and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit undoes a victory for the Austin American-Statesman in a lawsuit over an anonymous advertisement.
Buc-ee’s v. Everybody: A Look at the Convenience Store Giant’s Trademark Litigation History
What do a monkey, two chickens, a duck, an alligator and a dog have in common with a beaver? Quite a bit if you ask Buc-ee’s, the popular convenience store and gas station that has earned a reputation for aggressively defending its trademarks in federal court.
Q&A with Trial Lawyer Jessica Dean
Dean Omar Branham Shirley was in back-to-back trials last year across the country against Johnson & Johnson over allegations the pharmaceutical giant’s talc-based baby powder contained cancer-causing asbestos. During an October interview with The Texas Lawbook in her Dallas home, name partner Jessica Dean was in between trips to Boston and Pittsburgh to try cases. “I believe, in a lot of the cases we work on, we allow someone who’s lost their life to bad conduct to be remembered in all sorts of fun ways: in the minds of jurors, in the minds of judges,” she said. “A case can live for years.”