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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Litigation Roundup: Paxton Back in Action, Sues Yelp; SEC Says Austin Promoter Duped Investors
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, Ken Paxton returns to office and sues Yelp over disclaimers the company affixed to listings for “pregnancy resource centers,” the SEC accuses an Austin oil and gas promotor of defrauding investors out of $5 million and Dallas law firm Caldwell Cassady & Curry is tapped to bring a trade secrets lawsuit for a financial technology client in Chicago.
Litigation Over Dallas Co. Juvenile Department Heats Up
Dallas County Commissioner Andrew Sommerman said he was being a "hammer" when he made the motion to withhold pay increases from top juvenile probation officials last month for their refusal to turn over records of youth detainees. But Sommerman and his fellow Dallas County Commissioners could end up being the nail, according to a new lawsuit filed over the weekend by the Dallas County Juvenile Department. The legal battle between the Dallas County Juvenile officials and the Dallas County Commissioners Court escalated Friday night when lawyers for the juvenile care officials filed an amended complaint calling the commissioners’ decision three weeks ago to withhold their pay increases illegal and seeking to have it immediately voided.
Energy Transfer Claims Fraud in $93M Contract Over Sale of West Texas Gas Gathering Company
The sellers of a gas gathering company in far West Texas seek more than $100 million from Energy Transfer for a breach of contract. Energy Transfer says the agreement was a scheme to collect a $93 million check and should be nullified.
‘The Ticket’ Settles with Ex-Hosts McDowell and Kemp
The radio station’s owners sued the two broadcast celebrities, accusing them of violating their noncompete agreements by starting a sports-talk podcast shortly after quitting in July. U.S. District Judge Karen Gren Scholer, presiding over the case, repeatedly encouraged to two sides to resolve their differences.
Appellate Court Threatens Contempt Proceedings Against Harris County District Judge
Harris County Judge Ursula Hall has until 5 p.m. Monday to rule on a motion that has been pending before her in a foreclosure dispute for three years and five months or the First Court of Appeals has said it will initiate contempt proceedings.
Litigation Roundup: Hogan Lovells to Defend Against FTC’s Texas Anesthesiology Monopoly Suit, Houston Jury Awards Defendant $32.5M in Construction Dispute
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, the former general counsel of the Houston Housing Authority has her qui tam False Claims Act suit partially revived by the Fifth Circuit, an allegedly undisclosed personal relationship between a magistrate judge and a plaintiff attorney who secured a $124.5 million award in her court gets a second look, and a former CEO of a software company loses his bid to keep a $20 million suit in Texas courts.