Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, an intermediate appellate court split widens regarding gross negligence claims, sanctions requested by Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in a fight over unpaid attorney fees are upheld on appeal, and a federal judge undoes one Texas county’s book bans.
A $400 million insurance recovery action filed by Samsung Austin Semiconductor is shining a light on the playbook that insurance companies rely upon to create an unfair advantage in claim disputes. While the damages in this case are eye-popping, the allegations in the lawsuit paint a picture that is all too familiar for businesses and property owners across the state.
As a third-year associate at Norton Rose Fulbright, Christian Menefee attended an election night watch party in November 2016 that ended in a way no one in attendance expected. But it also was the night that changed his life and career path. Exactly four years later, Menefee became the youngest lawyer and the first African American to be elected county attorney of Harris County. In an interview with The Texas Lawbook, Menefee discusses his first two years as Harris County’s top legal officer, the current Texas legislative session, how he hires outside counsel and his plans for reelection. Photo credit: Marie D. De Jesús/Houston Chronicle
Lauren Brogdon is adept at putting out fires. At her day job in Haynes and Boone’s Houston office, Brogdon specializes in energy litigation and serves as chair of Haynes and Boone’s crisis management practice group. In her free time, she helps put out other fires ignited by the wrath of domestic violence. She works with domestic violence victims through her pro bono work with Houston Volunteer Lawyers, the Houston Area Women’s Center and AVDA.
But something many billable and pro bono clients alike may not know about Brogdon is that she is a domestic violence survivor herself. Natalie Posgate recently talked with Brogdon about her pro bono work, her own experience and how it shaped her into the lawyer she is today.
In the face of varied and robust opposition to the proposal to create a new, statewide appellate court with exclusive jurisdiction over disputes involving the state or a state agency, lawmakers last week voted to send the bill to the full senate for a vote. Texas for Lawsuit Reform has championed the bill as an opportunity to establish a court with specialized expertise to hear matters of statewide importance.
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, the Texas Supreme Court upholds Texas A&M’s governmental immunity in a crash suit, and Cinemark loses a Covid business interruption claim against an insurer while Baylor University beats back a Covid-related breach of contract claim brought by two students.
I was recently asked about which women in my life helped to shape my career. It was an idea I was drawn to because it is something naturally prevalent in most women lawyers’ lives, but it really doesn’t come to mind until someone sits down to take note of it. From these four women I learned resiliency, how to balance relationships in the workplace and politics, client service and the power of your personal brand.
The state’s high court will have to decide if the filing of an allegedly deficient motion for default judgment is a “communication” as Winstead argues, which would end USA Lending’s lawsuit, or if USA Lending is correct that the basis of its suit is the failure to communicate. The case implicates the Texas Citizens Participation Act and asks whether it applies in legal malpractice suits.
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