Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, a massage company pays $1 million to end the sex assault claims lodged by two female customers, a lawsuit between the parent company of Ace Cash Express and a former business partner seeks as much as nine-figure damages, and American Airlines wins an appeal in a discrimination lawsuit venue fight.
A Harris County jury recently heard three weeks of evidence in a breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit stemming from the $90 million sale of a business that rents pumps used in the oil and gas industry. Jurors had to answer two questions: Did GR Energy Services breach a noncompete agreement by communicating with SpaceX about the possible purchase of pumps after it sold its Flex Flow pump business? And did Odessa Pumps act in bad faith in managing Flex Flow after the purchase from GR to keep profits artificially low in order to avoid paying GR a $30 million earnout? No, and no, the jury said.
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, Texas juries find infringement in one case involving smart thermostats and another involving cloud storage, a group of doctors want a Harris County judge to confirm a $153.5 million arbitration award in a dispute with UnitedHealthcare and federal prosecutors in Houston drop a female genital mutilation case.
Six decades ago, a rookie Vinson & Elkins lawyer named Harry Reasoner tried his first case in court. Hundreds of jury and bench trials and 59 years later, Reasoner, now 84, tells The Texas Lawbook that he has decided to retire on Dec. 31.
Reasoner has won billion-dollar courtroom victories for plaintiffs and corporate defendants. His service of pro bono is unparalleled. He guided V&E through a time of tremendous growth, adopted progressive workplace policies in the 1990s such as same sex benefits and helped the Houston firm survive the Enron financial scandal.
Harry Reasoner grew up on a farm outside San Marcos, milking cows and raising pigs for 4-H competition. At 80, he has had a storied career, representing corporations in some of the biggest trials in history. Clients pay as much as $1,500 an hour for his counsel. Now Reasoner's two children - Barrett and Macey and the extraordinary courtroom success they've had - are making sure that their father's legacy will continue for many, many years. Meet the Reasoners.
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.
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.
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.
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