Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
Dallas County District Judge Emily Tobolowsky granted family-owned Thompson Petroleum’s motion for summary judgment on Jan. 19, days before a trial was slated to begin in the case where its former chief financial officer argued the company should have to pay his legal fees in a dispute with its former general counsel. Plaintiff Paul Rudnicki filed notice of appeal in the case Monday.
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, Samsung agrees to a $150 million settlement in an intellectual property suit, a group of Texas lawyers secures a $42 million win against Boston Scientific in Delaware and U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes gets reversed, again.
The Texas judge handling more than 100 personal injury, wrongful death and property damage lawsuits brought by hundreds of plaintiffs against scores of energy companies related to Winter Storm Uri has dismissed the allegations against more than 60 natural gas companies in four of those cases.
Judge Sylvia Matthews ruled Jan. 26 that natural gas companies such as Anadarko, Apache, Comstock, Energy Transfer and XTO will not have to stand trial for any damage or deaths caused by power outages during the four days in February 2021 in which Texas was hit with record cold temperatures and sleet and snow.
A jury in McMullen County that heard two weeks of testimony determined Energy Transfer’s underground, hydrogen sulfide injection well had interfered with the drilling rights of SilverBow Resources Operating and El Dorado Oil & Gas Inc. The case has a long history, including two trips to the Texas Supreme Court, and saw Houston-based law firms Yetter Coleman and Ahmad Zavitsanos & Mensing go head-to-head.
The jury was selected Jan. 18 and began hearing testimony Jan. 19 in the trial that had sought as much as $500 million in wrongful death damages on behalf of the family of Ricardo Garza. The jury deliberated for about seven hours before returning its verdict.
The proposed rule seems to be in line with the Biden administration’s executive order issued in 2022 encouraging the FTC to exercise whatever legal authority it has to “curtail the unfair use of non-compete clauses” that “may unfairly limit worker mobility.” Here are some questions and answers about this new proposed rule.
Solitary confinement nearly 24 hours a day without adequate recreational time is violating the federal and state constitutional rights of 185 male Texas inmates on death row, according to a new lawsuit in Houston federal court. The suit also says current prison conditions don't allow for adequate medical attention or legal assistance. Natalie Posgate has the details.
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, a bankruptcy judge in Houston approves a $52 million insurance settlement for victims of factory explosion, the Texas Supreme Court adds several cases to its oral argument calendar and a Jackson Walker nets a win against the Federal Aviation Administration.
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