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.

October 3, 2023 Michelle Casady

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.

October 2, 2023 Aimee Fagan

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.

October 2, 2023 Michelle Casady

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.

October 2, 2023 Mark Curriden

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.

September 28, 2023 Krista Torralva

‘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.

September 27, 2023 Bruce Tomaso

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.

September 26, 2023 Michelle Casady

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.

September 25, 2023 Michelle Casady

Judge Dropped the Ball by Upping Disabled Ex-Player’s Benefits, NFL Pension Plan Tells 5th Circuit

The league’s retirement plan is appealing a Dallas federal judge’s 2022 ruling in favor of former running back Michael Cloud, who said he was denied the benefits he deserved after concussions and other injuries cut his playing career short. The judge wrote that Cloud’s case fits a pattern by the pension plan of nickel-and-diming retired players “suffering from the devastating effects of severe head trauma.”

September 22, 2023 Bruce Tomaso

Houston Judge Orders Ethics Training, $525K Sanction Against 2 Attorneys

Harris County District Judge Elaine Palmer has ordered attorneys Michael D. Sydow and Chidi D. Anunobi to take 10 hours of legal ethics education classes each year for the next five years after finding they filed for a lawsuit for an improper purpose on behalf of their litigation management company client, Iron Oak. The lawsuit was brought in an attempt to collect $10 million from inventors Michael E. Porter and John T. Preston and their company Continuum Energy Technologies.

September 22, 2023 Michelle Casady

The Use of Scattergrams to Challenge Extreme Verdicts: A Case Study

How trial and appellate courts should review challenges to outsize noneconomic damages awards has been the talk of the Texas bar. With the Texas Supreme Court indicating openness to verdict comparisons, defense counsel should consider, when the facts permit, using visuals such as scattergrams to show that a verdict lies so far outside the norm.

September 19, 2023 Mark Trachtenberg, Kent Rutter & Ryan Pitts

Litigation Roundup: Texas Co. Gets $37.5M in Patent Trial, Southwest Airlines Beats Back 2 Class Actions

In this edition of Litigation Roundup, a jury in the Eastern District of Texas finds a Chinese company infringed eight patents held by Texas-based Atlas Global Technologies, the Fifth Circuit rejects the University of North Texas’ bid to end a professor’s First Amendment retaliation claim and a fired Texas prison guard who represented himself on appeal prevails in a discrimination case.

September 18, 2023 Michelle Casady