Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, the Dallas Court of Appeals sets the panel and date for oral arguments in the state bar’s disciplinary lawsuit against Ken Paxton, an oilfield services company’s trade secrets suit against its ex-president gets rolling and an East Texas jury hits LG with a $1.68 million patent infringement verdict.
Dallas County District Judge Monica Purdy presided over a seven-day bench trial in May before determining that PrimaLend violated the terms of a loan agreement when it changed the locks and foreclosed on an Ohio car dealership before first exhausting attempts to recover its money by pursuing the business’ assets. Judge Purdy is expected to enter final judgment awarding the Benit family about $6.7 million within the next week.
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, the Fifth Circuit asks the Texas Supreme Court to answer two certified questions, a team of Austin lawyers are hired to represent Twitter in a $90 million suit against Wachtell and Texas Instruments sues a slew of insurers over damage to its clean room.
Joe Coleman, John Kane, Brian Hail and a team of other lawyers from Kane Russell Coleman Logan recently secured a favorable outcome for a group of unsecured creditors in a bankruptcy proceeding for a Carl Icahn-owned company, Auto Plus. At the outset, it seemed the unsecured creditors stood to recoup none of their roughly $200 million in unsecured debt, but the legal team overcame three key challenges on its way to recovering more than $57 million: Auto Plus’ apparent administrative insolvency, a fast-tracked sale of assets already in motion and “the specter of the fact that Carl Icahn was the ultimate owner,” Coleman said. “Obviously, Mr. Icahn has an enormous reputation, he’s a very shrewd businessman.”
Tapping a Texas-based legal scholar for insights into alternative dispute resolution.
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, the Texas Supreme Court held that the attorney-client privilege means a conservative nonprofit news organization cannot get access to certain documents stemming from a University of Texas admissions process investigation, and the parties on either side of a personal injury lawsuit that netted a $352 million jury verdict told an intermediate appellate court a settlement has been reached.
In a 7-2 ruling issued Friday morning, the last day of the court’s term, the justices denied a request from the former owner of the Houston Astros, Drayton McLane, to bring an early end to a lawsuit brought by the team’s current owner, Jim Crane, alleging lies and deceptions caused him to overpay for the team in 2011. The ruling means Crane will have a chance to proceed with a trial in Harris County where he is seeking to recoup the entire $332 million he paid for a stake in the Houston Regional Sports Network that was part of his $615 million purchase of the Major League Baseball team.
Trial lawyers who spoke to The Lawbook said the ruling in Gregory v. Chohan didn’t offer much clarity on the proper evidentiary standard for noneconomic damages awards. Justice John Devine, who agreed with the plurality that an improper closing argument likely influenced the damages award and mandates a new trial, decried the new evidentiary standard advocated for by three justices as “impossible” to meet.
Plaintiffs' lawyers suing more than 90 energy companies for alleged market manipulation of natural gas prices during Winter Storm Uri are asking a Houston judge to separate their lawsuits from the more than 300 other wrongful death, personal injury and property damage cases currently consolidated in the MDL in Houston. Data analytics firm CirclesX Recovery argues its lawsuit is legally different from the others and should be handled outside of the MDL.
The “Texas Miracle” is by all accounts a real thing. There is little doubt that Texas businesses have thrived in the confluence of conditions existing in Texas for the past couple of decades. Then why would the Texas Legislature strive to place hardships on Texas businesses by making it more difficult for them, as property owners, to recover the full cost of repair for construction defects?
Cindy V. Tisdale, a partner at Goranson Bain Ausley in Granbury, was sworn in June 22 as the new president of the State Bar of Texas. Tisdale, who practices family law, answered questions from The Lawbook about why she sought to lead the organization and what her goals are.
Clouston, who led the Texas litigation practice at Alston & Bird, said she has seen an increase in large disputes being filed in the state.
© Copyright 2026 The Texas Lawbook
The content on this website is protected under federal Copyright laws. Any use without the consent of The Texas Lawbook is prohibited.
