Today, The Texas Lawbook introduces the Litigation Roundup, a weekly column that curates a selection of cases from all over the state that we found interesting and think you will, too.
We envision the roundup including short summaries about litigation at all stages of trial court proceedings, whether it’s a new lawsuit filed, new counsel on the case, a case going to trial, a complaint being settled or dismissed, or some significant development in between.
Equally important, the Litigation Roundup highlights the lawyers and the law firms involved in those cases.
In the first edition, we have a civil case against a telecom company that derived from a capital murder case, a brewing trademark battle between two Italian restaurants, a tale of the darker legal issues a job site has to deal with and a new antitrust suit against a bank that recently relocated its headquarters to Texas.
DALLAS COUNTY
Wrongful Death Trial Involving Stabbing Begins Against Telecom Giant
A two-week jury trial began Monday in Dallas County Court at Law No 5 between the family of 83-year-old Betty Thomas, who was murdered in 2019 by Roy Holden Jr. Holden was a Charter/Spectrum employee who had set up up cable at Thomas’ Las Colinas home and returned the following day unannounced — off-duty yet in uniform and in the company van. He pleaded guilty to capital murder charges and was sentenced last year to life in prison.
The plaintiffs bring negligence claims against Charter Communications and will likely seek exemplary damages. The plaintiffs are represented by Chris Hamilton, Ray Krirallah Jr., Grant Boston and Allie Hallmark of Hamilton Wingo and Brad Jackson and Cheryl Mann of the Brad Jackson firm. Charter’s lawyers are Edward Davis and Brittney Angelich of Lewis Brisbois, Clinton Cox and O. Luke Davis III of Cox PLLC and Mike Bassett of the Bassett Firm.
The appellate specialists on both sides’ trial teams are Douglas Alexander of Alexander Dubose & Jefferson for the plaintiffs and Michael Kawalek of Kawalek Law for the defense.
The case is CC-20-01579-E in Dallas County Court at Law No 5. The Courtroom View Network, a news outlet that livestreams high-stakes civil litigation, is planning to cover the trial.
TRAVIS COUNTY
Job Search Company Goes After an Alleged Serial Sex Offender
The largest worldwide job site, Indeed Inc., has sued an unknown “John Doe” alleging that he repeatedly used fake names and email addresses to schedule video job interviews with the intent of exposing his genitals to employers during interviews.
The lawsuit was filed last Wednesday in Travis County District Judge Catherine Maury’s court by Nashville-based employment lawyer Aron Karabel of Waller Lansden. The cause number is D-1-GN-22-002495.
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
La Causa di Carbone’s e Carbone
Last Wednesday, Dallas Italian restaurant Carbone’s Fine Foods and Wines sued The Major Food Group and its new restaurant Carbone, an Italian restaurant and the newest of a New York-originated chain that opened a couple months ago in the Dallas Design District, two miles away from the plaintiff’s restaurant off Oak Lawn Ave. The first Carbone’s has been in business for 10 years.
The trademark infringement lawsuit follows an unanswered cease-and-desist letter that Carbone’s lead lawyer, Michael Yarbrough of Michelman & Robinson, sent to Major Food Group six months ago requesting them not to open their similarly-named restaurant in Dallas. Also on the suit for the plaintiff is Yarbrough’s colleague, Jason Blackstone. Lawyers are yet to appear on behalf of Carbone and Major Food Group.
The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Ada Brown of the Northern District of Texas. The cause number is 3:22-cv-01184-E.
EASTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
Schwab Antitrust Lawsuit
Lawyers in Austin, New York and Los Angeles from the Bathaee Dunne firm sued The Charles Schwab Corp. on behalf of a group of retail investors in an attempt to unwind the Westlake, Texas-based bank’s $26 billion merger with TD Ameritrade. Although the transaction passed regulatory review from the government in June 2020, the proposed class action antitrust lawsuit alleges Schwab’s deal drastically reduced competition among brokerages because it obtained half of the market for certain trading data.
Lawyers on the plaintiff’s team include Yavar Bathaee, Andrew Wolinsky, Edward Grauman and Brian Dunne.
No lawyers have formally appeared yet for Schwab, but the chief counsel of the bank’s risk and regulatory legal group is Shamoil Shipchandler, a longtime white collar attorney in both the government and private sectors. From 2015 to 2019, Shipchandler served as the director of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Fort Worth Regional Office.
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant’s court of the Eastern District of Texas. The cause number is 4:22-cv-00470-ALM.