In this edition of Litigation Roundup, we detail the outside lawyers Texas has hired to bring suit against some of the largest private equity firms in the world alleging they conspired to depress the market for coal and a Beaumont personal injury lawyer gets sanctioned for using Claude to write a brief that included made-up cases and quotes.
The Litigation Roundup is a weekly feature highlighting the work Texas lawyers are doing inside and outside the state. Have a development we should include next week? Please let us know at tlblitigation@texaslawbook.net.
Eastern District of Texas
Beaumont Attorney Sanctioned for ‘Nonexistent,’ AI-Generated Case Cites
A plaintiffs lawyer in Beaumont has been sanctioned by a federal judge for submitting a response brief that included cites to “nonexistent cases” and “nonexistent quotations” generated by artificial intelligence.
In the underlying lawsuit, James Gauthier sued Goodyear Tire & Rubber in Jefferson County district court in June 2023 alleging that after working for the company for 24 years and six months, he was fired after he “refused to alter” the timeline of events related to a June 2021 release of hydrocarbons at the company’s Jefferson County plant that he reported. He alleges the company wanted him to revise his timeline so it could “avoid a violation for releasing hydrocarbons and failing to timely report and respond to the release.”
Goodyear removed the suit to federal court in July 2023.
Goodyear explained to the court in a brief in support of its motion for summary judgment that it had concerns about the case law Gauthier had cited.
“Although Gauthier ostensibly cites cases to support his opposition to Goodyear’s motion, the undersigned has been unable to locate two of the cases and several other cases Plaintiff relies upon do not contain the quoted language and/or stand for the propositions for which they are cited,” Goodyear argued. “Based upon actual, applicable authority, the court should grant Goodyear’s motion for summary judgment”
U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone issued a six-page order Nov. 25 noting that Gauthier’s counsel, Brandon Monk of The Monk Law Firm in Beaumont, failed to respond to arguments from Goodyear that “specifically identified the nonexistent legal authorities contained in the response.”
“He failed to withdraw or otherwise address these issues when raised by Goodyear,” she wrote. “In fact, Monk’s sur-reply to Goodyear’s reply makes no mention of the problems inherent in the response. … It was only after the court entered the show cause order that Monk sought leave to amend the response.”
At the show cause hearing on Nov. 21, Monk explained he used Claude, a generative AI tool, to draft the brief in question and that his use of Lexis AI to check the content of the response brief “failed to flag the issues with the response.”
Goodyear told the court at the show cause hearing that the attorney fees racked up researching and filing a response to Monk’s AI-generated briefing totaled $7,521.26.
“Monk admitted that he committed an error and apologized to the court,” Judge Crone wrote.
Judge Crone sided with Goodyear and ordered Monk to pay a $2,000 penalty to the court and to attend one hour of continuing legal education about the use of generative AI in the legal field.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber is represented by Kelley Edwards and Urvashi Morolia of Littler Mendelson.
The case number is 1:23-cv-00281.
Texas, 10 Other States Sue PE Firms Alleging Conspiracy to Constrict Coal Market
Texas and a coalition of 10 other states have filed suit against BlackRock, State Street and Vanguard Group, alleging the three firms joined in a conspiracy aimed at artificially constricting the market for coal.
Texas has tapped Tony Buzbee and Christopher J. Leavitt of The Buzbee Law Firm and David H. Thompson, Brian W. Barnes and Harold S. Reeves of Cooper & Kirk as outside counsel in the case.
The other states that joined the suit are: Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, West Virginia and Wyoming. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeremy D. Kernodle.
The lawsuit alleges that the private equity firms have, over the past several years, strategically purchased stakes in publicly held coal producing companies to gain power to direct the policies of those companies and then used that influence to pressure the goal companies into adopting “green energy” goals.
“Texas will not tolerate the illegal weaponization of the financial industry in service of a destructive, politicized ‘environmental’ agenda. BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street formed a cartel to rig the coal market, artificially reduce the energy supply, and raise prices,” Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a news release announcing the Nov. 27 lawsuit. “Their conspiracy has harmed American energy production and hurt consumers. This is a stunning violation of State and federal law.”
The states are represented by their respective attorneys general.
Counsel for the defendants had not filed an appearance as of Monday.
The case number is 6:24-cv-00437.
Western District of Missouri
Buc-ee’s Files TM Suit Against Missouri’s Duckees Drive Thru
Texas-based convenience store giant Buc-ee’s Ltd. has filed another trademark infringement lawsuit against a competitor, this time alleging a store in Kimberling City, Missouri, and its cartoon duck logo infringe its trademarks.
Buc-ee’s has named 2 Wiseman Enterprises, which does business as Duckees Drive Thru, as the defendant in the lawsuit alleging infringement of two trademarks covering its cartoon beaver logo, two that cover its name and four others that cover its advertising and business services, and various Buc-ee’s branded goods.
In addition to alleging Duckees-branded goods — hoodies, koozies and beanies — infringe its trademarks, Buc-ee’s takes aim at the store’s cartoon duck logo, which is set against a yellow background within a black, circle outline.
“The DUCKEES’ Word Trademark DUCKEES copies the most important aspects of BUC-EE’S Word Trademark,” the lawsuit alleges. “The DUCKEES’ Word Trademark DUCKEES, among other things, is nearly identical both orally and visually to the BUC-EE’S Word Trademark BUC-EE’S.”
The case was filed Nov. 15 and brings claims for trademark infringement and dilution. It seeks an injunction barring Duckees from using the allegedly infringing logo. It has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Roseann A. Ketchmark.
Buc-ee’s is represented by Joseph J. Berghammer, Janice V. Mitrius and Anthony J. Denis of Banner & Witcoff in Chicago and C. Bradley Tuck of Evans & Dixon in Springfield, Missouri.
Counsel for 2 Wiseman Enterprises had not filed an appearance as of Monday.
The case number is 3:24-cv-05088.
Connecticut Superior Court, Bridgeport
Connecticut Judge Tacks On $7.5M to DOBS’ $15M Mesothelioma Verdict
The Connecticut judge who oversaw the trial win Dallas-based Dean Omar Branham Shirley obtained against Vanderbilt Minerals LLC in May has added $7.5 million in punitive damages to the jury’s verdict.
A jury awarded $15 million to the family of Nicolas Barone, who died of mesothelioma in 2023, about 60 years after working in a plastics facility where his family said he was exposed to cancer-causing asbestos. The jury awarded compensatory damages and found Vanderbilt should be responsible for punitive damages. Under Connecticut law, the jury determines whether punitive damages are appropriate and the judge decides the amount.
DOBS, a law firm specializing in asbestos cases, argued to the Connecticut jury that Barone’s mesothelioma diagnosis in 2022 could be traced to the work he did at a General Electric plastics facility in the 1960s.
General Electric purchased hundreds of bags of talc from International Talc that came from a New York pit known to have asbestos contamination during the time Barone worked at the Massachusetts plant, the plaintiffs said. Vanderbilt purchased International Talc in 1974.
The trial before Judge Clark lasted four weeks after picking a jury. More than 200 pieces of evidence showed the talc industry was aware of the problem and tried to cover it up, DOBS partner Benjamin Braly has said.
“We are pleased that the court recognized the need for significant punitive damages that reflect the severity of Vanderbilt’s continued conduct,” said attorney Benjamin Braly of DOBS. “Vanderbilt knowingly exposed thousands of Americans to asbestos through their industrial products for decades. We are grateful that the court recognized this outrageous conduct and provided some measure of justice for the Barone family.”
Barone’s family was also represented at trial by Sam Iola of DOBS and Brian Kenney of Early, Lucarelli, Sweeney & Meisenkothen.
Vanderbilt Minerals was represented by Matthew J. Zamaloff of Cetrulo and R. Thomas Radcliffe of DeHay & Elliston.
The case number is FBT-CV-22-6116587S.
Note: Krista Torralva contributed to this report.