In this edition of Litigation Roundup, the widow of an oilfield worker sues Apache Corp. over her husband’s heat-related death, lawyers for the driver of a vandalized Tesla tout a first-of-its-kind civil suit, and Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan takes aim at the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act in a concurring opinion where the court wiped out a $28.7 million jury award.
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Hooters Files For Chapter 11 Protection in NDTX
Hooters of America announced Monday night that it had entered a restructuring support agreement to sell its remaining company-owned Hooters locations to a specific group of its current franchisees. In conjunction with this move, Hooters of America and 29 other Hooters-affiliated debtors also announced that they had voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the Northern District of Texas. Lawyers from Ropes & Gray and Foley & Lardner are advising.
Houston Judge Rejects $9B Bankruptcy Effort By J&J
Houston Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez ruled late Monday that multiple flaws require him to dismiss Johnson & Johnson’s third attempt to use the federal bankruptcy courts to rid itself of 90,000 cases filed across the country by women suing pharmaceutical giant for making and selling baby powder that they claim caused their ovarian and other gynecological cancers. In a 57-page opinion, Judge Lopez said his ruling to reject J&J’s efforts to create a separate subsidiary in Texas called Red River Talc for the sole purpose of funding a $9 billion resolution of its talc powder cancer litigation through the bankruptcy process was “not an easy one, [but] it is the right one.”
I Succeed Because You Did Before Me
Nobody succeeds in a vacuum. Not in this industry, anyway. We rise and fall as part of a community, and we look to leaders and mentors to shape that community. Women lawyers today find themselves in the unique position of having women in leadership roles to guide them.
Auto Group Files $150M Suit Against Ex-Biz Partner
Tate Group Automotive, run by three siblings, has turned to the Texas business court to resolve a $150 million dispute with one-time business partners Reynolds and Reynolds Company and Legacy Automotive Capital. The lawsuit brings claims for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, misapplication of fiduciary property or civil theft, negligent misrepresentation, fraud, quantum meruit, tortious interference and civil conspiracy.
Rocket to Buy Texas-Based Home Loan Servicer for $9.4B
Rocket Companies announced Monday that it had agreed to merge and acquire Mr. Cooper Group Inc., a Dallas-based mortgage servicer, for $9.4 billion. Lawyers from Paul Weiss, Wachtell and Bradley Arant are advising the deal.
DOJ Picks WDTX as Forum for CBA Suit Against American Federation of Government Employees
The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Alan Albright, who is being asked to declare that eight federal agencies have authority to terminate the collective bargaining agreements with their employees. The lawsuit was filed one day after President Donald Trump issued an executive order exempting employees of the eight federal agencies bringing this lawsuit from federal labor law requirements, purportedly in an effort to “enhance the national security of the United States.” The Office of Personnel Management subsequently instructed those agencies “to take appropriate steps toward terminating their previously negotiated CBAs,” according to the lawsuit.
Hunton AK Promotes Houston Trial Lawyer to Partner
Hunton Andrews Kurth kicked off its new fiscal year by announcing the promotion of eight lawyers at the firm, including one in Texas.
M&A Newsmaker: Michael King and His Crowning Achievements at Latham
Drawn by Latham & Watkins’ dominance in oil and gas transactions and its legal reputation he described as akin to playing for the New York Yankees, Michael King joined its Houston office as a partner in 2012. Over 13 years at Latham, King has been involved in a number of notable energy deals and more. He recently discussed his path to becoming a lawyer, his deep experience in the O&G sector and his expectations for the rest of the year with The Texas Lawbook.
CDT Roundup: Deadline for Submitting Deals for M&A Rankings is Next Week
In this edition of CDT Roundup for the week ending March 29, there were 21 Texas-related transactions valued at a total $8.2 billion. The week prior had seen 19 deals for $6.5 billion. It was the third straight week of volume uptick since the 2025 low of seven deals for $2.2 billion for the week that ended March 8. This time last year, there were 12 deals for $9.3 billion. Also, The Texas Lawbook has new 2025 quarterly deadlines for deal submissions to qualify for its quarterly and annual firm and lawyer deal rankings. Firms and lawyers who wish to be considered for the first quarter and year-end Lawbook leaderboards for M&A and CapM must submit all of their first-quarter deals by April 7 at 5 p.m.