In this edition of Litigation Roundup, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit sides 2-1 with a group of small refineries challenging an EPA decision to deny their requested exemptions from certain obligations under the Clean Air Act, the founder of SAExploration reaches a settlement with the SEC in a $100 million fraud case and private equity firm Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe XI moves to toss an FTC monopoly suit lodged against it.
More Stories
M&A/CapM Partner Leaves Sidley for Locke Lord
Houston deal lawyer Jon Daly has counseled a range of clients so far this year, including Intrepid Partners, Blue Ocean Acquisition Corp. and Sunoco on M&A and Western Midstream Partners and JP Morgan on capital markets.
Federal Jury in Dallas Awards $210M in Software Trade Secrets Trial
After hearing six days of testimony, a jury in the Northern District of Texas unanimously sided with Computer Sciences Corporation and found the company was entitled to $70 million in actual damages for Tata Consultancy Services’ misappropriation of its proprietary source code and $140 million in exemplary damages because the misappropriation was willful and malicious.
P.S. — Pro Bono Turkeys and Fixings
A short and sweet P.S. this week highlights two Thanksgiving-themed public service efforts led by Winston & Strawn, a name partner at Lynn Pinker Hurst & Schwegmann and the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program. Plus: a movie recommendation.
Biz Community Tells SCOTX Abortion Ban Has Cost Texas $14.5B
An amici army 40 strong, led by dating app Bumble Inc. and joined by Match Group, SXSW, Amalgamated Bank, Central Presbyterian Church, a handful of boutique law firms, doctors and hospitality companies, filed their brief with the Texas Supreme Court Monday, about a week before the court is slated to hear oral arguments in Texas v. Zurawski. But the business community is far from the only voice trying to persuade the Texas Supreme Court. A group of 20 states filed an amicus brief, as did a group of 90 Texas legislators and a handful of national women’s rights organizations.
CDT Roundup: 22 Deals, 17 Firms, 184 Lawyers, $6.6B
Sometimes the biggest deal of the week tells us something beyond just its value. Last week, the last full week before Thanksgiving, the deal with the largest reported value involved healthcare. And according to the consulting firm Kaufman Hall, the $2.4 billion sale of three hospitals by Texas healthcare giant Tenet Healthcare is part of a resurgence of M&A in the medical space. This week’s CDT Roundup focuses on that uptick, as well as the usual roll call of Texas firms and lawyers who reported deals as the holiday season approaches.
One Nation Under Insurance: The Insurance Industry’s Hold on Our Country, Our State and Our Pocketbooks – Part 2 – The Claims Practices Statute
The Prompt Payment of Claims Act is a statute ostensibly enacted to provide enforcement mechanisms for Texas businesses, among others, and their lawyers in transactions between insurance companies and their policyholders. But significant changes in the potential penalties for failing to timely investigate and pay policy benefits have been favorable to foreign insurance companies and harmful to Texas businesses.
‘Nobody Gave Us a Chance’ — Lynn Pinker Turns 30
Mike Lynn left the comforts of national corporate firm Akin Gump in 1993 to start a trial-focused shop with two other lawyers. They used a wooden door on cement blocks as a desk. The paralegal was also the office manager, who worked at a table in the hallway. Thirty years later, Lynn Pinker is one of the largest and most prominent litigation boutiques in Texas, boasting 47 lawyers and blue-chip clients such as IBM, Energy Transfer, Neiman Marcus and Xerox — and even a Saudi prince. In three decades, the firm’s lawyers have scored multiple nine-digit courtroom victories for plaintiffs and defendants.
“This is a story that could only happen in Texas,” said Lynn, who is now 73. The stories of nearly all law firms are defined by critical or business-threatening events, enormous courtroom victories, lawyers joining and leaving and strategic decisions on practice groups or business sector focuses. Almost all successful firms in Texas have stories that revolve around one or two legal stars — be they Leon Jaworski or Steve Susman, John Zavitsanos or David Beck, Mike McKool or Paul Yetter. Lynn Pinker is no exception.
Litigation Roundup: Baylor Wins Licensing Dispute, Louisiana Bar Admonished by 5th Circuit for Speech
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, the Austin appellate court rejects Texas’ bid to cut two qui tam whistleblowers out of their share of a $236 million settlement with Xerox, the Fifth Circuit finds Tesla’s uniform policy does not run afoul of the National Labor Relations Act and two Dallas pain doctors are indicted in a $12 million fraud scheme.
New Texas Solicitor General Inherits Platform to Change Federal Law and Policies
BYU law professor Aaron Nielson is a renowned scholar and “a key member of the conservative legal movement” with expertise litigating against alleged regulatory overreach by federal authorities, according to lawyers and academics familiar with his work and even those who have battled him in court. The new Texas solicitor is an expert on the Administrative Procedure Act, a 1946 law that governs how federal agencies develop and implement regulations and a statute that Paxton has repeatedly used to challenge the authority of federal agencies. But in this article, The Texas Lawbook examines Nielson’s work on a 2020 U.S. Supreme Court case in which he was appointed by the justices to, ironically, brief and argue in favor of the constitutionality of the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s structure — a position that legal experts agree his boss, Texas AG Ken Paxton and other anti-federal agency advocates opposed. Nielson’s arguments won the day.