In Amarillo, Austin, and just recently Fort Worth, the party resisting pre-suit discovery under Rule 202 can (in the right circumstances) file a motion to dismiss under the Texas Citizens Participation Act (TCPA), requiring the petitioner to meet the TCPA’s evidentiary hurdles or risk paying the other side’s fees and getting sanctioned, all while potentially engaging in a protracted process that spoils the entire purpose of Rule 202 petitions. But both Houston Courts of Appeals have rejected the applicability of the TCPA to pre-suit discovery. Until the Texas Supreme Court resolves the split, where a pre-suit petition for discovery is filed can have a dramatic impact on the outcome.
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Wachtell, Kirkland Lead $22.5B Deal Between ConocoPhillips, Marathon
ConocoPhillips has agreed to acquire Marathon Oil for $22.5 billion in an all-stock deal, which includes $5.4 billion of net debt and offers Marathon shareholders a 14.7% premium. The merger is expected to generate $500 million in savings in its first year and significantly boost ConocoPhillips’ U.S. onshore portfolio. Pending regulatory approval, the deal is anticipated to close in the fourth quarter, furthering the consolidation trend in the energy sector as companies seek to enhance reserves and cut operating costs.
ExxonMobil Wants $725M Award Wiped Out or Knocked Down to $250K
Lawyers from Dallas-based Waters Kraus Paul & Siegel earlier this month convinced the jury in a 10-2 decision that their client, Paul Gill, was entitled to damages from ExxonMobil for its failure to warn consumers about the risk of exposure to benzene that is in its petroleum products, including gasoline. Gill, who worked as a Mobil service station mechanic between 1975 and 1980, was diagnosed in 2019 with acute myeloid leukemia and testified about using gasoline to clean car parts.
CDT Roundup: 13 Deals, 15 Firms, 171 Lawyers, $9.7B
We’re more used to writing about semiconductor chips than corn chips, but this week the CDT has the pleasure of highlighting the ones you stick in salsa. Yes, it’s a PE deal involving one of our favorites, And you can enjoy it alongside our usual review of last week’s dealmaking.
Sidley Signs O&G Leader from Akin
Stephen M. Boone, Jr. brings “strong industry knowledge and significant corporate experience in the upstream and midstream sectors” to Sidley. In January, Boone helped guide Talos Energy in its $1.29 billion acquisition of QuarterNorth.
Gibson Dunn’s Back-to-Back Years of Record Growth in Texas
Gibson Dunn faced a strategic crisis in late 2010: Firm leaders had serious doubts about the viability of its Texas operation. Shuttering the Dallas office was a real possibility. And then, the Texas law gods smiled upon the LA-founded corporate law firm. More than a dozen years since, Gibson Dunn has sextupled the number of lawyers it has in Texas and increased revenues from those Texas attorneys by 10 times.
During the past two years, the firm has been on a Texas-sized hiring spree — growing from 117 attorneys to 179. This year, the firm is expecting its largest class of Texas summer associates and its largest class of first-year hires. Revenues and profits have soared. This is the story about how it happened.
Gray Reed Gets Corporate Partner Michael Overstreet
Michael Overstreet, who practiced for the last eight years at Chamberlain Hrdlicka, said the “stars aligned” for a move to Gray Reed. The lawyer and CPA has worked on three deals recently that are indicative of a trend he is seeing in his practice.
Litigation Roundup: Anti-ESG Class Action Certified Against AA; Samsung Defeats Patent Suit in EDTX
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, Samsung beats back a patent suit seeking half a billion dollars in damages after arguing the plaintiff had unclean hands, a jury in Marshall renders a $445 million infringement verdict and we detail what led American Airlines to replace Wilson Elser as its outside counsel in a lawsuit involving a bathroom recording of a 9-year-old girl.
SEC on the Lookout for Whistleblower Restrictions
The agency has been very active in whistleblower protection for the last 18 months — with seven cases generating more than $30 million in fines — and now appears to be kicking off an enforcement sweep looking at executive agreements for public companies to determine whether they somehow “inhibit” sharing information with the SEC. This is a timely issue for public company legal departments, especially since the SEC’s most recent cases have expanded what the agency thinks is problematic conduct.
Hill Country Doctor Convicted in $39M Phony Prescription Scam
Dr. David M. Young of Fredericksburg was accused of prescribing orthotic devices and genetic tests for thousands of patients he never met. He was convicted by a jury Friday and is scheduled to be sentenced in October.