In this edition of Litigation Roundup, the Texas Supreme Court revives a lawyer’s fight with a litigation funder and settles a “fuzzy math” problem in a $50 million royalty dispute.
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Chron: Meet New SDTX U.S. Attorney Alamdar Hamdani, Son of a Cab Driver
Alamdar Hamdani, who was recently sworn in as the chief federal law enforcement officer for the Southern District of Texas, provided free legal representation to members of the South Asian and Muslim community who were interviewed by the FBI after the Sept. 11 attacks. In an exclusive interview with the Houston Chronicle, Hamdani said he “realized people who looked like me or shared my parents’ faith would be looked at differently” and he will use that “valuable experience” as an immigrant and person of color to analyze cases during his tenure as a U.S. attorney. “I am thankful and I am humbled that I am the U.S. attorney and all I can do is make my mama proud,” Hamdani said.
Baylor Law Dean to Step Down After 31 Years
This summer, Bradley Toben will return to the faculty, where he first began teaching law courses in 1983, following his tenure as the longest-serving dean of any American Bar Association-accredited law school in the country.
P.S. — Nonprofit Spotlight: Genesis Women’s Shelter
For this week’s edition of P.S., Natalie Posgate talked with Genesis Women’s Shelter to discuss the nonprofit’s upcoming annual luncheon featuring Nicole Kidman, the expanded legal services available to domestic violence victims in Genesis’ brand new facility and how lawyers can help the organization carry out its mission to empower women and children affected by domestic abuse. Firms mentioned include Munck Wilson Mandala, Stinson and Cowles & Thompson.
Just Energy Seeks to Join Litigation Against PUC Over Winter Storm Uri Pricing
Retail electric provider Just Energy has asked the Austin Court of Appeals to allow it to join a lawsuit brought by a half-dozen other Texas power suppliers challenging the legality of Texas Public Utility Commission orders increasing the price of electricity during Winter Storm Uri in 2021 by 650 percent.
Pioneer Natural Resources Beats $9M Winter Storm Uri Contract Breach Claim
A Dallas federal judge granted summary judgment on Wednesday to Dallas-based Pioneer Natural Resources which had been sued by a California energy trader for breach of contract for failing to supply natural gas during Winter Storm Uri in February 2021.
Not Just Any Decision: The Ongoing Power Struggle Between Bankruptcy Courts and State Regulators
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision in ERCOT v. Just Energy Texas, L.P. is notable in its own right for addressing critical issues regarding who has authority to regulate a state’s electric utilities. But the case is even more interesting when considered in the broader mosaic of recent decisions by courts dealing with how and when state regulatory power may be circumscribed by federal bankruptcy courts.
Winter Storm Uri Litigation Heating Up at Two Year Mark
The massive legal battle pitting thousands of Texas residents and small business owners against hundreds of energy companies, such as NRG Power, Calpine, Oncor Electric and ExxonMobil, over damages incurred during Winter Storm Uri two years ago is finally heating up. This week’s two-year anniversary of the crippling winter storm also means that the statute of limitations for most Uri-related lawsuits takes effect this week.
Lawyers representing more than 1,500 Texans and businesses have filed more than 80 new wrongful death, personal injury and property damage lawsuits against more than 360 energy companies and ERCOT since last Thursday. Dozens more lawsuits are expected to be filed in Texas courts Wednesday and Thursday.
The Texas Lawbook wrongly reported earlier that CPS Energy had filed for Chapter 11.
Avaya Hires Kirkland, Jackson Walker to Lead Bankruptcy Restructuring in Houston
Cloud communications company Avaya Holdings and a dozen of its affiliated businesses filed for bankruptcy Tuesday in the Southern District of Texas seeking to shave billions of dollars of debt from its balance sheet.
‘Call Your First Witness’ – Fifth Circuit to Lawyers in Final Stanford Ponzi Scheme Trial
A three-judge panel of a federal appellate court has rejected a last-ditch effort by three banks to postpone an upcoming trial in which victims in the R. Allen Stanford Ponzi scheme are seeking billions of dollars in damages. The four most powerful words from the lips of a United States district judge are simply, ‘Call your first witness,’ and the veteran presiding judge will so state in a few short days,” the Fifth Circuit stated in the three-page decision.