In this week’s edition of Litigation Roundup, the San Antonio Spurs beat back a lawsuit alleging it infringed two ticket sales technology patents, the SEC pursues a Texas duo in a $12 million Ponzi scheme suit, and the Texas Supreme Court gears up to hear a case involving the intersection of public information and attorney-client privilege.
More Stories
McKool Smith Adds Veteran Dallas Trial Lawyer
After three decades of leading a boutique litigation firm, Alan Loewinsohn is reuniting with old friends and colleagues Mike McKool and Doug Cawley at McKool Smith. He is being joined by two colleagues from his prior firm.
Pathbreaking Journalist, Remarkable Human Being, ‘Jeopardy’ Clue: ‘Who is Tony Mauro?’
For more than four decades, Tony Mauro has been a reporter with the U.S. Supreme Court as his beat. He’s covered 22 justices — from William Brennan, Thurgood Marshall and Sandra Day O’Connor to John Roberts, Neil Gorsuch and Ketanji Brown Jackson. He was there in 1986 when the Supreme Court upheld laws criminalizing sodomy and in 2003 when the justices, in Lawrence v. Texas ruled such laws unconstitutional. Mauro revolutionized how journalists wrote about the Supreme Court, holding the justices accountable for the gender and ethnicity of their clerks and doing his best to bring transparency to a branch of government that long-cherished its anonymity. Mauro, who has been a correspondent for The Texas Lawbook since 2020, has some great stories to tell. But he is a great story himself.
As SCOTUS Readies for the First Monday in October, Texas-related Cases Loom
The marquee cases of the U.S. Supreme Court term that begins Monday touch on issues such as affirmative action, voting rights, immigration and LGBTQ and First Amendment rights. a second tier of lesser-known cases set for October and November are also worth a look for Texas lawyers and for aficionados of Supreme Court business cases. More cases will be granted review and scheduled for argument soon. Some of the cases will be a test of the high court’s relationship with the Fifth Circuit.
“It’s shaping up to be another big term,” says Scott Keller of Lehotsky Keller in Austin and Washington.
Makers of Guns, Radios, Door Locks Named in Uvalde Suit
In a federal lawsuit filed in the Western District of Texas Wednesday afternoon, gun maker Daniel Defense, communications company Motorola Solutions and Schneider Electric, which made and installed door locks at Robb Elementary, all were named as defendants. The suit is seeking unspecified damages to include punitive damages.
UT Asks SCOTX To Reinstate $51M Royalty Win for Lyme Disease Detection Patent
Earlier this week the University of Texas System’s Board of Regents appealed to the Texas Supreme Court in its fight with IDEXX Laboratories arguing a lower appellate court misinterpreted the parties’ contract in wiping out the victory.
Don’t Answer That Question: Two Settlements Blocked SCOTX from Clarifying a Troublesome Insurance Doctrine
Attorneys who represent property owners have argued that the law has been turned on its head, saddling policyholders with a burden of proof that is squarely on the insurer in every state in the union except Texas. A settlement reached earlier this month — five days before the Texas Supreme Court was going to hear arguments in the case that could have clarified the issue — deprived the state’s high court of its second opportunity to answer certified questions from the Fifth Circuit.
DBJ: SEC Seeks Receivership for North Texas Land in Alleged $26 Million Fraud
Dallas real estate developer Tim Barton faces federal charges for allegedly bilking more than $26 million from Chinese nationals who were told they were investing in suburban land development deals. Barton has tapped Holland & Knight partner Richard Roper to lead his defense.
David Cole to Move from V&E to Kirkland
Cole, a nationally recognized expert on tax controversies and tax litigation, is expected to join K&E in October. His lateral hiring is the latest in a variety of moves by firms to beef up their energy practices. Mark Curriden has the details.
CDT Roundup: 18 Deals, 14 Firms, 216 Lawyers, $5.2B
Few lawyers are busier these days than Sameer Mohan at Morgan Lewis. With a couple of deals announced last week, the sheer breadth of his practice is worth pondering. Claire Poole takes a look at a sample of his recent transactions, as part of the usual CDT Roundup of Texas lawyers who announced their own deals last week.