A Pennsylvania judge ruled to block testimony from Energy Transfer co-founder Kelcy Warren, who is also executive chairman on the board of directors. Dallas-based Cardinal Midstream had sought to have Warren testify about comments he made about Energy Transfer “making mistakes” in its Pennsylvania projects. Cardinal Midstream is seeking $33 million from Energy Transfer under a purchase agreement, claiming that a pipeline explosion prevented the fulfillment of an earnout condition tied to gas delivery volumes. Energy Transfer argues that the explosion, caused by a landslide from heavy rains, qualifies as a “force majeure,” while Cardinal Midstream blames poor pipeline design for the failure.
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Texas Supreme Court Hears Ex-SMU Law Prof’s Case
Cheryl Butler, a former Southern Methodist University law professor, sued the university and several former colleagues in 2016, bringing claims for defamation, fraud and conspiracy to defame. She appealed to the Fifth Circuit in January 2023, the same month U.S. District Judge Ada Brown dismissed her case with prejudice after agreeing that the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act preempted the claims. The Texas Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in the case that will determine whether Butler will be allowed to proceed with a defamation claim against her former coworkers, who she alleges played a role in her being denied tenure in 2016.
SCOTX Considers Foreseeability of Cross-Median Crash
The deadly crash happened in December 2014 on an icy interstate near Odessa when a pickup truck carrying a woman and her three children crossed into the path of an 18-wheeler helmed by a driver trainee. Trucking and business interests decry the $116 million Harris County trial judgment as an outlier among commercial vehicle cases.
Sidley Leads Independence Drilling’s Bankruptcy Restructuring in SDTX
Houston-based Independence Contract Drilling and its affiliated company, Sidewinder Drilling, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection late Monday in the Southern District of Texas. ICD leaders chose Sidley Austin as its lead legal advisor. Latham & Watkins is counsel for the noteholders. Piper Sandler is the investment bank advising ICD.
Litigation Roundup: Buc-ee’s Goes to Court, Again, in TM Spat
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, we detail the outside lawyers Texas has hired to bring suit against some of the largest private equity firms in the world alleging they conspired to depress the market for coal and a Beaumont personal injury lawyer gets sanctioned for using Claude to write a brief that included made-up cases and quotes.
Dallas Law Firms Face Off in $33M Breach-of-Contract Case Over Pipeline Explosion Near Pittsburgh
Cardinal Midstream II LLC, represented by Reese Marketos, is suing Energy Transfer and its affiliate ETC Northeast Pipeline LLC for $33 million in a bench trial that started Monday before Beaver County (Pa.) Court of Common Pleas Judge James J.Ross. Lynn Pinker Hurst & Schwegmann represents Energy Transfer, which says the judge should find the force majeure clause applies because a landslide caused the 2018 pipeline explosion.
CDT Roundup: 10 Deals, 9 Firms, 103 Lawyers, $10.3B
As we approach the end of 2024, it’s crucial to ensure that your submissions to the Corporate Deal Tracker are fully credited. The Texas Lawbook’s M&A team is committed to identifying all relevant submissions for deals involving Texas-based lawyers, and we want to make sure that no qualified deal from your firm goes unaccounted for. That and more, including last week’s deals, in this edition of the CDT Roundup.
Foley Leads Vodka Maker’s Bankruptcy
The U.S. subsidiary of vodka producer Stoli Group and its sister company, whiskey maker Kentucky Owl, have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the Northern District of Texas.
Update: GOP Considers Appeal in Dallas Appeals Court Election
Thompson Coe litigation partner Matthew Kolodoski, a Republican candidate for the Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas, will have to decide in the next few days whether he will challenge the official election results in his race against his Democratic opponent, Dallas Criminal Court Judge Tina Clinton. When votes were tallied on election night, Nov. 5, Kolodoski was unofficially declared the winner, leading Judge Clinton by 1,512 votes. But mail-in and provisional ballots were counted, there was a 3,000-vote swing in Judge Clinton’s favor.
Texas Secretary of State Updates Results in Dallas Appeals Court Election
Wednesday afternoon, as lawyers left their offices for the long Thanksgiving weekend, Texas election officials quietly updated the official results of the race for the Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas. The final vote tally shows that Dallas County Criminal Court Judge Tina Clinton received nearly 1,600 votes more than her Republican opponent, giving the Democrats a sole victory among the eight races for state appellate court. But lawyers say that state Republican leaders are pressuring its candidate to challenge the results.