Plaintiffs, objecting to the San Antonio City Council’s rejection of the restaurant chain’s location inside a San Antonio International Airport concourse, sued under a state law the Texas Legislature specially passed missed a point – the law was not retroactive. But the council’s action came well before the Legislature’s. The Supreme Court sent the case back to the trial court to allow repleading to establish jurisdictional facts – and maybe give the plaintiffs another bite at a chicken sandwich.
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Judge Preserves Bulk of False Claims Case Against Afghan War Defense Contractor
The ruling in the Southern District of Texas paves the way for a group of qui tam whistleblowers to continue alleging that a Dallas-based defense contractor billed the government more than $100 million for military support in Afghanistan that it did not actually provide.
‘It Is High Time’ To Halt Inheritance Litigation by Albert Hill III, Judge Declares
U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay rejected yet another lawsuit by ‘Al Three,’ an embittered descendant of oil magnate H.L. Hunt, and said he’s considering sanctions against the ‘vexatious litigator’ and his lawyers.
AZA’s Name Shortens with Departure of Two Name Partners
Two name partners have departed Houston litigation boutique AZA, The Texas Lawbook has learned. Firm leaders declined to comment on why.
Toyota Settles EDTX Lawsuit with Hybrid Vehicle Owners
Toyota and a proposed class of hybrid-vehicle owners have settled a class action lawsuit in the Eastern District of Texas. The case had originally been set for trial this July before the court ordered mediation for the parties.
SEC’s Proposed Rule for Climate-Related Disclosures Would Flood Public Companies with New Disclosure Obligations
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission released its proposed disclosure rule last week that, if approved, would require registrants to disclose a tidal wave of information in annual reports and registration statements. The SEC’s proposal would result in a tectonic shift for how public companies assess, track, measure and disclose climate-related risks, would likely necessitate significant changes to management and board processes and composition, and expose public companies to increased litigation and enforcement risk.
Texas Mutual’s GC Retires After 26 Years as Workers’ Comp System’s Most Ardent Advocate
Mary Barrow Nichols retires Friday after 26 years as general counsel with a new startup building upon the wreckage in the mid-1990s of the Texas workers’ comp system. The new startup? Texas Mutual Insurance Co. “You are now the person who cares more than anyone else about how the new Texas workers’ compensation law works,” her then-mentor, David Brown, told her as she left Vinson & Elkins. “It turns out,” she says, “he has been right for 26 years.”
New Book is Texas Business Leaders ‘One Stop Shop’ on Departing Employee Litigation
The 2022 edition of The Texas Litigator’s Guide to Departing Employee Cases includes the most recent court decisions, statutory changes and regulatory advisories. The book also marks the debut of Texas Lawbook Publishing.
CDT Roundup: 11 Deals, 8 Firms, 65 Lawyers, $3.2B
Following a seeming renaissance in 2021, IPO activity seems to have slowed thus far in 2022, according to several indicators. Still, Texas dealmakers say they expect the IPO markets to stay healthy — particularly in the energy industry. The CDT Roundup has some numbers, as well as last week’s deals and the names of lawyers behind them.
Southwest Airlines Brings Its Baggage to the Supreme Court
At issue is a decades-long dispute over the meaning of a clause in the FAA. Lawyers for the Dallas-based airline go before the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to assert that its baggage loaders and supervisors can be required to undergo arbitration when they file employment complaints.