In this edition of Litigation Roundup, the Texas Supreme Court held that the attorney-client privilege means a conservative nonprofit news organization cannot get access to certain documents stemming from a University of Texas admissions process investigation, and the parties on either side of a personal injury lawsuit that netted a $352 million jury verdict told an intermediate appellate court a settlement has been reached.
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Expansion of Environmental Justice and Title VI Scrutiny Raises New Questions for Heavy Industry Projects in Texas
Increasing scrutiny around EJ impacts of infrastructure projects and permitting at the federal and state level could have massive impacts for industry in the form of permit delay and even denial where EJ impacts are identified and not adequately addressed. Companies in Texas should consider EJ impacts more systematically through their project planning processes to be prepared for increased scrutiny, inquiry and potential investigation around the impacts to surrounding communities and the demographic makeup of those communities.
Assisted Living Center Fall Case Dismissed Under Medical Liability Act
The Texas Supreme Court said the wrongful death case was improperly cast as a premises liability claim. The plaintiff will lose her day in court by failing to meet a deadline for submitting an expert report required for health care liability claims. The assisted living industry was watching closely.
Divided SCOTX Sides with Jim Crane in Astros Sale Suit
In a 7-2 ruling issued Friday morning, the last day of the court’s term, the justices denied a request from the former owner of the Houston Astros, Drayton McLane, to bring an early end to a lawsuit brought by the team’s current owner, Jim Crane, alleging lies and deceptions caused him to overpay for the team in 2011. The ruling means Crane will have a chance to proceed with a trial in Harris County where he is seeking to recoup the entire $332 million he paid for a stake in the Houston Regional Sports Network that was part of his $615 million purchase of the Major League Baseball team.
Houston Chronicle Exclusive: GOP Readies Legal Attack on Biden Climate Push
The Biden administration is facing a critical legal test of its authority to enact climate policy, as Republicans plan attacks on new EPA regulations as costly and overstepping the boundaries of the executive branch. Buoyed by recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions striking down Obama-era regulations designed to reduce emissions from the power sector, conservative lawyers plan to push the “major questions doctrine.” The Houston Chronicle has details.
Updated: UT, UH to Adjust Racial Consideration in Law School Admissions, SMU ‘Studying’ Ruling
Southern Methodist University’s law dean sent a letter Friday to faculty, students and staff that said the school is still studying the implications of the Supreme Court’s affirmative action decision but will remain committed to having a diverse student body. The University of Texas at Austin tweeted a statement that said the law school had used race as a factor in admissions but will now readjust its approach to comply with the law, while the University of Houston released a similar statement.
Plus, information on which other Texas law schools have (and haven’t) weighed in.
What Does it Mean? Trial Lawyers Talk SCOTX Gregory Ruling
Trial lawyers who spoke to The Lawbook said the ruling in Gregory v. Chohan didn’t offer much clarity on the proper evidentiary standard for noneconomic damages awards. Justice John Devine, who agreed with the plurality that an improper closing argument likely influenced the damages award and mandates a new trial, decried the new evidentiary standard advocated for by three justices as “impossible” to meet.
Judge Asked to Separate Market Manipulation Cases from Winter Storm Uri MDL
Plaintiffs’ lawyers suing more than 90 energy companies for alleged market manipulation of natural gas prices during Winter Storm Uri are asking a Houston judge to separate their lawsuits from the more than 300 other wrongful death, personal injury and property damage cases currently consolidated in the MDL in Houston. Data analytics firm CirclesX Recovery argues its lawsuit is legally different from the others and should be handled outside of the MDL.
Texas is Chipping Away at Property Owners’ Rights: Inside the Troubling Trend
The “Texas Miracle” is by all accounts a real thing. There is little doubt that Texas businesses have thrived in the confluence of conditions existing in Texas for the past couple of decades. Then why would the Texas Legislature strive to place hardships on Texas businesses by making it more difficult for them, as property owners, to recover the full cost of repair for construction defects?
A Word with Shook Hardy’s New Civil Rights/Racial Justice Practice Leader
After winning a significant pro bono prisoner’s rights case last year, Shook, Hardy & Bacon decided to use the award to foster more pro bono work by forming a new practice group that will handle prisoner’s civil rights and abuse-of-force litigation. The Kansas City-based firm chose Michael Harrison, a Houston lawyer and former prosecutor, to lead it. In a Q&A with The Lawbook, Harrison reflects on his time in the Harris County district attorney’s office, shares details about Shook’s new practice group and conveys his passion for civil rights and racial justice work.