Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
Eleven SMU Dedman School of Law alumni and the school’s new dean were sworn in before the nation’s high court in a live ceremony before all nine justices this month. The group also heard oral arguments in two related administrative law cases.
“It was like being on the 50-yard line at the Super Bowl. But better,” Amy Osteen, a 2000 graduate of the law school, said.
On their second day of deliberation, jurors in the court of state District Judge Monica McCoy Purdy awarded damages of $3.94 million to the family of electrician Gabriel Vela, who was killed in 2019 while working at a West Texas midstream energy plant. However, because the jury found Vela 51 percent responsible for his death, the defendants will not be liable. Bruce Tomaso reports.
So much attention has been given to energy and energy transition that it would be easy to overlook other business sectors that make up the Texas M&A market. Take the healthcare sector, for instance. Healthcare has become a new favorite among PE investors, according to PitchBook. This week’s Roundup looks at a few of the reasons for that, as well as healthcare stats for Texas. All that, and the usual roster of lawyers involved in last week’s Texas-related transactions.
In 1985’s classic film, The Return of the Living Dead, a rainstorm spreads a zombie-creating chemical throughout a city. In 2022, the Supreme Court’s relentless focus on originalism has also awakened long-dead legal doctrines. One such resurrection appears in the concurrence from Golden Glow Tanning Salon v. City of Columbus, which advocates examination of a constitutional “right to earn a living” in light of how such economic matters were understood in the late 1700s.
In closing arguments, attorneys for a West Texas midstream gas facility say electrician Gabriel Vela died because of his own negligence. A plaintiff’s attorney counters that the gas plant’s conduct was ‘the grossest of gross negligence’ he’s seen in 34 years of practice.
Since U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman ruled that Evan P. Jowers improperly poached business from his former boss, Robert E. Kinney, Jowers has filed a new lawsuit in Florida and a motion for a protective order, alleging that Kinney threatened his family. Kinney, in turn, is seeking sanctions against Jowers and his current and former lawyers.
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, the University of Texas settles a gender discrimination lawsuit with the law professor Linda Mullinex, Amazon draws a patent infringement lawsuit over robotics used at its fulfillment centers, the Fifth Circuit denies a bid from a fraudster — who waived his right to appeal — to challenge his 14-year sentence and a settlement is reached in a shareholder lawsuit against Fluor Corporation.
“As veterans and advocates for access to justice, it is our responsibility to advocate for civil aid legal services that are transformative in alleviating pain points felt by Texas veterans returning to civilian life after active duty, as well as those who served our country decades ago,” Chief Justice Nathan Hecht and Maj. Gen. Alfred Valenzuela write. They lay out their case in this op-ed.
Each day as a U.S. Army helicopter pilot in Pakistan and Afghanistan afforded the opportunity to help those in need. I doubt I’ll ever do anything that can match the intensity and exhilaration of serving in the military, which can make it even easier to live in the past. As tempting as that might be, it’s the obligation of every veteran to follow the example of the World War II generation and, for lack of a better phrase, get back to work.
It is my sincere hope that other veterans – particularly those of my vintage – can also find ways to continue serving.
On this Veterans Day, The Texas Lawbook thanks veterans for their service and lists a cluster of upcoming events benefiting veterans as well as law firm initiatives and individual lawyers who have helped those who served.
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