The former CEO of the ERCOT told U.S. Chief Bankruptcy Judge David Jones on Wednesday that he would not do anything differently in how the state agency handled the power grid during Winter Storm Uri a year ago and said that setting power prices at $9,000 per megawatt hour was not an error but a decision to “protect the reliability of the system.” Bill Magness is testifying in day two of the bankruptcy trial of Brazos Electric Coop, which is asking Judge Jones to significantly reduce the $1.9 billion ERCOT charged to the Waco-based power supplier during the four days last February when temperatures plummeted to record lows.
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CDT Roundup: 22 Deals; 17 Firms; 174 Lawyers; $22.2B
Germany announced this week that it is halting certification of the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline from Russia. Germany is Russia’s largest European market for their gas, so the move is not insignificant. But the move could have even broader significance for the new Texas alternative to alternative energy: LNG. The CDT Roundup explains, along with its weekly roll call of lawyers involved in what was the year’s best week thus far in M&A.
Kirkland and Bell Nunnally Win Jury Trial for AMLI Residential in $38M Dispute
Kirkland & Ellis partner Jeremy Fielding and AMLI Chair Gregory Mutz, a Vietnam War infantry lieutenant turned lawyer turned real estate developer, stood side by side last Wednesday as a Houston jury delivered its verdict. AMLI stood accused of lying, breach of contract and destroying evidence related to the $57 million sale in 2012 of a Houston luxury apartment complex. The verdict, both men say, brought them to tears.
DBJ: New SEC Proposal Could Impair Private Firms, UT Professor Says
Ken Wiles said the amount of increased regulation the proposal outlines could significantly impact firms, with potentially minimal payoff.
Texas Tribes to Supreme Court: Sovereignty Means B-I-N-G-O
Texas tribes will argue Tuesday that the Fifth Circuit was wrong to allow state regulation of games like Bingo on reservations that are not otherwise banned by Texas law.
DBJ: Concealment of Hedge Fund Manager Kyle Bass’ Bashing of UDF Grounds for New Trial, Defense Lawyers Say
Attorneys for UDF argue in new court filings that jurors should have been allowed to hear about a bitter rift pitting United Development Funding and CEO Hollis Greenlaw against Dallas hedge fund manager Kyle Bass.
Widow: $26 Million Life Insurance Was Surprise
Blanca Monica Villareal, accused in a civil suit of faking her husband’s death in Mexico City to swindle insurers Transamerica and Prudential, claimed that she knew nothing about his finances. Testifying in Spanish, she told Houston jurors she couldn’t read the insurance policies and didn’t know what they were when she found them, because they were in English.
Law Firm Culture: Inclusion Is Not Assimilation
The biggest impediment to achieving true diversity does not lie in a failure to recruit diverse attorneys; the failure is in retaining them. This article explores how firms can build more inclusive cultures.
Celanese Picks Up Materials Business from DuPont for $11B
Texas lawyers from Kirkland and Gibson Dunn advised the Dallas buyer on acquiring the business, which represented $3.5 billion of net sales and $800 million in operating earnings last year.
Q&A with Charles Schwab Deputy Chief Counsel Jay Johnson
The former federal prosecutor and Jones Day partner discusses his first months at Schwab, important developments in cybersecurity and data privacy and how he keeps winding up working with Shamoil Shipchandler.