Texas judges will be permitted to conduct jury trials remotely and sometimes in-person as long as they develop a plan that follows the social distancing guidelines and other safety provisions established by the Texas Office of Court Administration, according to a new order issued Wednesday by Texas Chief Justice Nathan Hecht.
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DBJ: Tuesday Morning Files for Bankruptcy
Tuesday Morning Corp. filed voluntary petitions for protection under Chapter 11 bankruptcy, in response to the strain that COVID-19 pandemic and related store closures have put on the company, the Dallas Business Journal reports. The Dallas-based retailer retained Haynes and Boone to guide it through its corporate restructuring.
Two Foreign Corporations, a $165M Dispute, COVID-19 and a Fight with a Judge over a Trial Date
Lawyers at Norton Rose Fulbright representing a Spanish tether chain maker have asked the Fifth Circuit to force a federal judge in Houston to postpone a civil jury trial until early next year. The business, Vicinay Cadenas, argues that the judge’s order that the $165 million contract dispute go to trial in July violates their constitutional rights and puts the defense at a tactical disadvantage against the plaintiff, Petrobras.
Porter Hedges, V&E Lead Latest Energy Industry Bankruptcies
A Tulsa, Oklahoma-based shale driller and a Houston-based provider of drilling fluids are the latest companies in the energy industry to file for bankruptcy protection in South Texas federal courts.
Chron: Meet the Houston Attorney Pushing to Put More Women in the Courtroom
While the legal industry has made strides in hiring more women, Greenberg Traurig senior vice president Mary-Olga Lovett says more must be done to overcome the industry’s retention problem and put more female lawyers into the hot seat. Gwendolyn Wu of the Houston Chronicle has the story.
CDT Roundup: 2 Weeks, 10 Deals, 8 Firms, 68 Lawyers, $742.4M
Word this week that a $5.5 billion bank merger was scrubbed in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic may only be the beginning of the bad news from the Corporate Deal Tracker. ‘Buckle up’ is the lesson gleaned from this week’s belated report. Be sure to see a note about that and the absence — for the moment — of our friend and colleague, Claire Poole.
‘Stay-at-Home’ – Legal Principles Too Important for Partisan Politics
Some lawyers argue against the constitutionality of executive “stay-at-home” orders closing certain businesses. But that misapprehends the nature of rights guaranteed by the Constitution. Indeed, a century of American law suggests that executive officials enjoy broad discretion to impose limits on business activity during a public health crisis.
SCOTX Rules Against The Episcopal Church in $100M Property Dispute
The 8-0 decision Friday by the Texas Supreme Court allows congregants who seceded from The Episcopal Church in 2006 to take church property with them. The Lawbook has the details.
Chron: More than 240 U.S. Energy Bankruptcies Forecast by 2021
If the forecast by Norwegian energy research firm Rystad Energy is true, the number of energy bankruptcies from the coronavirus-driven oil crash will eclipse that of the last bust.
Impressions from the TRRC’s Historic Decision Against Prorationing
The Texas Railroad Commission rejected a motion by Pioneer Natural Resources and Parsley Energy to order statewide production cuts. But the commissioners instituted a number of alternative measures intended to provide temporary relief to the Texas oil and gas industry. This article has the details.