Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
As the Texas Business Court prepares to enter its third year, legal experts say one case really stands out as an exemplar for the new commercial litigation system’s potential: Dallas Mavericks v. Dallas Stars.
Texas business litigation expert Ben Barnes, in an interview with The Texas Lawbook, said the business court judge’s trial order in the fight between Dallas’ sports franchises shows the court’s ability to compress complex, high-stakes commercial disputes when the circumstances demand it.
David Higer, an intellectual property litigator, has joined Cole Schotz from Winstead as a member in the firm’s Litigation and Intellectual Property departments.
Kevin Wakefield, a real estate finance lawyer, has joined Jones Day from Hunton Andrews Kurth as of counsel in the firm’s Dallas office. He will focus his practice on commercial real estate finance and transactions, representing institutional lenders in commercial mortgage and mezzanine loan originations, while also advising clients on commercial real estate acquisitions, dispositions, development and leasing.
For most of a two-and-a-half-hour scheduling conference Tuesday in the Jackson Walker bankruptcy fee case, the parties sat in silence while Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Eduardo V. Rodriguez drafted and signed a pair of orders governing when the parties will be back for a hearing and when trial in the case will begin.
Area Development Intermediate filed notice of removal to the Texas Business Court Friday evening, delaying Mark Cuban’s petition for a pre-suit deposition. Cuban’s filing claims the pre-suit deposition of the ADI’s corporate representative is aimed at uncovering details about how the Mavericks struck a deal to buy the Valley View Mall property. Cuban, who maintains an ownership interest in the American Airlines Center, is seeking information regarding how the deal may impact his contractual rights.
Texas private equity firm EnCap Flatrock Midstream has sold Momentum Midstream to Oklahoma energy infrastructure company Williams for $3.5 billion in cash and debt and roughly $2 billion of Williams equity. Willkie and Kirkland advised on the deal.
In the second quarter of 2026, the Texas Business Court continued to build on the progress of its first two years of operation, issuing both jurisdictional and procedural rulings and a growing body of substantive decisions. The larger story of the quarter, however, was the Court’s merits opinions, particularly in cases dealing with contract interpretation. The quarter also produced several high-profile disputes and significant awards.
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, we highlight one plaintiff lawyer’s thoughts on Johnson & Johnson’s proposed $5.5 billion settlement of ovarian cancer cases, and detail Buc-ee’s latest court battle to protect its brand.
On Monday, in apparent response to concerns about potential disruption to the Texas electrical grid, Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the state’s top two energy agencies to pause any new data center grid connections while the effect of those connections is studied by the state.
On Sunday, the U.S. Trustee and Jackson Walker told Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Eduardo V. Rodriguez they had agreed to a deal where the law firm will pay $15 million to end efforts to claw back millions in fees it earned in certain bankruptcy cases.
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