This week, the Texas Supreme Court is handling a business v. business case that could either reinstate one of the largest punitive damage verdicts in the court’s history or be the death of exemplary damages in many types of civil disputes in Texas. It features some of the best lawyers in Texas, including two former chief justices. The Texas Lawbook has details.
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Dispute Involving Apache to Continue in Arbitration, Appeals Court Rules
An appellate court ruled Thursday that the arbitrability of a $15 million legal dispute between Houston-based Apache Corp. and Fort Worth-based Wagner Oil Company will have to be debated in front of an arbitrator in Houston, not a trial court in Fort Worth as WOC had hoped.
Commercial Litigation Funder with Houston Office Launches $500 Million Fund
IMF Bentham Limited, the parent company of U.S.-based commercial litigation funder Bentham IMF, announced on Friday the launch of a new $500 million fund focused on U.S. litigation finance investments.
Skyview Capital’s Darryl Smith: Looking to Tap Texas Market for Carve-outs
Skyview is a Los Angeles-based private equity firm that recently opened a new office in Dallas, one of several PE firms that have set up shop in Texas. The Lawbook’s Claire Poole had a chance to chat with Darryl Smith, who heads the new Texas outpost, about the company’s market outlook and what their presence might mean for lawyers in the Lone Star State.
Administrative Law Judge Joins McGinnis Lochridge
Travis Vickery, a graduate of the University of Texas School of Law, will be a member of the firm’s electric energy practice.
Bell Nunnally Wins Texas Appleseed Pro Bono Leadership Award
The firm, led by Dallas partner Ben Riemer, and Texas Appleseed represent the Cameron County Housing Authority (CCHA) in the matter, which is expected to go to trial in March 2019.
T&K Partner Demetra Liggins Named American College of Bankruptcy Fellow
Liggins will be officially inducted into the College with the 30th class of fellows on March 15, 2019 at a ceremony in Coronado, California.
FBI Charges AriseBank CEO with Fraud
Federal prosecutors in Dallas announced Wednesday that they have charged AriseBank CEO Jared Rice Sr. with multiple counts of fraud related to a North Texas cryptocurrency scheme that used former heavy weight boxing champion Evander Holyfield as a spokesman.
Texas A&M Law Professor Receives University Presidential Impact Fellows Award
Lisa Alexander is one of 21 recipients of the second annual Presidential Impact Fellows award, which was launched by the university last year to recognize faculty members in the Texas A&M system who “embrace grand challenges, commit to core values and embody the unique ‘can-do’ spirit that distinguished Texas Aggies.”
Removal to Federal Court After the November 2018 Elections: More Incentive, But Less Receptiveness?
Could the swing of Texas’s big courts of appeals to Democratic majorities lead to more removals from state to federal court? Despite the hurdles federal courts have raised to removal jurisdiction over the years, the addition of five new judges to the Fifth Circuit certainly creates an opening.