Oklahoma-based Chesapeake Energy and Total E&P USA agreed Monday that they will pay $52.5 million to 13,000 people who claimed their royalties have been underpaid for leases in the Barnett Shale. The lawsuits, filed in 2014 and 2015, by residents in Johnson County, Tarrant County and Dallas County accuse Chesapeake and Total of failing to pay royalties the companies agreed to in their contracts.
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Fifth Circuit Affirms DataTreasury’s $69M Refund to JPMorgan
It is the first time for the Fifth Circuit to rule on the application of a most favored nations (MFN) clause in which the original license and the later, more favorable license both included lump sum payments.
Wal-Mart Wins Fight with Eye Docs over Optometry Act Penalties
A $1.4 million civil penalty won by optometrists who leased space in Wal-Mart stores equates to exemplary damages barred under a 1995 tort reform law, the Texas Supreme Court said Friday.
Updated: Texas Law Firm Report Card: Firms, Finances and Points of View
Norton Rose Fulbright has regained the title of largest law firm in Texas. Vinson & Elkins generated the most revenues. Baker Botts generated the most profits. McDermott, Sidley, Morgan Lewis, Fish & Richardson, Kirkland, Alston & Bird and Polsinelli witnessed the most revenue growth.
Updated: Texas Lawbook Exclusive: Financial Data shows Seismic Shift Continues in Texas Legal Market
Nearly half of the 35 largest revenue-generating law firms operating in Texas are based outside the state. National law firms earned more than $1 billion in revenues from their Texas operations in 2015 – a double digit increase from 2014. Revenues for Texas-based firms increased by less than one-tenth of one percent last year.
Texas Lawbook data shows that elite, wealthy corporate law firms – those based in Texas and beyond – are achieving enormous financial success by stealing the best lawyers and the highest paying business clients away from indigenous Texas firms. The bottom line: the Texas legal market is turmoil and witnessing a shift that is radically changing the practice of corporate law in the state forever.
Texas Justices Weigh Liability for Hospital Partner’s Conduct
Medical and business groups warn that the future of doctor-owned hospitals hangs in the balance as the Texas Supreme Court considers whether a hospital partnership could be vicariously liable for a physician-partner’s alleged negligence.
Texas Lawbook Exclusive: Law, Truth and Sam Wyly – The World of Bankruptcy according to Judge Barbara Houser
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Barbara Houser released her much anticipated decision last week in the billion-dollar bankruptcy case of Sam Wyly and his sister-in-law Dee. Legal experts say the legal opinion, which is 459-pages long, includes 181,504 words and 1,682 footnotes, masterfully tells the highly complex story of the Wyly brothers and the web of offshore accounts they created in the Isle of Man two decades ago.
“This opinion shows that Judge Houser is a brilliant thinker and an excellent writer,” says Dallas bankruptcy lawyer Sid Scheinberg.
Texas Lawbook Exclusive: Law, Truth and Sam Wyly – The World of Bankruptcy according to Judge Barbara Houser
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Barbara Houser released her much anticipated decision last week in the billion-dollar bankruptcy case of Sam Wyly and his sister-in-law Dee. Legal experts say the legal opinion, which is 459-pages long, includes 181,504 words and 1,682 footnotes, masterfully tells the highly complex story of the Wyly brothers and the web of offshore accounts they created in the Isle of Man two decades ago.
“This opinion shows that Judge Houser is a brilliant thinker and an excellent writer,” says Dallas bankruptcy lawyer Sid Scheinberg.
Texas Lawbook Exclusive: Law, Truth and Sam Wyly – The World of Bankruptcy according to Judge Barbara Houser
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Barbara Houser released her much anticipated decision last week in the billion-dollar bankruptcy case of Sam Wyly and his sister-in-law Dee. Legal experts say the legal opinion, which is 459-pages long, includes 181,504 words and 1,682 footnotes, masterfully tells the highly complex story of the Wyly brothers and the web of offshore accounts they created in the Isle of Man two decades ago.
“This opinion shows that Judge Houser is a brilliant thinker and an excellent writer,” says Dallas bankruptcy lawyer Sid Scheinberg.
Litigation Boutique Launches Eminent Domain Course at Two TX Law Schools
After seeing increased activity around Texas regarding issues surrounding property rights and infrastructure, the law schools at The University of Texas and University of Houston have responded by launching the state’s first eminent domain course. Lawyers at Johns Marrs Ellis & Hodge are spearheading the effort.