Invoking The Simpsons, U.S. District Judge Brantley Starr on Thursday issued an opinion denying a request from plaintiffs’ lawyers who represented Fluor Corporation shareholders in a securities class action to tack a 1.9 multiplier on their fee award in the lawsuit that resulted in a $33 million settlement.
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P.S. — Severe Storm Outreach, DVAP June Dates, HBA’s New Prez
Public service news for this week includes info on the HBA’s newest president, board of directors and award honorees; June dates for Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program’s legal clinics; two lawyers appointed by the governor to the state’s OneStar Foundation; and how those in Texas affected by the recent severe storms can receive legal and recovery assistance.
Firms mentioned this week include Locke Lord, Chamberlain Hrdlicka, Abaham Watkins, Womble Bond Dickinson, Bracewell, Gibson Dunn, Hunton Andrews Kurth, Baker Botts, Norton Rose Fulbright, O’Neil Wysocki, Blank Rome, Painter Law Firm, Beck Redden, Daly & Black, Okin Adams Bartlett, Parker PLLC, Wright.law, Bradley, DLA Piper, Alson & Bird, Haynes Boone, Foley, Dorsey & Whitney, Frost Brown Todd, Carrington Coleman, Gray Reed and Weil.
Constitutional Challenge to New Fifteenth Court of Appeals Hits SCOTX
In a petition for a writ of injunction filed with the state’s high court Wednesday afternoon, Dallas County alleges numerous ways the structure of the new court violates the state’s constitution. In June, the Legislature passed and the governor signed into law S.B. 1045, which created the Fifteenth Court of Appeals and granted it exclusive, statewide jurisdiction over certain cases involving the state or state officials. The jurisdiction of the state’s other 14 intermediate appellate courts is tethered to the district and county courts within its geographic region, which Dallas County argues is constitutionally required.
Fifth Circuit Revives Racial Discrimination Suit Against Chili’s Franchisee
In a ruling issued Wednesday that drew a concurrence from two of the three judges on the panel, the Fifth Circuit determined there was a fact issue that should have precluded Chili’s from getting an early win in the lawsuit brought by Sharnez Hager. Hager, who is Black, filed suit alleging the restaurant refused to seat her family at an open table, told her it was reserved for someone else, then sat her white fiancé at the table when he entered the restaurant moments later.
Ex-SDTX Bankruptcy Judge, Liz Freeman and Jackson Walker Seek Dismissals in Two Separate Fraud Cases
Within hours of each other late Wednesday, three key players in the romantic relationship scandal that has infected the Southern District of Texas Bankruptcy Court filed motions in two separate cases seeking to have the cases against them dismissed — and all three for different reasons.
Doctor Testifies He Was Duped by Con Men in $39M Phony Prescription Scam
“Do you feel like you trusted the wrong people?” one of Dr. David Young’s defense lawyers asked him in his medical fraud trial Dallas. “Absolutely,” the doctor replied.
Houston Corporate Counsel Award Winners: Phillips 66, LyondellBasell, First Reserve, McDermott, Cardinal Systems
More than 220 corporate in-house counsel and their outside lawyers gathered last week at the Four Seasons in downtown Houston to recognize more than two-dozen general counsel and senior in-house counsel who achieved extraordinary success during the past year.
Dallas Doctors Plead Guilty to $9M Healthcare Fraud Scheme
Drs. Desi Barroga and Deno Barroga admitted to submitting false insurance claims purporting to give patients more than 80 corticosteroid shots in a single visit. In reality, the doctors often mimicked injecting patients by placing a needle on their bodies without piercing their skin.
SCOTX Hands Fen-Phen Clients Win in Suit Against Their Former Attorney
The Texas Supreme Court, in a unanimous ruling issued Friday, decided Houston attorney George Fleming was barred — or judicially estopped — from arguing the claims of his former clients were substantially similar after he earlier defeated class certification by arguing the claims were too distinct and therefore not suitable for class treatment. Fleming’s about-face on whether the claims of his former clients were similar or distinct came in the wake of his win in a bellwether trial against six former clients referred to in court documents as the Harpst plaintiffs.
CDT Roundup: 11 Deals, 11 Firms, 173 Lawyers, $5.5B
While the oil and gas business remains the endoskeleton of the Texas economy, oil and gas are currently living divergent performance experiences. Oil is experiencing boom times; natural gas, not so much. In such a market the semi-annual Haynes Boone borrowing base and price deck surveys can offer a valuable lenders’-eye view of the immediate future. The CDT Roundup mines the latest data, along with the usual survey of last week’s Texas-related deals.