Then-Texas Attorney General Dan Morales sued Big Tobacco for racketeering and fraud in 1996. Thirty years later, the litigation against the cigarette makers has proven to be an annual financial bonanza for the state of Texas — more than $15.8 billion so far and another $450 million payment expected any day now. And while less than one-tenth of one percent of the payments have gone to antismoking efforts, youth cigarette use overall has plummeted. In a two-part series, Mark Curriden, the former Dallas Morning News legal affairs writer who covered the tobacco litigation full-time for three years, looks back at the historic litigation and its impact three decades later.
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CDT Roundup: A Data Center Deal Tops an Eclectic Week
Data centers and the power to run them remained a primary deal-driver in a 14-deal, $4.6 billion week, but the CDT deal targets themselves were global and rather eclectic.
That and more in this edition of CDT Roundup.
Bold Blank Checks: SEC Implies CapM Comeback as SPACs Do Heavy Lifting
A low‑key SEC data dump on July 1 quietly implies a CapM “revival” based on first‑quarter numbers. A closer look shows the comeback is largely powered by SPACs, not new operating companies. So, how much of this recovery is substance, and how much is spin?
Unsettled: Inconsistent Standards of Review for the Well-settled Defense Under the Hague Convention Fail to Protect Children
The Supreme Court’s refusal to act leaves an acknowledged circuit split unresolved on the proper standard of review for the Hague Convention’s “well settled” defense, which is a doctrine with life-altering implications for vulnerable families seeking safety in the United States. This article analyzes the circuit split, the weaknesses of the “well settled” standard, and what reform could look like.
Beyond Buenrostro-Mendez: The Fifth Circuit Completes New Framework for Mandatory Immigration Detention
The Fifth Circuit’s recent decisions in Buenrostro-Mendez v. Bondi and Sosnava-Rodriguez v. Ortega fundamentally reshape immigration detention law within Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. This article analyzes how the two decisions fit together, explains the constitutional significance of the Fifth Circuit’s newly imposed 90-day limit on mandatory detention without individualized review, and explores what these rulings mean for litigants, immigration judges, and the Department of Justice going forward.
Holland & Knight Team Secures Rare Asylum Grant as Approval Rates Hit Historic Low
Under the second Trump administration, Asylum grants have fallen to their lowest level since 2009. Against that backdrop, a Holland & Knight team’s pro bono win for a Honduran mother and son places them among a small group of attorneys nationwide securing asylum victories in an incredibly difficult landscape.
Cuban Files Presuit Petition in Mavs Arena Row
Mark Cuban has some questions about how the majority owners of the Dallas Mavericks struck a deal to buy the Valley View Mall property — the proposed site of the team’s new home — and how that deal may impact his contractual rights. And he’s asking a judge in Dallas County to give him the chance to find some answers.
The Five Major Reasons Business Leaders Dislike Mediation … And Why Those Reasons Are Wrong
“Many of my C-Suite clients really dislike mediation. They avoid it religiously.” These were the words a trial attorney said to me a few weeks ago. As a professional mediator who focuses on business disputes, I wanted to explore the accuracy of this observation — or risk losing access to the heart of my mediation practice.
Fortunately, as a former general counsel/CLO, I have access to executives whose perspectives I value. Upon speaking with a number of them, I found that my colleague’s remark was correct. However, that negative opinion of mediation is also likely misinformed.
Texas Feels the Fallout as Federal White-Collar Cases Decline
Federal white-collar crime prosecutions generally have fallen both nationally and in Texas over the past three fiscal years, according to U.S. Sentencing Commission data.
A Texas Lawbook review found that for crimes ranging from antitrust to tax fraud, the numbers have steadily declined both nationally and in the four judicial districts in Texas.
Report: Reitz Named U.S. Attorney for SDTX
Aaron Reitz, a former Trump administration official and top lawyer for the Texas attorney general, has been selected as the next U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas, according to a Bloomberg Law report published late Tuesday night.
The Texas Lawbook‘s Mark Smith talked to Reitz during his campaign for Texas attorney general.