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Judge Rejects Kyle Bass’ Efforts to Reverse Judgment in Water Rights Case - An Anderson County district judge ruled late Monday that she will not reconsider a court-approved settlement in a case pitting a group of poultry and cattle farmers against the Neches & Trinity Valleys Groundwater Conservation District that could restrict or even prohibit Dallas businessman Kyle Bass from drilling for millions of gallons of water on two of his East Texas ranches. November 18, 2025
Texas Stock Exchange Infringement Case Against Toronto Stock Exchange Heads for Mediation - After a roughly two-hour hearing, U.S. District Judge Karen Gren Scholer sent a trademark infringement lawsuit that the Texas Stock Exchange filed against the Toronto Stock Exchange to mediation. The Texas Stock Exchange took the fight to court in 2024 after receiving a cease and desist letter from the Toronto Stock Exchange that claimed its design was too similar and would cause confusion. November 18, 2025
PE Firm Buys Topgolf in $1.1B Deal - Topgolf Callaway Brands said Tuesday that it sold a 60 percent stake in its Topgolf and Toptracer business to Los Angeles private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners in a deal valued at $1.1 billion, with the sale of the stake generating approximately $770 million for Topgolf Callaway. The deal is expected to close early next year. November 18, 2025
Former SCOTX Chiefs Make Case for Judicial Independence - Nathan Hecht, Wallace B. Jefferson and Thomas Phillips held court in a large tent on Austin’s Congress Avenue last weekend to discuss issues related to the Third Branch of government. They fielded questions about a recent constitutional amendment that gave the governor greater authority over judicial discipline and the rise of claims under the Texas Constitution. November 18, 2025Houston Retirement Home Files for Bankruptcy in DFW - Buckingham Senior Living Community cited between 1,000 and 5,000 creditors who are owed between $100 million and $500 million, according to court documents. Buckingham has hired McDermott, Will & Schulte as its lead legal advisor. Partner Marcus Alan Helt of the firm’s Dallas office filed the first day documents in the case. November 18, 2025
Litigation Roundup: Kirkland Gets a Win in Texas’ Tylenol Suit - In this edition of Litigation Roundup, a new trial is ordered in a dispute involving heirs of deceased oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall, The Goldwater Institutes asks the Texas Supreme Court to grant review in a public records fight involving Highland Park Independent School District and fine-dining steakhouse Perry’s is found to be in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. November 17, 2025
From Jet Engines to Electric Wings: Aerospace Leads the Week - The week that ended Nov. 15 saw 16 deals reported to the Roundup, evenly split between M&A and capital/credit markets, with a total value of $16.4 billion. That's down more than a tad from last week's 21 deals valued at nearly $76 billion. But it continues a remarkable run of nine consecutive weeks with total reported values of $11 billion or more.
That and more in this edition of CDT Roundup. November 16, 2025
That and more in this edition of CDT Roundup. November 16, 2025
McKool Smith Settles New Jersey Healthcare Suit for $100M - New Jersey and McKool Smith announced Friday that the state has settled its 2021 lawsuit against Horizon Healthcare Services for $100 million. New Jersey claimed that the healthcare services provider had been submitting false funding claims to the state for years. Horizon says it never retained any of the money charged to the state for healthcare provider claims. November 14, 2025
Centerpiece
The Legacy of Pennzoil v. Texaco 40 Years Later — The Civil Jury Trial of the Century - Forty years ago tomorrow, a Houston jury delivered a verdict that rocked Wall Street and put fear in the heart of corporate dealmakers when it ordered Texaco to pay Pennzoil $10.53 billion — $30 billion today — for tortiously interfering with Pennzoil's agreement to buy Getty Oil. It was largest civil jury verdict in history at the time and is still the largest actual damages verdict ever upheld on appeal. Pennzoil v. Texaco legacy remains significant, as it changed how companies handle mergers and acquisitions, caused the Chamber of Commerce to designate Texas as a judicial hellhole in 1986 and directly led to two decades of massive tort reform efforts that dramatically limited the rights of Texans to sue businesses, doctors and insurance companies for wrongdoing. It also launched Texas trial lawyer Joe Jamail to national stardom and made him the richest trial lawyer in American history.
In this in-depth article, The Texas Lawbook provides a detailed timeline of the events involved in the historic litigation, as well as comments from more than a dozen lawyers about the legal strategies employed. November 18, 2025
Electricity Is the New Oil: Texas Power Deals Top $100 Billion So Far This Year - Texas is at the center of a historic boom in power and utility M&A, fueled by the massive energy demands of data center expansions and the global power race driven by the AI revolution.
It’s no secret that energy, particularly in the form of electricity, has become the foundation of dealmaking in anticipation of the need for hyperscale computing and data storage.
But the demand for power and utility deals, large and small, would be hard to overstate. In the first three quarters of 2025, Texas lawyers handled more M&A transactions involving power and utility projects than in any full year since 2018. Not only are there more deals, but they are larger. Far larger. In the first three quarters of 2025, Texas-related deals in the power and utilities sector hit $106.5 billion. By comparison, the record-setting M&A year of 2021 saw eight P&U transactions totaling $3.7 billion. (Photo by Stephanie Tacy/NurPhoto via AP) November 16, 2025
Expert Voices
Competent Testifying Expert Supervision Is Required in the Age of AI - In a recent False Claims Act matter, an expert used AI tools to fabricate (among other things) sworn testimony of a federal agency, prompting a motion that may lead to attorney disqualification and even dismissal of the entire case. The pending motion highlights an important issue for litigators to consider in engaging experts. This article summarizes the pending motion and suggests potential solutions and best practices to avoid this issue biting counsel and clients and to protect clients and counsel in the event an expert goes rogue with AI. November 10, 2025
