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Reid Collins Secures $112.3M Verdict for Aluminum Company in Insurance Case - After a five-day trial, a South Carolina jury found insurance companies had breached their obligations after an incident at an aluminum plant resulted in property damage. A team from Austin-based Reid Collins & Tsai represented the plaintiff. November 19, 2025Stars Hit Back in Fight With Mavericks - After filings this week, the fight between the ownership groups of the Dallas Stars and Dallas Mavericks will play out in Delaware bankruptcy court and in the Texas Business Court. The Stars, represented by Winstead, have hired a team of lawyers from Blank Rome to aid in the bankruptcy proceeding. The Mavericks are represented by Jackson Walker. November 19, 2025
Mary Kay Founder Denied Bid for Legal Funds - Richard R. Rogers, who cofounded Mary Kay with his mother in 1963, filed suit against Mary Kay Holding Company in August, arguing the entity was required to hand over fees to fund litigation over a trust dispute with his son. A magistrate judge in Delaware disagreed. November 19, 2025
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
Houston 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
Centerpiece
The 40-Year Legacy of Pennzoil v. Texas — An Appeal for the Ages - Executives at Texaco woke up Nov. 20 — exactly 40 years ago today — like it was the morning after aliens attacked in the movie Independence Day. A day earlier, a Houston jury ruled the New York-based oil and gas giant had tortiously interfered with a 1984 agreement Getty Oil made to merge with Pennzoil and awarded Pennzoil $10.53 billion. Texaco’s stock took a beating — dropping from $80 per share when the litigation started to $32 the week following the trial. Some Wall Street analysts were openly warning about bankruptcy. The company’s convertible bonds plummeted in value. Texaco’s debt rating was cut by Standard & Poor’s. Interest accruing on the judgment was $2.8 million every single day.
Between Thanksgiving 1985 and Christmas 1987, the two energy companies and their ever-expanding roster of litigators did battle. The litigation itself multiplied, including a precedent-setting federal case in New York over Texaco’s appeals bond, a monumental appellate battle, a bizarre decision by the Texas Supreme Court, the world’s largest corporate bankruptcy at the time and a historic settlement.
Both sides hired major reinforcements — fresh legs and fresh eyes, if you will — as the trial teams had been going full speed for 21 straight months. The appeals team for Texaco beefed up with several heavy hitters from Fulbright & Jaworski and David Boies of Cravath in New York. Pennzoil added a Texas superstar in V&E’s Harry Reasoner and Laurence Tribe of Harvard Law School.
In Part II of our series looking back at the significance of the Pennzoil v. Texaco trial, The Lawbook examines the post-verdict appeals, which were historic and precedent-setting. November 20, 2025
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
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
