A three-judge panel on Friday determined that disputed fact issues should have precluded U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor from granting Mesa Airlines a summary judgment win in the lawsuit brought by Issam Abdallah and Abderraouf Alkhawaldeh. The men booked their tickets through American Airlines for a flight Mesa operated. Both frequent fliers on American Airlines, Abdallah holds gold status and Alkhawaldeh holds executive platinum status.
SCOTX Ponders Order Shutting Down Stinky Poultry Operations
The appeal involves high-powered lawyers and noxious fumes from East Texas industrial chicken farms. It presents important legal questions arising out of recent Texas Supreme Court decisions on temporary nuisances and permanent equitable relief.
Judge Dropped the Ball by Upping Disabled Ex-Player’s Benefits, NFL Pension Plan Tells 5th Circuit
The league’s retirement plan is appealing a Dallas federal judge’s 2022 ruling in favor of former running back Michael Cloud, who said he was denied the benefits he deserved after concussions and other injuries cut his playing career short. The judge wrote that Cloud’s case fits a pattern by the pension plan of nickel-and-diming retired players “suffering from the devastating effects of severe head trauma.”
The Use of Scattergrams to Challenge Extreme Verdicts: A Case Study
How trial and appellate courts should review challenges to outsize noneconomic damages awards has been the talk of the Texas bar. With the Texas Supreme Court indicating openness to verdict comparisons, defense counsel should consider, when the facts permit, using visuals such as scattergrams to show that a verdict lies so far outside the norm.
Texas Appellate Experts Preview SCOTX Term
Coming off another cohesive term, the Supreme Court of Texas began its new session hearing arguments this week in a variety of cases. The Texas Lawbook hosted a panel of appellate experts on Tuesday to discuss some of the upcoming cases they are watching and reviewed significant decisions from last term.
Fifth Circuit to IBM in $1.6B BMC Appeal: What Do You Want Us to Do?
U.S. District Judge Gray Miller, who presided over a bench trial, determined in May 2022 that IBM committed fraud in a dispute involving IBM’s removal of BMC’s mainframe products from their largest mutual client, AT&T. The case was argued before the Fifth Circuit Sept. 5.
Texas Enhances Permissive Appeals by Requiring Explanation for Denials and Expanding Supreme Court Review
The Texas Supreme Court has unveiled a change to Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 28.3 to implement recent legislation requiring the state’s 14 intermediate appellate courts to explain themselves when denying petitions for permissive appeal. The amendment increases the importance of permissive appeals in Texas and will enhance their ability to impact outcomes in civil litigation.
Texas Seeks Stay of Federal Court Ruling Against School Book Ban
The fast-moving case is heading to the Fifth Circuit over the First Amendment implications of a new law requiring booksellers to rate material sold to public school libraries. Would Texan Larry McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove and Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet be banned for sexual content?