Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
The group of doctors, Fondren Orthopedic, and HCA, a Nashville for-profit operator of healthcare facilities across the country, were in a limited partnership that owns and operates Texas Orthopedic Hospital. Fondren filed suit in October 2021, accusing HCA of violating a noncompete agreement by allowing 10 competing hospitals in the Houston area to offer similar services.
A federal jury in Waco listened to four days of testimony and oral arguments last week before finding that New Jersey-based Paltalk Holdings’ patents regarding audio server technology are valid and that Cisco Systems infringed on those patents with its Webex conferencing service. The jury awarded Paltalk $65.7 million in damages. In a press release, Paltalk said it plans to seek legal fees.
In Haynes Boone's latest “Legal Landscape” podcast, litigation and appellate experts walk through some of the more common concerns relating to the new business courts opening on Sept. 1.
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, we share the announcement that a new magistrate judge will be serving in the Northern District of Texas, and share details about both the federal government’s antitrust lawsuit against Richardson-based RealPage and the punishment doled out to a former controller for Simon Greenstone Panatier who bilked the plaintiff’s firm out of nearly $1.5 million.
The pandemic has left a lasting impact on society, particularly in shaping public perceptions of corporate America. Media coverage during COVID-19, often sensationalized and focused on corporate failures or profiteering, has influenced public narratives about corporations. These narratives were further amplified by social media, where individual experiences and opinions shape jurors' preconceived notions long before they enter the courtroom.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a unanimous panel opinion Monday rejecting Judge Madeleine Connor’s bid to have Chapter 11 of the Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code declared unconstitutional. Judge Connor, who was added to the list of vexatious litigants after filing a flurry of pro se lawsuits against her neighbors, is barred from filing more pro se litigation without first seeking permission from the local administrative judge. She argued that barrier to the courts violated her First Amendment right to petition. The Fifth Circuit disagreed.
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, the Texas Attorney General’s Office — fresh off securing a $1.4B settlement with Meta in a similar lawsuit — has filed a data privacy suit against General Motors, U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor recuses from one X Corp. lawsuit but hangs on to another, and we offer an update on the lawsuits CenterPoint is facing from customers in the wake of Hurricane Beryl and which firms have been tapped to defend the utility company.
Five plaintiffs who were displaced from their Dallas homes after a construction crane toppled onto an apartment complex in 2019 reached a settlement with the real estate developer and the crane rental company mid-trial Thursday. The confidential settlement resolves all remaining lawsuits related to the crane collapse, lawyers told a Dallas judge.
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, the Fifth Circuit asks for the Texas Supreme Court’s input in a drowning death case, the city of Uvalde agrees to release its records related to the Robb Elementary shooting, and Munck Wilson Mandala is dealt a blow in a RICO lawsuit it brought against the owners of a Dallas building where it leases office space.
A law professor and a prominent litigator spoke to The Lawbook about the merits of X's new lawsuit against a group of advertisers and discussed why the case may have been filed in federal court in Wichita Falls. “Forum shopping is definitely going on here,” C. Paul Rogers III, current professor and former dean at Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, told The Lawbook in an interview Tuesday.
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