Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
A closely-watched trial among healthcare insurers concluded Thursday with a $19.1 million verdict awarded to two emergency medicine group practices affiliated with TeamHealth. But lawyers for the defendant, Molina Healthcare of Texas, said the verdict will be significantly reduced and the new figure falls closely in line with what their client was willing to reimburse.
Centralia Permian, represented by Alston & Bird, prevailed in a Midland County jury trial over a Fortune 500 company’s failure to produce oil and gas ‘in paying quantities’ from a previously fruitful oilfield.
U.S. District Judge Alan Albright, who has the busiest patent docket in the country, issued two amended standing orders this week designed to keep court matters moving as efficiently as possible while maintaining fairness to both. The orders appear to be well-received so far by practitioners.
In a trans-border tiff over a gold mine in Mexico, two companies — one American and one Canadian — have managed to unearth a motherlode of litigation. Experts say their grueling court battles across several international venues point up the shortcomings of binding arbitration agreements and their limited ability to compel business partners not to be jerks. The Lawbook's Bruce Tomaso explains.
The high-stakes trial between Williams and Energy Transfer over their failed $38 billion merger concluded with testimony from several high billable hour tax lawyers from Cravath, Latham, Wachtell and Gibson Dunn. Natalie Posgate reviews their testimony, which will help a Delaware chancery court decide which party is on the hook for a $410 million merger breakup fee.
A jury in Midland on Friday returned a $5.9 million verdict against an oil field company from Glen Rose and an employee who killed four people while speeding to work in a rainstorm. The verdict is believed to be the largest ever in a personal injury case in Midland County.
A multi-day trial between a Japanese internet media giant and a Chinese technology conglomerate over the patent rights to popular online games ended Friday with a federal jury in Marshall awarding $92 million.
For the second time this spring, a Fort Worth federal judge has dismissed with prejudice a lawsuit that stemmed from a business deal that fell apart between Arlington-based Six Flags Entertainment Corp. and Riverside Investment Group related to the development of Six Flags parks in China.
A Houston jury ruled Thursday afternoon that Houston-based TechnipFMC did not own trade secrets related to subsea drilling designs that the company had accused hometown rival Dril-Quip and ex-FMC engineer Rick Murphy of misappropriating, handing FMC a take-nothing verdict.
Lawyers for Dril-Quip and Murphy said they were thrilled with the result. An attorney for FMC said the company respects the verdict, but promised an appeal.
For a day and a half, a Houston jury has been weighing whether Houston-based Dril-Quip and one of its engineers stole trade secrets from TechnipFMC, a rival competitor in the subsea drilling industry, and if so, how much those trade secrets are worth. They return Thursday morning to continue the debate.
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