Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, a lawsuit seeking more than $1 million is filed by a woman who was paralyzed after a tree fell on her SUV in East Dallas, amicus counsel defending Texas firearm restrictions dig back to 14th Century English law in support of their case, and a fight between competing Thai restaurants in Houston heats up.
Dionne Hamilton was not looking to leave Honeywell Smart Energy where she has served as general counsel for the past five years. The Houston corporate legal veteran had rejected several recruiting efforts over the years. But GE Vernova presented a vision of the company’s vision that Hamilton found enticing. “They are leading a new era of energy — electrifying the world while simultaneously working to decarbonize it,” Hamilton, who is in her second week as GE Vernova’s GC, told The Texas Lawbook.
The week that ended Sept. 13 saw 21 transactions valued at $21 billion. That doesn't count the late arrivals and deals outside our usual space (See "Late Arrivals and other matters..." at the bottom of this column). It's a pretty good week when you average $1 billion per deal. For comparison, the week prior, we saw 19 deals for $8.5 billion and 24 deals for nearly $11 billion at this time last year. But each week seems a bit stranger than the last. That and more in this edition of CDT Roundup.
Jackson Walker, which represented JCPenney during its 2020 bankruptcy proceedings, has agreed to pay the estate of the department store $1.4 million as a result of a romantic relationship between a former partner and a former Houston bankruptcy judge. This latest settlement proposal requires the court’s approval, but the U.S. Trustee’s Office remains opposed to individual settlements.
Signal Peak, a new Houston-based litigation financing firm, is being sued by its founders' former place of employment, Siltstone Capital, which has attempted to get a temporary restraining order. Texas Business Court Presiding Judge Grant Dorfman denied the request.
The city of Dallas failed to convince the Texas Supreme Court that its intervention was warranted in a dispute that started after the city granted, then revoked, then reinstated, a certificate of occupancy to a local poker room.
A former Texas Christian University student filed a lawsuit Wednesday with the Eastern District of Virginia claiming discrimination and gross malfeasance for how university officials handled her rape complaint. The anonymous student, going by Emily Doe, claims the university violated Title IX policies in how it handled her complaint.
Just a few days before joining Kirkland & Ellis as litigation associates, and while awaiting the results of their bar exams, Gabrielle Olubanke Howells and Lizeth Badillo Garcia notched their first court win — a precedent-setting decision from a panel of judges at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The rare opportunity to argue a pro bono case before a federal appeals court before bar admission was the result of a collaboration spearheaded by Kirkland & Ellis Partner Zack Ewing, who was inspired by the graduates to emulate a program afforded to him while a student at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School.
The deal, advised by Sidley Austin and Bracewell, gives Phillips 66 full control of refineries in Illinois and Texas.
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, Texas sues over a data breach that targeted students and teachers, a Susman Godfrey partner in Houston helps secure a $1.5 billion settlement for authors in an AI copyright lawsuit, and a final judgment is entered in favor of a luxury home designer who alleged a competitor copied its designs.
© Copyright 2025 The Texas Lawbook
The content on this website is protected under federal Copyright laws. Any use without the consent of The Texas Lawbook is prohibited.
