Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
DENVER — What’s expected to be a five-day trial commenced Monday in U.S. District Judge William Martinez’s courtroom in the case between Chris Parker and Charif Souki over an alleged agreement not to sell Tellurian stock. The eight-member jury will decide whether a text message exchange is a binding contract.
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, a distributor of energy drink Alani is sued by the family of a 17-year-old girl who died after consuming the beverages, and Samsung tells a Texas judge the invalidation of a patent by a California judge means it's entitled to a new trial in a dispute that had ended with a $78 million verdict against it.
For the week ended April 11, the CDT Roundup saw 10 deals reported with a total valuation of just over $5 billion. The prior week had 11 deals reported with a total value of $33 billion, dominated by a $29.1 billion megamerger between food distribution giants Sysco and Jetro Restaurant Depot. A year ago at this time, the Roundup reported on eight deals valued at about $2.4 billion.
This week, however, credit and capital markets dominate the deal numbers. Maybe "dominate" is strong a word to describe three debt issues, a $167 million PIPE and a secondary equity offering that forced a dip in a company stock.
The Trump administration is trying to persuade a federal appeals court to restore President Donald Trump’s executive orders against Houston-based Susman Godfrey and three other law firms, arguing that a president’s power to declare the firms national security threats is "unreviewable" by the courts.
The Dallas Mavericks franchise filed notice that it was immediately dropping its tortious interference claim in its battle against the Dallas Stars. The move comes a week after the Texas Business Court denied the Stars’ five motions for summary judgment and granted the Mavericks' motion for declaratory judgment.
The Texas Business Court dismissed a fraud lawsuit against an Indiana-based trailer manufacturer, determining the dispute did not belong in Texas courts. Texas-based Daimler Truck Financial Services was seeking $28 million in damages.
Alternative investment manager Ares Management Corp. said on Thursday that it has agreed to acquire Houston-based Whitestone REIT for $19 a share, or about $1.7 billion, in cash.
Kirkland is outside legal advisor to Ares and Whitestone's general counsel is Peter Tropoli.
In this edition of Asked & Answered, Norton Rose Fulbright partner Julie Searle talks about being inspired by her parents to go to law school and her decade of experience at the Department of Justice. From government to in-house to private practice, Searle draws on these experiences in her role as a litigator in Norton Rose Fulbright’s Austin office.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has named Dallas lawyer David Woodcock as its new director of enforcement, overseeing the agency’s federal civil corporate securities and fraud investigations and prosecutions.
Woodcock is taking a multimillion-dollar pay cut by leaving Gibson Dunn, where he has been a partner in Dallas since 2023.
Omar Samji, the Houston-based lawyer whose career in power and renewables spans more than two decades and six law firms, has left Weil for Gibson Dunn, the firm is announcing today.
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