Deals in the Oil Patch Still Reign Supreme for Texas Lawyers
Corporate lawyers in Texas have been exceptionally busy over the last 13 months, as the surge in mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures within the oil patch remains robust.
Landfill’s Lowered Property Valuation Considered by SCOTX
A unique site with exotic wildlife and an event center, the Texas Disposal Systems landfill near Austin is also a dump, its lawyer argues. The landfill is fighting to uphold a 2019 appraisal review board decision that lowered its valuation from $21.7 million to $2.8 million as part of an equal and uniform tax protest. Travis Central Appraisal District says a district court should review the landfill’s fair market value because of a lack of comparable properties.
SEC: Houston Man Illegally Used Wife’s Insider Info for $1.76M in Profits
Correction: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of the last name of the man accused of insider trading. The Lawbook regrets the error. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed federal insider trading charges Thursday accusing a Houston man with using information he obtained from his wife, who worked in the M&A division at BP, to illegally profit from the British-based oil conglomerate’s $1.3 billion acquisition of TravelCenters of America one year ago.
Chord Scoops Up Enerplus for $4.2B
Vinson & Elkins advised Chord and Latham & Watkins assisted Enerplus, a combination that analysts say will create a more formidable, acquisitive Williston-focused explorer and producer.
Collin County Jury Awards $1.9M in Rat Infestation Suit
The jury that was selected last Monday and began deliberating that Friday took about two and a half hours to side with construction staffing company Harris Ventures, which does business as Staff Zone, in its dispute with landlord JM-RB Properties. The panel’s 10-2 decision awarded Staff Zone about $1.3 million in lost profits incurred when it was “constructively evicted” from the building it leased in Plano, plus $450,000 in attorney fees and about $150,000 to cover expert witness costs.
CDT Roundup: 16 Deals, 15 Firms, 157 Lawyers, $29.9B
A policy "pause" in the expansion of LNG exports announced late last month by the Biden Administration came as a shock to many. U.S. LNG exports are not only regarded as strategic help for Western allies following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but a viable climate-friendly alternative to coal. But life in the energy biz is never so simple, especially when it comes to fossil fuels. And this week's CDT Roundup takes a quick look at the factors that seems to have led to the pause, and the potential it could have on Texas M&A. That, and the usual review of last week's Texas-related corporate transactions.
CenterPoint Sheds Natural Gas Assets to Bernhard Capital for $1.2B
Latham advised CenterPoint and Kirkland assisted Bernhard on the transaction, which is part of a broader trend by utilities disposing of their unregulated businesses.
Litigation Roundup: Fifth Circuit wants SCOTX Input in TCEQ Suit; Texas Gamer Brings $680M Monopoly Claim
In this edition of litigation roundup, the Fifth Circuit has asked the Texas Supreme Court to answer a certified question in a dispute that pits a nonprofit group against the state’s environmental protection agency, the Texas Supreme Court grants review in two tax appraisal cases involving the value of Oncor’s transmission lines and the founder of a Call of Duty esports team take aim at Activision Blizzard’s business practices in a new suit.
SCOTX: Newspaper Did Not Defame Prosecutor in Article That Linked Him to Wrongful Conviction of Michael Morton
A career prosecutor argued that he was 17 and not a lawyer when Morton was convicted of murder in 1987 in Williamson County. The Supreme Court, however, said it was uncontested that Tommy Lamar Coleman “assisted the prosecution” in 2011 when he was an assistant DA who mocked Morton’s post-conviction efforts to have a bloody bandana tested for DNA.
Major Franchise Owner Hit with $30.7M Jury Verdict
A Dallas jury heard eight days of testimony and deliberated for two hours before deciding the owner of roughly 150 Popeyes restaurants, Guillermo Perales and his company Sun Holdings, owed former employee Jerry “Scott” Stockton about $15.6 million in compensatory damages and $15.1 million in punitive damages for failing to follow through on a promise to compensate him with 5 percent of the annual operating profits of the restaurants. Sun Holdings is the second largest franchisee organization in the country, with about 1,800 restaurants in its portfolio.