Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
In this edition of Asked & Answered, Bell Nunnally partner Heath Cheek discusses his first trial and trial prep. He also shares how he got involved with the State Fair of Texas and how it became a piece of home for him in Dallas.
After the attorneys argued their case at trial and submitted post-trial briefs to U.S. District Court Judge Ada Brown, she recused herself without explanation. Now, the attorneys may have to retry the case before a new judge. The bench trial between the trustee of a Dallas luxury senior living community and its landlord began in May.
Mark Cuban's request to withdraw his Rule 202 petition was granted by Texas Business Court Judge Bill Whitehill without prejudice Monday. The case originated in the Dallas County District Court and was removed to the Texas Business Court last week.
Dallas-based Safe Harbor Marinas said on Aug. 10 that it has acquired MarineMax for $53 a share, or about $1.5 billion, in cash. MarineMax, based in Oldsmar, Florida, is a boat and yacht retailer that also provides superyacht services. Sidley Austin provided outside legal counsel to MarineMax, while Simpson Thacher advised Safe Harbor.
In Round 4 of multidistrict litigation stemming from the fatal explosion at the Watson Grinding and Manufacturing facility on the Northwest Side of Houston, jurors determined 3M was 30 percent responsible. Most recently, in May, a different jury had returned a complete defense win for the company. The lawyers involved told The Texas Lawbook it was the first civil jury trial they had handled that required the jurors receive an Allen charge.
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, a hedge fund manager goes to prison for failing to report millions in income, and a bankruptcy law firm operating in Texas is pinged for filing cases with false financial information.
A Dallas County jury awarded $10,814 in damages for past pain in a trucking accident case where the plaintiff had asked for $15 million. The four-day trial ended on Friday following seven hours of deliberation.
The week that was saw 13 deals valued at $11 billion. They included a $5.5 billion natural gas deal, a major fuel distribution acquisition, a landfill deal involving corporate cousins and a truly major fund raise for an Austin distributor of home battery installations. And, of course, there was SpaceX news.
Texas has emerged as a pivotal center of gravity in the 2026 capital-markets rebound. Lone Star companies are bringing major deals to market, but Texas-based lawyers are increasingly leading their execution here and elsewhere, according to The Texas Lawbook's Corporate Deal Tracker.
Following a two-week trial before Bexar County Judge Nadine Nieto, a jury awarded $8.45 million to a woman who claimed she was defamed by statements made in the Netflix documentary Dirty Money.
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