Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
After a 12-day trial in Maricopa County, Arizona, and five hours of deliberations in a dispute between two real estate companies, a jury found ZOM Holding breached its contract with Gray Services and Gray Development and owes more than $296 million in damages. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher attorneys from Texas, many of whom also successfully represented Energy Transfer in a trial against Greenpeace earlier this year, represented Gray.
The U.S. Supreme Court heard its first oral argument of the new term Monday with a case from Texas. The question presented was whether a trial court violated a defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to counsel by prohibiting discussions during an overnight recess.
Wachtell and Sullivan & Cromwell advised on the deal, which positions Fifth Third as a major presence in 17 of the fastest-growing banking markets in the country.
The Association of Corporate Counsel’s San Antonio Chapter and The Texas Lawbook have announced the recipients of the inaugural 2025 San Antonio Corporate Counsel Awards for Lifetime Achievement, Business Litigation of the Year, M&A Transaction of the Year and Achievement in Pro Bono and Public Service.Two prominent and long-time San Antonio corporate legal leaders — retired Mission Pharmacal General Counsel Lee Cusenbary and BioBridge Global GC Richey Wyatt — have been selected to receive the 2025 San Antonio Corporate Counsel Award for Lifetime Achievement.
The week that ended Oct. 4 saw 21 deals reported with a total value of $20.8 billion with a few billion-dollar transactions, including one that may be the final deal for the Oracle of Omaha. Elsewhere, Texas bank consolidations continue as Prosperity Bank acquires Texas Partners to expand further into San Antonio, Austin and The Hill Country.
That and more in this edition of CDT Roundup.
The litigation trustee in the GWG Holdings bankruptcy dispute has asked a federal judge to approve a $405,000 out-of-court settlement agreement with the law firm Jackson Walker related to the scandal involving former Houston Bankruptcy Judge David Jones.
The GWG litigation trustee is the seventh party to reach a proposed settlement with Jackson Walker, which is accused of knowing about and failing to disclose a secret romantic relationship between one of its former bankruptcy partners, Elizabeth Freeman, and Judge Jones.
In four separate filings, GWG bondholders this week spoke out forcefully against requests from Jackson Walker, Porter Hedges, David Jones and Elizabeth Freeman to dismiss racketeering claims against them, doubling down on allegations that each party was enriched by keeping secret a “live-in, intimate relationship” between then-bankruptcy judge Jones and bankruptcy lawyer Freeman.
A district court in California dismissed a lawsuit claiming the famous 1991 Nirvana album cover is not child pornography. The court found the photo to be artistic expression.
The case turned on whether Texas or Mexico law applied to the issue of res judicata, which precludes parties from relitigating disputes once there’s been a final judgment on the merits. The Eighth Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 opinion, determined the trial court gets to decide which law applies and it was not incorrect in determining the litigation of a related suit in Juarez, Mexico, barred this one in El Paso under Texas law.
After nearly four hours of deliberations and an eight-day trial, the Dallas County jury unanimously found a supplier of golf carts breached its exclusivity agreement and purposefully interfered with a retailer’s business by selling its products directly to Lowe’s. One attorney said the jury “sent a message” with its verdict.
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