Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
The State Bar of Texas has released its May disciplinary report. Aside from standard infractions of case inattention and inappropriate political endorsements, breaches of the canons cited by the bar's disciplinary panels this month also include money-laundering, wire fraud, theft, income tax evasion and fixing tickets for friends of a musician named Fruity Villareal. The Lawbook has the list and the details.
Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman reminded lawyers and law students last week that in difficult times they are required, both by law and character, to defend the Rule of Law. Guzman spoke at the Dallas Hispanic Law Foundation's 2019 Amanecer Luncheon honoring scholarship award winners. The Lawbook was there.
In a case closely-watched by Texas media groups, the Supreme Court of Texas has refused for the second time to dismiss a libel action against the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. The case is notable, not only for its 11-year history, but also for the failure of the defendants to secure traditional libel defenses.
A proxy battle unfolding in Dallas involving one of Texas’s largest landowners is getting uglier by the day. The latest development: a countersuit filed by a shareholder who might become Texas Pacific Land Trust’s newest trustee. Both sides say their courtroom opponent has unclean hands. And both sides have hired some of the best litigators in Dallas to fight it out. Natalie Posgate has the details.
Private equity exits in oil and gas are notoriously difficult and these days few and far between. As a result, some PEs are finding creative ways to transition. The Lawbook's Claire Poole explains in her weekly roundup of Texas deal activity.
The Lemmon Avenue Terminal at Dallas Love Field Airport was demolished in 2009. Ten years later, two sides embroiled in a lawsuit are still debating whether or not the terminal had any value. The two sides — Love Terminal Partners and Virginia Aerospace, and the U.S. government — are gearing up for a potential showdown in the U.S. Supreme Court.
In a holding that should surprise almost no one familiar with the Texas Supreme Court, a unanimous court ruled Friday that a jury charge – like any contract – means what it says it means. The ruling restores a $3 million judgment to Pathfinder Oil & Gas in a breach of contract suit. Justice Eva Guzman wrote the opinion. Allen Pusey has the details.
Dallas’ Fifth Court of Appeals has affirmed a summary judgment for the National Football League that dismissed a lawsuit Tony Romo and his company, The Fan Expo LLC, brought against the league related to a failed fantasy sports event. It's the second time for the NFL to prevail against the famed Dallas Cowboys quarterback-turned-sports announcer-turned-amateur golfer.
Varsity Brands GC Burton Brillhart isn’t afraid to go to trial. He demonstrated it last month when the company asked an Alabama jury to rule that sales associates at Varsity's graduation products affiliate violated their noncompete agreements and used their wives’ emails to hide the act. The result: A multimillion-dollar verdict for Varsity Brands. This is the story of the case, which heads back to court Friday.
Lawyers for the Texas Pacific Land Trust – one of the largest landholders in the Permian Basin – are seeking an injunction against a candidate for a vacant trustee slot, alleging that he has failed – and refused – to disclose potential conflicts of interest. Natalie Posgate details the bitter proxy struggle behind the unusual lawsuit.
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