Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
Retiring Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan Hecht was greeted by 17 former judicial colleagues and many other well-wishers as he heard his final case. Some of those gathered now sit on federal benches, while others have thriving private practices. All expressed gratitude for his service. (Photo courtesy Supreme Court of Texas)
In its bankruptcy petition, Kal Freight cites between $100 million and $500 million in liabilities and provides the same range for its assets. Houston lawyer Benjamin Lawrence Wallen of Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones along with lawyers from the firm’s New York and California offices are listed as Kal Freight's lead legal advisors.
Bridgett Zeterberg has been a GC for nearly three decades guiding companies such as Total Wine, Tuesday Morning and now Torrid Holdings “through periods of significant transformation." For more than 25 years, Marita Covarrubias has been an in-house lawyer and leader at Tenet Healthcare "managing some of the largest employment and general business litigation matters throughout the country." Derek Lipscombe has been an in-house lawyer focused on labor and employment litigation for 20 years at AAA Texas, JC Penney and Toyota North America.
Zeterberg, Covarrubias and Lipscombe have a new common attribute: the Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Texas Lawbook are honoring them with the 2024 DFW Corporate Counsel Award for Lifetime Achievement.
Some of the lessons surprised me, and they may surprise other new mediators — as well as attorneys who are new to mediation.
The state’s high court heard oral arguments Wednesday morning in the lawsuit brought by Sheema Shaik against BRP-Rotax GmbH that asks it to determine whether Texas courts have specific jurisdiction over a foreign manufacturer based on an allegedly defective engine.
A Pennsylvania judge ruled to block testimony from Energy Transfer co-founder Kelcy Warren, who is also executive chairman on the board of directors. Dallas-based Cardinal Midstream had sought to have Warren testify about comments he made about Energy Transfer “making mistakes” in its Pennsylvania projects. Cardinal Midstream is seeking $33 million from Energy Transfer under a purchase agreement, claiming that a pipeline explosion prevented the fulfillment of an earnout condition tied to gas delivery volumes. Energy Transfer argues that the explosion, caused by a landslide from heavy rains, qualifies as a "force majeure," while Cardinal Midstream blames poor pipeline design for the failure.
Cheryl Butler, a former Southern Methodist University law professor, sued the university and several former colleagues in 2016, bringing claims for defamation, fraud and conspiracy to defame. She appealed to the Fifth Circuit in January 2023, the same month U.S. District Judge Ada Brown dismissed her case with prejudice after agreeing that the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act preempted the claims. The Texas Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in the case that will determine whether Butler will be allowed to proceed with a defamation claim against her former coworkers, who she alleges played a role in her being denied tenure in 2016.
The deadly crash happened in December 2014 on an icy interstate near Odessa when a pickup truck carrying a woman and her three children crossed into the path of an 18-wheeler helmed by a driver trainee. Trucking and business interests decry the $116 million Harris County trial judgment as an outlier among commercial vehicle cases.
Houston-based Independence Contract Drilling and its affiliated company, Sidewinder Drilling, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection late Monday in the Southern District of Texas. ICD leaders chose Sidley Austin as its lead legal advisor. Latham & Watkins is counsel for the noteholders. Piper Sandler is the investment bank advising ICD.
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, we detail the outside lawyers Texas has hired to bring suit against some of the largest private equity firms in the world alleging they conspired to depress the market for coal and a Beaumont personal injury lawyer gets sanctioned for using Claude to write a brief that included made-up cases and quotes.
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