Texas was once again at the forefront of some of the biggest legal stories of the year. The following are the state’s top stories of 2024 as determined by the staff of Androvett Legal Media & Marketing. We start here with No. 10 thru 6.
10. Final Astroworld Festival Wrongful Death Lawsuit Settled
A settlement in May with the family of the youngest of 10 concertgoers killed during the 2021 Astroworld Festival crowd surge wrapped up the last wrongful death lawsuit stemming from the decisions that led to that tragic event.
According to media accounts, festival promoters looking to capitalize on the popularity of Houston’s hometown music hero Travis Scott originally expected more than 100,000 attendees. Safety concerns led to capping ticket sales at half that figure, but logistical issues, including inadequate crowd-to-staff ratios, still plagued the lead-up to the event. As Scott started his much-anticipated set, pockets of the audience were trapped in a deadly surge as the crowd pushed chaotically toward the stage.
More than 50 defendants, from the festival’s musical headliners to the promoters, venue operators and security details, were named in individual wrongful death and personal injury lawsuits, most of which were consolidated into what became years-long multidistrict litigation. Although personal injury cases remain, with the last wrongful death case settled, plaintiffs’ attorneys have said the victims’ families can begin the healing process and the concert industry can turn its focus on improving event safety.
9. All’s Fair in Big Tex’s Gun Ban
While the opening of the State Fair of Texas is most often associated with the judging of deep-fried food, jurisprudence of a far different type took a central role this year.
Following a shooting during the 2023 fair that left three people injured, the State Fair of Texas, a private nonprofit, overhauled its handgun policy. While the fair previously allowed those with valid handgun licenses to conceal carry, it announced that in 2024, all firearms would be prohibited during the fall event on the 277-acre park owned by the city of Dallas.
Citing state law prohibiting state governmental agencies from banning firearms, Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Dallas and the fair, seeking to overturn the ban. Relying on an existing opinion that allowed private nonprofits to ban guns on land they lease from a city, the challenge was denied by the district court, the 15th Court of Appeals – the first high-profile case for the newly established court – and ultimately by the Texas Supreme Court.
“It should go without saying—though perhaps it cannot be said often enough—that a judge’s role in this case is not to decide whether the State Fair made a wise decision. Our job, instead, is to decide whether Texas law allowed the State Fair to make the decision for itself,” the court wrote in denying the AG’s injunction request and upholding the fair’s right to institute the ban.
8. Other Side of the Law: Accountability for Texas Police Officers
Gerald Goines. Amber Guyger. Aaron Dean. Pete Arredondo. Adrian Gonzalez. All are among the Texas police officers charged, convicted or held accountable for a crime in 2024.
In October, former Houston Police narcotics officer Gerald Goines was sentenced to 60 years in prison for his role in the deadly 2019 Harding Street drug raid that killed Dennis Tuttle and his wife, Rhogena Nicholas. Outgoing Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg called Goines’ conviction for felony murder the first of its kind, saying no other Houston police officer had ever been convicted of murder in Harris County.
Just days after Goines’ conviction, former Dallas Police officer Amber Guyger, who was convicted in the 2018 murder of Botham Jean, was denied parole by the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. In November, Guyger was also found civilly liable for Jean’s death and ordered to pay his family $98.6 million in damages.
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal of former Fort Worth police officer Aaron Dean, who was convicted of manslaughter for fatally shooting Atatiana Jefferson at her home during a welfare check in 2019. Dean had argued that prosecutors should not have been allowed to ask the jury to consider the lesser charge of manslaughter.
And more than two years after 19 children and two teachers were killed in the Uvalde school shooting, two former school police officers were indicted in June in the botched law enforcement response. Former school district Police Chief Pete Arredondo faces 10 felony charges of child endangerment, and former school police officer Adrian Gonzales is charged with 29 counts of abandoning and endangering a child. Both are out on bond.
7. Weathering the Storm in Hurricane Beryl’s Wake
Lengthy power outages and widespread property damage in the aftermath of severe weather have become more and more frequent in Texas in recent years, particularly throughout Greater Houston.
Although a Category 1 storm when it made landfall on July 8, Hurricane Beryl proved to be one of the year’s most damaging severe weather events, leaving an estimated 80% to 85% of CenterPoint Energy’s more than 2 million customers without power for more than a week.
CenterPoint’s lackluster preparation and response to the storm, as well as a failure to keep customers informed about restoration progress, led to multiple class action lawsuits on behalf of homeowners and businesses.
The state launched investigations into CenterPoint’s handling of the situation, and the Public Utility Commission of Texas issued a report in November recommending state lawmakers pass legislation to stiffen penalties against the company and to bolster the state’s power infrastructure.
CenterPoint in recent weeks has released an independent report to the public on its response to Hurricane Beryl. This report included 77 recommendations to improve communications, readiness and response to major storms and emergencies, the majority of which the company claims already to have implemented.
6. Dismantling DEI: The Attack on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Initiatives
Following last year’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling ending affirmative action as a factor in college admissions, 2024 saw efforts to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
The Lone Star State is among a handful of states to ban DEI initiatives in higher education. Senate Bill 17, which was signed by Gov. Greg Abbott in 2023, bans diversity, equity and inclusion offices, programs and training in Texas public universities.
But the rollback has not come without consequences. More than 60 University of Texas at Austin staff members were terminated because of the law, according to the Texas Conference of the American Association of University Professors. The Associated Press also reports that officials at other schools have indicated that 36 positions were eliminated at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas State University in San Marcos, The University of Houston, Sam Houston State University in Huntsville and Sul Ross State University in Alpine.
The push to end DEI will likely continue into 2025. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has signaled that enforcement of the DEI ban will be a high priority in the 2025 legislative session, and Gov. Abbott has also promised that more laws will be passed to ensure schools are removing DEI from their campuses.
The Texas Lawbook will publish Androvett’s No. 5 thru 1 selections on Monday.
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