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Texas
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November 14, 2024
Split 5th Circ. Axes Student's Bias Suit Over Right-Wing Beliefs
An equally divided en banc Fifth Circuit on Thursday refused to revive a high school student's race discrimination suit against his Texas school district, finding that most of the bullying the student allegedly experienced was based on his support of President-elect Donald Trump and conservative viewpoints, not his race.
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November 14, 2024
Albright Moves Apple Foes' Patent Suit To California
Waco's U.S. District Judge Alan Albright has decided to send a patent lawsuit lodged in his court against Apple to the tech giant's home of California, calling the "minimal local interest" provided by local tax breaks "strenuously tied to this case at best."
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November 14, 2024
Crypto And Private Fund Groups Push SEC On Dealer Rule
Crypto industry groups and private fund associations tag-teamed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday during a hearing over two cases relating to the agency's expanded definition of securities dealers, telling a Texas federal court that the new rule marked a dramatic overreach by the regulator.
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November 14, 2024
Cisco Asks Albright To Ax $65.7M IP Verdict, Seeks New Trial
Cisco Systems Inc. has asked U.S. District Judge Alan Albright to throw out a Texas jury's verdict holding the technology behemoth liable for infringing a patent related to conference calls, saying Cisco suffered "immense" prejudice at trial and that the jury's $65.7 million damages award is "excessive."
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November 14, 2024
Split 5th Circ. Affirms SEC's Kroger Proxy Decision
A divided Fifth Circuit on Thursday rejected a "purely theoretical" challenge brought by conservative shareholders unhappy that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission greenlighted the exclusion of a shareholder proposal from Kroger Co.'s 2023 ballot, noting that the case was moot since the company authorized a vote on the proposal anyway.
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November 14, 2024
EEOC Says Texas, Think Tank Can't Scrap Bostock Guidance
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission urged a federal court to shoot down Texas' challenge to workplace harassment guidance the agency issued based on the U.S. Supreme Court's Bostock decision, arguing the state failed to demonstrate that the guidelines had caused them any harm.
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November 14, 2024
Red State AGs Sue SEC Over Crypto Policy
A coalition of 18 Republican attorneys general led by Kentucky sued the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday for allegedly treading on the states' authority through a "regulatory landgrab" into the cryptocurrency industry.
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November 14, 2024
Texas Court Tosses Devon Energy Suit Over NM Rig Injuries
A Texas appeals panel on Thursday threw out a Louisiana worker's suit against Devon Energy Corp. over injuries he sustained while working at a New Mexico drilling rig, saying the trial court was wrong to find that the company had enough contact with Texas to be "at home" and under the court's jurisdiction.
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November 14, 2024
Houston Back Wages Trial Was 'Circus,' Atty Tells Court
A California attorney who lost his bid for back wages from a Houston commercial litigation firm where he was formerly an associate asked a Texas appeals court to order a new trial, writing that his former law firm's attorneys "turned the trial into a circus" about his personal life.
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November 14, 2024
Whole Foods Workers Seek Massive Class In 401(k) Fee Suit
Former Whole Foods employees have asked a Texas federal judge to turn their suit against the company into a class action, saying they'd like to represent nearly 100,000 current and former employees in litigation accusing the grocery chain of mismanaging its 401(k) plan.
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November 14, 2024
Ovintiv Buys Montney Assets For $2.4B, Sells Others For $2B
Natural gas producer Ovintiv Inc. said Thursday it will purchase certain Montney Basin assets in Canada from Paramount Resources Ltd. in an all-cash deal worth about $2.38 billion, and also announced plans to divest its Uinta Basin assets in a sale to FourPoint Resources Ltd. and its private equity partners for $2 billion, with at least five law firms advising on the deals.
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November 14, 2024
Texas Bar Eyes Ban On Lawyers Partnering With Non-Attys
A proposed ethics opinion from the State Bar of Texas says lawyers practicing in the Lone Star State cannot partner with law firms offering legal services in other jurisdictions if the partnership includes a non-lawyer, even if such arrangements are permitted in the jurisdiction where the law firm is based.
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November 14, 2024
Texas Judge Recuses Himself From Microsoft Patent Case
Chief U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap of the Eastern District of Texas has recused himself, without stating a reason, from a patent infringement case that German company ParTec AG has lodged against Microsoft over the tech giant's artificial intelligence supercomputer.
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November 14, 2024
Diamond Sports' Ch. 11 Plan Gets Nod With Amazon Deal
Diamond Sports Group received approval for its Chapter 11 plan Thursday from a Texas bankruptcy court, clearing the way for its continued broadcast of 27 professional sports teams and new streaming options through a deal with Amazon.
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November 14, 2024
Texas Boutique First To Match Milbank's Year-End Bonus
Texas-based litigation boutique Vartabedian Hester & Haynes LLP confirmed on Thursday that it will match Milbank LLP's year-end bonus scale, offering its associates BigLaw-level compensation along with an additional special bonus.
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November 14, 2024
The Onion Buys Alex Jones' Infowars At Ch. 7 Auction
Satirical news website The Onion has purchased Alex Jones' Infowars at a Chapter 7 bankruptcy auction, according to a Thursday announcement by the firm representing Sandy Hook shooting survivors who won a $1.4 billion defamation award over his claims the massacre was a hoax.
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November 13, 2024
Nvidia, Microsoft Rip Antitrust Suit And Its 'Imaginary' Cartel
Nvidia and Microsoft have urged a Texas federal judge to toss a startup's suit alleging that they engaged in an anticompetitive conspiracy to fix prices for graphic processing units used in powering artificial intelligence, with Nvidia saying the startup's "low patent quality" is just as likely to have caused purported injuries.
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November 13, 2024
Tempur Sealy Has 'Keys' To Merger, Mattress Firm CEO Says
Mattress Firm's CEO told a Houston judge Wednesday that he has not had any involvement in Tempur Sealy's post-acquisition agreements with mattress suppliers, testifying that Tempur's board chairman and CEO is the one "driving" the deal.
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November 13, 2024
Texas Court OKs Med Mal Death Suit, Expert Report
A Texas appellate court has declined to dismiss a medical malpractice suit accusing an emergency medical clinic of failing to diagnose a man's heart disease which caused his fatal cardiac arrest, saying the plaintiffs' medical expert's mandatory report satisfies state guidelines.
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November 13, 2024
Google Says $20M Thermostat IP Verdict Was 'Manufactured'
Google is making its argument to the full Federal Circuit that a $20 million verdict the tech giant was hit with in the Western District of Texas was "manufactured" by an expert hired by a competing smart-home energy startup.
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November 13, 2024
Fed. Circ. Judges Frown On Custom Emoji Patent
A patent covering the development of customizable emojis died at the Federal Circuit on Wednesday, after judges there rejected an appeal of an administrative board ruling that knocked out all of the patent's claims.
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November 13, 2024
Short-Term Rental Owners 'Unreasonable,' Dallas Tells Court
A Dallas short-term rental advocacy organization loves to focus on property rights, but it never considered the rights of neighbors who want safe neighborhoods and don't want to live next to an active business, a city attorney told a Fifth Court of Appeals panel during oral arguments Wednesday.
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November 13, 2024
Fed. Circ. Won't Send Microchip Patent Suit To NY
The Federal Circuit on Wednesday denied a bid from a Chicago tech manufacturer to transfer a Texas case brought by an ex-Microsoft executive's private equity-funded patent litigation outfit, saying the manufacturer didn't show that the lower court erred in refusing to ship the case to New York.
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November 13, 2024
Frontier Stockholders Vote In Favor Of $20B Verizon Deal
Frontier Communications stockholders approved the company's planned $20 billion sale to Verizon Communications Inc. on Wednesday, despite prior pushback from select investors and recommendations from top proxy advisory firms to abstain.
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November 13, 2024
Texas Fights Contractor Wage Hike After 9th Circ. Ruling
The recent Ninth Circuit decision deeming President Joe Biden's increase of federal contractors' hourly minimum wage unlawful clarified that the government's position that it could mandate the hike is absurd, the state of Texas told the Fifth Circuit in its case also challenging the wage hike.
Expert Analysis
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Series
Boxing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Boxing has influenced my legal work by enabling me to confidently hone the skills I've learned from the sport, like the ability to remain calm under pressure, evaluate an opponent's weaknesses and recognize when to seize an important opportunity, says Kirsten Soto at Clyde & Co.
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Opinion
Industry Self-Regulation Will Shine Post-Chevron
The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper decision will shape the contours of industry self-regulation in the years to come, providing opportunities for this often-misunderstood practice, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.
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When Patents As Loan Collateral Can Cost You Standing
The Federal Circuit's recent decision in Intellectual Tech v. Zebra Technologies shines a light on loan default provisions' implications for patent infringement litigation, as a default may inadvertently strip a patent owner of constitutional standing to sue over a patent pledged as collateral, say Joseph Marinelli and Suet L. Lee at Irwin IP.
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3 Ways Agencies Will Keep Making Law After Chevron
The U.S. Supreme Court clearly thinks it has done something big in overturning the Chevron precedent that had given deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, but regulated parties have to consider how agencies retain significant power to shape the law and its meaning, say attorneys at K&L Gates.
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After Chevron
Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Chevron deference standard in June, this Expert Analysis series has featured attorneys discussing the potential impact across 37 different rulemaking and litigation areas.
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Opinion
Atty Well-Being Efforts Ignore Root Causes Of The Problem
The legal industry is engaged in a critical conversation about lawyers' mental health, but current attorney well-being programs primarily focus on helping lawyers cope with the stress of excessive workloads, instead of examining whether this work culture is even fundamentally compatible with lawyer well-being, says Jonathan Baum at Avenir Guild.
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Series
Skiing And Surfing Make Me A Better Lawyer
The skills I’ve learned while riding waves in the ocean and slopes in the mountains have translated to my legal career — developing strong mentor relationships, remaining calm in difficult situations, and being prepared and able to move to a backup plan when needed, says Brian Claassen at Knobbe Martens.
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Air Ambulance Ruling Severely Undermines No Surprises Act
A Texas federal court's recent decision in Guardian Flight v. Health Care Service — that the No Surprises Act lacks a judicial remedy when a health insurer refuses to pay the amount established through an independent review — likely throws a huge monkey wrench into the elaborate protections the NSA was enacted to provide, says Mark DeBofsky at DeBofsky Law.
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Justices' Removal Ruling Presents Hurdles, But Offers Clarity
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Campos-Chaves v. Garland and two other consolidated cases endorses a multistep notice practice that could impair noncitizens' access to adequate judicial notice, but its resolution of a longstanding circuit split also provides much-needed clarity, says Devin Connolly at Reeves Immigration Law Group.
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Unpacking The Circuit Split Over A Federal Atty Fee Rule
Federal circuit courts that have addressed Rule 41(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are split as to whether attorney fees are included as part of the costs of a previously dismissed action, so practitioners aiming to recover or avoid fees should tailor arguments to the appropriate court, says Joseph Myles and Lionel Lavenue at Finnegan.
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Justices' 'Blind Mule' Ruling Won't Change Defense Strategy
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last week in Diaz v. U.S., holding that expert witnesses can testify broadly about the mental state of “most people” in a group, simply affirms the status quo for the majority of defendants, and is unlikely to change defense counsel’s strategy at trial, says Walter Gonçalves at the Arizona Federal Public Defender's Office.
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After A Brief Hiccup, The 'Rocket Docket' Soars Back To No. 1
The Eastern District of Virginia’s precipitous 2022 fall from its storied rocket docket status appears to have been a temporary aberration, as recent statistics reveal that the court is once again back on top as the fastest federal civil trial court in the nation, says Robert Tata at Hunton.
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Recruitment Trends In Emerging Law Firm Frontiers
BigLaw firms are facing local recruitment challenges as they increasingly establish offices in cities outside of the major legal hubs, requiring them to weigh various strategies for attracting talent that present different risks and benefits, says Tom Hanlon at Buchanan Law.
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Series
Glassblowing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
I never expected that glassblowing would strongly influence my work as an attorney, but it has taught me the importance of building a solid foundation for your work, learning from others and committing to a lifetime of practice, says Margaret House at Kalijarvi Chuzi.
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What 11th Circ. Fearless Fund Ruling Means For DEI In Courts
The Eleventh Circuit's recent backing of a freeze on the Fearless Fund's grants to women of color building new companies marks the latest major development in litigation related to diversity, equity and inclusion and may be used to question other DEI programs targeted at providing opportunities to certain classes of individuals, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.