Texas

  • October 11, 2024

    Texas Hospital Settles Layoffs, Benefits Contributions Suit

    A Texas hospital has agreed to settle a proposed class action alleging it laid off approximately one-third of its workforce without warning and unlawfully held onto employees' health insurance premiums and 401(k) contributions, according to a federal court filing.

  • October 11, 2024

    Bank Info Fair Game In Crypto Exec's Appeal, Gov't Says

    A cryptocurrency executive charged in a 2020 bitcoin fraud investigation can't stop the IRS from using the financial information it gathered through summonses while he appeals the demands in the Fifth Circuit, the U.S. government told a Texas federal court.

  • October 11, 2024

    TransUnion Agrees To Settle Suit Over Inaccurate Report

    A Texas man who claims he lost a job opportunity after a faulty TransUnion background check identified him as a "drug offender" has agreed to end his lawsuit against the company, reaching a tentative settlement.

  • October 10, 2024

    Paxton Sanctions Attempt Is 'Intimidation Tactic,' Nonprofit Says

    A Houston civil rights nonprofit focusing on immigration is calling a sanctions motion from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton an "intimidation tactic," telling a state appeals court that it shouldn't have to just accept whatever legal interpretation the state spits out or face sanctions.

  • October 10, 2024

    Trade Group, Enviros Clash Over EPA Methylene Chloride Rule

    American Chemistry Council and the Sierra Club are taking aim at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's methylene chloride rule, with the industry group telling the Fifth Circuit the agency overstepped when it outright banned most applications of the chemical for no valid reason and the conservation organization arguing it didn't go far enough.

  • October 10, 2024

    Contractor Slams Stay Bid In $13M Lake Ontario Awards Fight

    Geotechnical contractor Soletanche Bachy Canada Inc. has asked a Texas federal court not to pause its suit looking to enforce arbitral awards of $13 million against an infrastructure construction corporation, saying the construction company misrepresents an appeal proceeding in Ontario.

  • October 10, 2024

    IP Forecast: 5G Patent Case Spells Deja Vu For EDTX

    A patent suit against a Chinese phone company will go before a new federal jury in the Eastern District of Texas after the judge scrapped the original $10.6 million verdict against it as excessive. Here's a spotlight on that case — plus all the other major intellectual property matters on deck in the coming week.

  • October 10, 2024

    SpaceX Urges Trim To Enviro Orgs'. FAA Launch Approval Suit

    SpaceX is pushing a D.C. federal judge to scrap claims that an environmental assessment for its rocket launch program in South Texas must be supplemented after launches allegedly harmed sensitive surrounding areas and migratory birds, and as it faces new litigation over a system installed to prevent launch pad failures.

  • October 10, 2024

    5th Circ. Judge Hints Justices' 'Sea Change' May Help DACA

    A Fifth Circuit judge grilled Texas on Thursday over whether it still has standing to challenge the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy, suggesting recent U.S. Supreme Court precedent might spell trouble for the Lone Star State's bid to kill the program.

  • October 10, 2024

    Owner Of Houston Music Co. Says He Was Pushed Out Of Biz

    A Houston hip-hop artist has accused his longtime business partner of engaging in a scheme to steal his music production company's funds before ousting him from the business, according to a complaint filed in Texas federal court on Thursday.

  • October 10, 2024

    Paxton Prosecutor Fee Fight Ends With High Court Rejection

    The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Wednesday declined to take up a dispute over how much a special prosecutor appointed to oversee the securities fraud case against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton should be paid, ending a fee fight that has stretched on almost as long as the criminal case.

  • October 10, 2024

    5th Circ. Says ISP Liable For Piracy But Orders Damages Redo

    The Fifth Circuit has concluded that a Texas federal court correctly upheld a jury verdict finding internet service provider Grande Communications Networks LLC is liable for the willful contributory copyright infringement of 1,403 songs from several record labels but ordered that the nearly $47 million in damages be recalculated.

  • October 10, 2024

    George Foreman Unlikely To Get '70s Sex Assault Suit Trimmed

    A California federal judge was skeptical Thursday of boxing legend George Foreman's bid to trim alleged conduct that occurred in Texas and Florida from a lawsuit claiming he groomed and sexually abused a teenage girl in the 1970s.

  • October 10, 2024

    Houston Firm Says 'Scurrilous' Ex-Atty Not Entitled To Fees

    A Houston law firm is urging a state court to dismiss a lawsuit from a disbarred attorney seeking fees for cases he worked on before going to prison for fraud, arguing that paying him the $3.84 million he is asking for would run afoul of ethics rules and a Texas Supreme Court order.

  • October 10, 2024

    Investor Connected To Texas AG Seeks To Ax Fraud Case

    Nate Paul, a real estate investor at the heart of the failed impeachment of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, has moved to dismiss federal wire fraud and conspiracy charges against him, arguing that the indictment does not claim that he acted willfully when allegedly ripping off lenders and investors.

  • October 10, 2024

    IRS Keeping Co. In Dark On Carryback Refund, Court Told

    The Internal Revenue Service owes a $686,000 tax refund to a contractor for a carryback operating loss, the company told a Texas federal court, adding that the IRS hasn't responded to questions about a letter the agency claims it sent addressing the issue.

  • October 09, 2024

    5th Circ. Denies Extension For CFPB In Exam Policy Case

    The Fifth Circuit on Wednesday denied the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's unopposed request for a short deadline extension in its appeal over an examination policy that industry groups successfully sued to block last year, prompting the agency to ask for more time again.

  • October 09, 2024

    Chancery Keeps $5B Md. Data Center Project Fight In Del.

    A court battle over control and management of early work on a potential $5 billion data complex in western Maryland will remain in the First State despite a marginally earlier-filed suit in Texas' new business court, a Delaware vice chancellor ruled late Wednesday.

  • October 09, 2024

    5th Circ. Revives Air Force Bias Case, Citing Broader Standard

    The Fifth Circuit revived a former civilian U.S. Air Force employee's lawsuit alleging she was given negative performance reviews after rejecting colleagues' sexual advances, saying a lower court needs to reevaluate her claims under a year-old circuit standard that allows for a wider range of bias allegations.

  • October 09, 2024

    Cisco Gets PTAB To Wipe Out Most Of Network Patent

    An administrative patent board has trimmed most of a patent that was issued to a since bankrupt Tel Aviv telecom supplier and later eventually asserted against Cisco.

  • October 09, 2024

    5th Circ. Asks If Drag Ban Different From Obscenity Laws

    A Fifth Circuit panel wrangled with First Amendment questions surrounding a Texas law banning drag shows in front of children, with a judge asking an LGBTQ nonprofit how Texas' law was different from a law banning "sexual intercourse" or "sodomy" in downtown New Orleans during oral arguments Wednesday.

  • October 09, 2024

    Patients' Families Say No Expert Needed In Transplant Case

    The families of patients who died while on an organ donor waiting list are urging a Texas state court to deny a surgeon's bid to toss their suit aimed at blocking him from altering or destroying records, saying because their suit does not make any claims for damages, they do not need an expert report.

  • October 09, 2024

    Caterpillar Settles Wirtgen IP Row After Judge's $19.5M Ruling

    Caterpillar and machinery manufacturer Wirtgen have reached a deal to resolve their legal fight after a Delaware court held that Caterpillar owes about $19.5 million in a patent case over road-milling machines.

  • October 09, 2024

    Atlanta Braves Pitch Dismissal Or Transfer Of Defamation Suit

    The Atlanta Braves urged a Texas federal judge to dismiss or transfer a defamation lawsuit filed by an auction house alleging the team purposely maligned its image by leaking false claims to the media that the auctioneer was selling memorabilia to which it had no rights.

  • October 09, 2024

    Judge Finalizes $65.7M Verdict Against Cisco In IP Case

    A $65.7 million verdict from earlier this year against Cisco Systems has been finalized by a Western District of Texas judge, in a case where a jury found the company infringed Paltalk's patent related to hybrid audio servers.

Expert Analysis

  • How Tech Trackers May Implicate HIPAA After Hospital Ruling

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    A recent Texas federal court order in American Hospital Association v. Becerra adds a legal protection on key data, clarifying when tracking technologies implicate the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, so organizations should ensure all technology used is known and accounted for, say John Howard and Myriah Jaworski at Clark Hill.

  • Series

    Serving In The National Guard Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My ongoing military experience as a judge advocate general in the National Guard has shaped me as a person and a lawyer, teaching me the importance of embracing confidence, balance and teamwork in both my Army and civilian roles, says Danielle Aymond at Baker Donelson.

  • Will Texas Stock Exchange Provide Regulatory Haven?

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    While the newly proposed Texas Stock Exchange may represent a market reaction to increasingly complex regulations, those looking to list on a national securities exchange should consider that their choice of an exchange may not relieve them of some of the most burdensome public company requirements, say Elizabeth McNichol and Ryan Lilley at Katten.

  • A Midyear Forecast: Tailwinds Expected For Atty Hourly Rates

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    Hourly rates for partners, associates and support staff continued to rise in the first half of this year, and this growth shows no signs of slowing for the rest of 2024 and into next year, driven in part by the return of mergers and acquisitions and the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence, says Chuck Chandler at Valeo Partners.

  • Opinion

    Cell Tech Patent Holdup Is Stalling Automaker Innovation

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    Courts and Congress should seek to stem anticompetitive harm caused by standard-essential patent holders squeezing automakers with unfairly high royalties for cellular connectivity technology, says Charles Haake at Alliance for Automotive Innovation.

  • Criminal Enforcement Considerations For Gov't Contractors

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    Government contractors increasingly exposed to criminal liability risks should establish programs that enable detection and remediation of employee misconduct, consider voluntary disclosure, and be aware of the potentially disastrous consequences of failing to make a mandatory disclosure where the government concludes it was required, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • Opinion

    States Should Loosen Law Firm Ownership Restrictions

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    Despite growing buzz, normalized nonlawyer ownership of law firms is a distant prospect, so the legal community should focus first on liberalizing state restrictions on attorney and firm purchases of practices, which would bolster succession planning and improve access to justice, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.

  • FLSA Conditional Certification Is Alive And Well In 4th Circ.

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    A North Carolina federal court's recent decision in Johnson v. PHP emphasized continued preference by courts in the Fourth Circuit for a two-step conditional certification process for Fair Labor Standards Act collective actions, rejecting views from other circuits and affording plaintiffs a less burdensome path, say Joshua Adams and Damón Gray at Jackson Lewis.

  • Series

    Solving Puzzles Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Tackling daily puzzles — like Wordle, KenKen and Connections — has bolstered my intellectual property litigation practice by helping me to exercise different mental skills, acknowledge minor but important details, and build and reinforce good habits, says Roy Wepner at Kaplan Breyer.

  • Texas Ethics Opinion Flags Hazards Of Unauthorized Practice

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    The Texas Professional Ethics Committee's recently issued proposed opinion finding that in-house counsel providing legal services to the company's clients constitutes the unauthorized practice of law is a valuable clarification given that a UPL violation — a misdemeanor in most states — carries high stakes, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.

  • Why High Court Social Media Ruling Will Be Hotly Debated

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    In deciding the NetChoice cases that challenged Florida and Texas content moderation laws, what the U.S. Supreme Court justices said about social media platforms — and the First Amendment — will have implications and raise questions for nearly all online operators, say Jacob Canter and Joanna Rosen Forster at Crowell & Moring.

  • In Memoriam: The Modern Administrative State

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    On June 28, the modern administrative state, where courts deferred to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes, died when the U.S. Supreme Court overruled its previous decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council — but it is survived by many cases decided under the Chevron framework, say Joseph Schaeffer and Jessica Deyoe at Babst Calland.

  • Opinion

    It's Time For Nationwide Race-Based Hair Protections

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    While 24 states have passed laws that prohibit race-based hair discrimination, this type of bias persists in workplaces and schools, so a robust federal law is necessary to ensure widespread protection, says Samone Ijoma and Erica Roberts at Sanford Heisler.

  • How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts

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    As law firms increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence tools to produce legal text, attorneys should be on guard for the overuse of cohesive devices in initial drafts, and consider a few editing pointers to clean up AI’s repetitive and choppy outputs, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.

  • Supreme Court's ALJ Ruling Carries Implications Beyond SEC

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    In its recent Jarkesy opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court limited the types of cases that can be tried before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's in-house administrative law judges, setting the stage for challenges to the constitutionality of ALJs across other agencies, say Robert Robertson and Kimberley Church at Dechert.

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