Texas

  • September 26, 2024

    9th Circ. Says Defense Owed In Salesforce Trafficking Row

    Travelers must defend Salesforce against consolidated underlying sex trafficking claims being litigated in Texas state court, the Ninth Circuit ruled, rejecting the insurer's position that because Salesforce's alleged violation of Texas sex trafficking statutes necessarily involved expected or intentional conduct, it had no defense obligation.

  • September 26, 2024

    Atty Can't Shield Bank Records In Judge Romance Probe

    A former Jackson Walker LLP lawyer on Thursday lost her bid to torpedo a subpoena from the U.S. Trustee's Office seeking her bank records in connection with an inquiry into her secret relationship with a former Texas federal bankruptcy judge, court records show.

  • September 26, 2024

    Immigrant Legal Aid Group Sues Over Texas AG's Probe

    The nonprofit legal services provider Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday accusing Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton of trying to chill protected activity — suing two days before it was due to turn over information from the low-income immigrants it serves to the AG.

  • September 26, 2024

    Southwest Airlines Touts Big Changes Amid Activist Pressure

    Southwest Airlines on Thursday revealed a number of developments key to a "transformational" plan meant to drive revenue growth as the airline faces pressure from activist investor Elliott Investment Management, including the appointment of a new director and a $2.5 billion repurchase program.

  • September 26, 2024

    Dallas VA Center Overpaid $3.7M For Wheelchair Services

    A Texas veterans medical center will have to recover $3.7 million it overpaid a contractor for wheelchair transportation services between 2022 and 2023, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General said Wednesday.

  • September 26, 2024

    Texas Energy Co. Is Owed $8.1M Research Credit, Court Told

    An energy company that said it developed a method for recycling water produced by fracking is owed $8.1 million in tax credits for research related to developing new oil production methods in the U.S. and Canada, the company told a Texas federal district court.

  • September 25, 2024

    8th Circ. Told Student Debt Relief Should Remain Blocked

    Seven Republican-led states are asking the Eighth Circuit to finalize its court order blocking the Biden administration from implementing its second attempt at student loan forgiveness, accusing the White House of "hiding the ball" on the true cost of the plan.

  • September 25, 2024

    Bumble Investor Says Dating App Overhyped Premium Model

    A Bumble Inc. investor has launched a proposed securities class action in Texas federal court accusing the dating app's parent company of misleading investors about its financial outlook and success of a "premium plus" subscription tier, and causing a dramatic decline in Bumble's common stock price.

  • September 25, 2024

    Albright Bumps Up Amazon Patent Loss To $136M

    Amazon now owes a small advertising software outfit a total of $136 million after losing a jury trial in June in Waco, Texas, in a lawsuit over patents that purportedly made it more efficient to place bids on the same pieces of ad space.

  • September 25, 2024

    Arnold & Itkin DQ Bid Says Zeta Defense Atty Is Ex-Employee

    Arnold & Itkin has asked a Harris County judge to disqualify the law firm representing a drilling rig owner in litigation spurring from Hurricane Zeta, alleging a defense lawyer previously worked for Arnold & Itkin and improperly sent herself confidential information about the litigation before leaving the firm.

  • September 25, 2024

    Texas Man, 6 Companies To Pay $10.5M Over Forex Scheme

    The Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced Wednesday that it had secured a default judgment and $10.5 million in monetary relief against Rudy Avila and his six companies for defrauding more than 200 investors out of $6 million.

  • September 25, 2024

    Paxton Asks Texas Justices To Reverse State Fair Gun Ban

    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton asked the state's highest court for emergency relief to prohibit a new State Fair of Texas rule that bans fairgoers from carrying handguns, saying in a Wednesday appeal that the Fifteenth Court of Appeals abused its discretion by denying relief.

  • September 25, 2024

    Judge Connolly Sticks By Fining Paralegal Patent Owner

    Delaware's top federal judge won't budge on ordering a Texas paralegal to pony up $53,000 for refusing to appear for months to answer questions about a patent litigation outfit that was registered to her name, after he grilled her lawyer over who he was representing at a hearing she did show up to last week. 

  • September 25, 2024

    Gramercy Tells Del. Court Don't Capitulate To Citgo Bidders

    Hedge fund Gramercy is fighting a bid to halt litigation it filed in Texas and New York to collect on certain Venezuelan debt, telling a Delaware judge that it's just one entity in a sea of Venezuela's creditors pursuing litigation that could impact an upcoming sale of Citgo's parent company.

  • September 25, 2024

    Rapper Says Mike Jones, Houston Texans Stole Song

    The owner of the unofficial Houston anthem "Still Tippin'" told a Harris County court this week that rapper Mike Jones and others have ripped off his 2002 song for use by the Houston Texans football team without his permission.

  • September 25, 2024

    Baker Botts, Latham Lead Natural Gas Producer's $270M IPO

    Natural gas producer BKV Corp. on Wednesday priced a $270 million initial public offering below its range, completing a long-awaited IPO nearly two years after filing plans, represented by Baker Botts LLP and underwriters' counsel Latham & Watkins LLP.

  • September 25, 2024

    Doctor Says Accusers In $2M Fraud Case Hiding In Pakistan

    Counsel for a doctor accused of a $2.5 million fraud says that opposing counsel wants to hide his accuser in Pakistan until trial, telling a Dallas County judge during a Wednesday sanctions hearing that he's entitled to an in-person deposition from the man making the allegations.

  • September 25, 2024

    DACA Intervenors In ACA Suit Resist Stay Of Dismissal Bid

    Recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival program seeking to defend their access to Affordable Care Act coverage pressed a North Dakota federal judge to decide if a lawsuit, filed by Republican states, should be dismissed or moved to Washington, D.C., saying their motion to intervene in the suit doesn't have to be decided first.

  • September 25, 2024

    Cancer Detection Biz To Go Public Via $694M SPAC Merger

    Special purpose acquisition company Breeze Holdings Acquisition Corp. on Wednesday announced that it has agreed to merge with and take public clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company YD Biopharma Ltd. in a deal that gives the combined company an estimated enterprise value of $694 million and was built by three firms.

  • September 25, 2024

    Breaking IP Barriers: Q&A With Spencer Fane's DJ Healey

    Spencer Fane LLP partner DJ Healey came out as a transgender woman in 2017 — 30 years into her legal career — opening doors at a time when LGBTQ+ attorneys were gaining more acceptance from colleagues and clients.

  • September 25, 2024

    Texas Court Denies District's Attempt To Boost Valuations

    A Texas trial court didn't err in throwing out a counterclaim brought by a local appraisal district to increase the assessed values of two multifamily properties, a state appeals court ruled Wednesday.

  • September 25, 2024

    Veteran Federal Prosecutor Joins King & Spalding In Texas

    King & Spalding LLP has strengthened its government investigations, cybersecurity and special matters offerings with a counsel in Austin, Texas, who led efforts to combat cybercrime and pandemic-era fraud during his more than 15 years as a federal prosecutor.

  • September 25, 2024

    Fuel Refiner Vertex Hits Ch. 11 With $422M Debt, Lender Deal

    Oil refiner Vertex Energy filed for Chapter 11 protection with $422.5 million in debt and plans to pursue a sale under a prenegotiated restructuring agreement.

  • September 25, 2024

    Full Fed. Circ. To Tackle Patent Damages In $20M Google Case

    The full Federal Circuit said Wednesday it will review a panel's holding that Google must pay EcoFactor $20 million for infringing a smart thermostat patent, after the tech giant said the court has allowed patent owners to "manufacture a royalty rate."

  • September 24, 2024

    Cat In The Hat, 'Trashy' Books Mulled In Redo Of Library Row

    The full Fifth Circuit on Tuesday pressed a group of library patrons on whether Texas libraries already routinely engage in viewpoint discrimination through the process of weeding out outdated or unpopular library books during a lengthy discussion of hypotheticals surrounding The Cat in the Hat and the books that 19th-century Americans considered "trashy."

Expert Analysis

  • 4 Ways To Motivate Junior Attorneys To Bring Their Best

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    As Gen Z and younger millennial attorneys increasingly express dissatisfaction with their work and head for the exits, the lawyers who manage them must understand and attend to their needs and priorities to boost engagement and increase retention, says Stacey Schwartz at Katten.

  • A Look At Recent Challenges To SEC's Settlement 'Gag Rule'

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    Though they have been unsuccessful so far, opponents of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's so-called gag rule, which prevents defendants from denying allegations when settling with the SEC, are becoming increasingly vocal and filing more challenges in recent years, say Mike Blankenship and Regina Maze at Winston & Strawn.

  • How 3 Unfolding Cases Could Affect The Energy Industry

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    Three judicial decisions now in the pipeline — Texas' challenge to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's methane regulations, Delaware's climate suit against big energy companies, and a case before the Supreme Court of Texas on royalty lease interpretation — could have important implications for the energy industry, say Michelle Scheffler and Rachael Cox at Skadden.

  • How American Airlines ESG Case Could Alter ERISA Liability

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    Spence v. American Airlines, a Texas federal case over the airline's selection of multiple investment funds in its retirement plan, threatens to upend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act's legal framework for fiduciary liability in the name of curtailing environmental, social and governance-related activities, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.

  • How Purdue Pharma High Court Case May Change Bankruptcy

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s upcoming ruling in Purdue Pharma may be the death of most third-party releases in Chapter 11 cases, and depending on the decision’s breadth, could have much more far-reaching effects on the entire bankruptcy system, say Brian Shaw and David Doyle at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Series

    Serving As A Sheriff's Deputy Made Me A Better Lawyer

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    Skills developed during my work as a reserve deputy — where there was a need to always be prepared, decisive and articulate — transferred to my practice as an intellectual property litigator, and my experience taught me that clients often appreciate and relate to the desire to participate in extracurricular activities, says Michael Friedland at Friedland Cianfrani.

  • Former Minn. Chief Justice Instructs On Writing Better Briefs

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    Former Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Gildea, now at Greenberg Traurig, offers strategies on writing more effective appellate briefs from her time on the bench.

  • A 5th Circ. Lesson On Preserving Indemnification Rights

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    The Fifth Circuit's recent decision in Raymond James & Associates v. Jalbert offers an important lesson for creditors and parties to indemnification agreements: If a debtor has indemnified a creditor, the creditor should consider participating in the bankruptcy case to avoid being deemed to have forfeited its indemnification rights, say Dania Slim and Alana Lyman at Pillsbury.

  • Stay Interviews Are Key To Retaining Legal Talent

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    Even as the economy shifts and layoffs continue, law firms still want to retain their top attorneys, and so-called stay interviews — informal conversations with employees to identify potential issues before they lead to turnover — can be a crucial tool for improving retention and morale, say Tina Cohen Nicol and Kate Reder Sheikh at Major Lindsey.

  • Untangling The Legal Complexities Of Trade Secrets And AI

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    With broad adoption of generative artificial intelligence, some have suggested trade secret law is the best means for protecting innovations, but while this protection may apply to all forms of information, the breadth of coverage may make identifying the information and later misappropriation difficult, say Joshua Lerner and Nora Passamaneck at WilmerHale.

  • Series

    Spray Painting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My experiences as an abstract spray paint artist have made me a better litigator, demonstrating — in more ways than one — how fluidity and flexibility are necessary parts of a successful legal practice, says Erick Sandlin at Bracewell.

  • Judge-Shopping Policy Revisal May Make Issue Worse

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    The Judicial Conference at its March meeting unveiled a revised policy with the stated goal of limiting litigants’ ability to judge-shop in patent cases, but the policy may actually exacerbate the problem by tying the issue to judge-shopping in polarizing political cases, making reform more difficult, say Robert Niemeier and William Milliken at Sterne Kessler.

  • Opinion

    5th Circ. NFL Disability Ruling Turns ERISA On Its Head

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    The Fifth Circuit's March 15 ruling in Cloud v. NFL Player Retirement Plan upheld the plan's finding that an NFL player was not entitled to reclassification because he couldn't show changed circumstances, which is contrary to the goal of accurate Employee Retirement Income Security Act claims processing, says Mark DeBofsky at DeBofsky Law.

  • How Fieldwood Ch. 11 Ruling Bolsters Section 363 Confidence

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    The Fifth Circuit’s recent ruling in Fieldwood Energy’s Chapter 11 cases, which clarified that challenges to integral aspects of a bankruptcy sale are statutorily moot under Section 363(m) of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, should bolster the confidence of prospective purchasers in these sales, say attorneys at V&E.

  • What Texas Employers Should Know After PWFA Ruling

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    After a Texas federal judge recently enjoined federal agencies from enforcing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act against the state of Texas, all employers must still remain sensitive to local, state and federal protections for pregnant workers, and proactive in their approach to pregnancy-related accommodations, says Maritza Sanchez at Phelps Dunbar.

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