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Texas
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October 16, 2024
Feds Deny That West Bank Sanctions Hamper Free Speech
The Biden administration rebuffed claims by a group of U.S. and Israeli citizens that a sanctions program covering extremist actors in the Israeli-occupied West Bank restricts their free speech rights, saying that merely opposing U.S. foreign policy goals isn't a sanctionable offense.
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October 16, 2024
5th Circ. Pauses Block Of Texas Election Law
The Fifth Circuit on Tuesday pressed pause on a San Antonio judge's order blocking part of a controversial Texas election law, writing that a change in law less than three weeks before voters will cast their ballots will cause undue confusion during the election.
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October 16, 2024
SpaceX Says Calif. Board Taking Disdain Of Musk Out On It
SpaceX hit the California Coastal Commission with a federal lawsuit claiming its board members are opposing the company's bid to launch more rockets from a military base in Santa Barbara County due to "naked political discrimination" against it and its outspoken billionaire CEO Elon Musk.
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October 16, 2024
Houston Pharma Exec Found Guilty In $160M Health Fraud
A Houston man was convicted on 15 criminal charges in connection with orchestrating a massive healthcare scheme that defrauded the government out of $160 million, following a 10-day trial in which prosecutors said doctors were "bamboozled" by the conspiracy.
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October 16, 2024
Brazilian Electricity Biz Seeks US Ch. 15 Recognition
Light SA, parent to a major Brazilian electrical utility, has asked a Texas bankruptcy judge to grant U.S. recognition of its foreign insolvency proceedings, saying a Brazilian court had approved a restructuring plan for the company to deal with roughly $2 billion in debt that has high creditor support.
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October 16, 2024
Bipartisan Judgeships Bill In House Keeps Gaining Support
A Republican on the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday urged the House to pass his bipartisan bill to add 66 new and temporary judgeships to address the "overwhelming caseloads" in the federal courts.
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October 16, 2024
Ex-Judge Aims To Shield Bank Records In Romance Probe
A former U.S. bankruptcy judge is hoping to sink a subpoena from the U.S. Trustee's Office for his banking records in connection with its inquiry into his concealed romantic relationship with a former Jackson Walker LLP partner who appeared before him in a number of cases.
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October 16, 2024
IP Litigation Duo Joins Holland & Knight In Dallas, Denver
Holland & Knight LLP announced that a pair of experienced intellectual property attorneys joined the firm's Dallas and Denver offices as partners following a stint at Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP.
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October 16, 2024
Red States Defend Texas' Standing To Protest Family Parole
Republican states backed Texas' attack on a Biden administration program easing green card access for U.S. citizens' unauthorized family members, telling a Texas federal court that it must give special consideration to Texas' standing to challenge the federal program.
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October 16, 2024
French NBA Star Sues Over Illicit 'Wemby' Merchandise
Reigning NBA Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama has sued a Texas businessman who is allegedly selling merchandise, including T-shirts and candles, bearing his image and nickname "Wemby" without permission.
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October 16, 2024
White & Case Adds Energy Pro In Houston From O'Melveny
White & Case LLP has fortified its global project development and finance practice and bolstered its global energy industry group with a partner in Houston who joined from O'Melveny & Myers LLP.
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October 15, 2024
Boeing Judge Wants DEI Monitor Pick Info Before Plea Ruling
The Texas federal judge overseeing prosecutors' criminal case against The Boeing Co. on Tuesday said he needs more information on a provision of the proposed plea deal regarding how the U.S. Department of Justice would select an independent monitor in compliance with the agency's diversity and inclusion policies.
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October 15, 2024
CFPB Funding Shouldn't Stop Texas' Fraud Suit, Judge Says
A Houston federal magistrate judge has endorsed allowing the state of Texas to proceed with a real estate fraud suit against land developer Colony Ridge, rejecting objections tied in part to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding from Federal Reserve "earnings."
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October 15, 2024
Transport Monopoly Judge Accepts Antitrust Guilty Plea
A Texas federal judge has accepted a guilty plea from one of a dozen individuals in an antitrust case whom the government accused of using violence and intimidation to monopolize cross-border sales of used vehicles and other goods from the U.S. to Central America.
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October 15, 2024
In Pivot, 5th Circ. Gives CFPB Extension In Exam Policy Case
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau can take an extra two weeks to file a brief with the Fifth Circuit in its closely watched appeal of a ruling that struck down the agency's anti-bias examination policies, the circuit court has decided.
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October 15, 2024
Biz Fights Partner's $32.8M Cut Of Texas Migrant Busing Deals
A transportation company sued to vacate an arbitration decision awarding an affiliate a $32.8 million share of migrant busing contracts under Texas' Operation Lone Star, saying the partner can't claim earnings from an initiative that didn't exist when their partnership began.
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October 15, 2024
Texas Regulators Oppose Bid To Open Up Texas Grid Projects
The Public Utility Commission of Texas and three electricity companies have fired back at an independent electric transmission developer's attempt to halt a Texas law reserving new power line development for incumbent transmission companies.
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October 15, 2024
Benefit Cos. Urge Justices Take Up Cert. Fight From 5th Circ.
Three benefit companies urged the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Fifth Circuit decision upholding certification of a class of more than 290,000 workers in a suit alleging excessive health and retirement plan fees, arguing the justices need to iron out a circuit split on standing requirements.
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October 15, 2024
Travis Scott Wants Astroworld Settlement Info Before 1st Trial
Rapper Travis Scott is urging a Texas appeals court to order the Harris County judge overseeing litigation over the deadly 2021 Astroworld festival to require several would-be bellwether plaintiffs to disclose details of their settlement agreements with his co-defendants, writing that his attorneys need the information to prepare for the impending first trial.
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October 15, 2024
Texas Insurance Chief Denies Last-Resort Insurer's Rate Hike
The Texas insurance commissioner rejected a 10% rate hike filed by the state's windstorm insurer of last resort, saying the increase would be unfair because of the hardships it would impose on Texas' coast.
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October 15, 2024
Three Cos. Combine On $3.4B Texas Data Center Complex
Blue Owl Capital, infrastructure firm Crusoe Energy Systems and investor Primary Digital Infrastructure said Tuesday they are pooling $3.4 billion to build a 1 million-square-foot data center campus in Abilene, Texas.
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October 15, 2024
Amazon Prevails In Patent Trial Over Wi-Fi System
A federal jury has found that Amazon didn't infringe certain claims in a trio of wireless network patents, clearing it of allegations relating to some of the e-commerce giant's Wi-Fi enabled devices.
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October 15, 2024
Paralegals Say Texas Personal Injury Law Firm Owes Them OT
A Texas personal injury law firm failed to pay its employees for overtime and tried to put off back pay in order to buy time, nine paralegals said in a proposed collective action filed in federal court on Tuesday.
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October 15, 2024
Paxton Can't Get Sanctions Against Immigrant Rights Org.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton failed to convince a Texas appeals court to sanction an immigrant rights nonprofit for opposing his request for a newly created state appeals court to review his effort to shutter the organization.
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October 15, 2024
Insurer Asks Court To Weigh In On Damaged Embryo Suit
An insurer for a fertility clinic asked a Texas federal court to determine whether it owes coverage for an underlying suit accusing the clinic of knowingly transferring damaged or destroyed embryos into patients.
Expert Analysis
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Bid Protest Spotlight: Misplaced Info, Trade-Offs, Proteges
James Tucker at MoFo examines three recent decisions concerning the consequences of providing solicited information in the wrong section of a bid proposal, the limits of agency discretion in technical merit, best-value trade-off evaluations, and the weight of the experience and capabilities of small businesses in mentor-protégé joint venture qualification.
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Class Action Law Makes An LLC A 'Jurisdictional Platypus'
The applicability of Section 1332(d)(10) of the Class Action Fairness Act is still widely misunderstood — and given the ambiguous nature of limited liability companies, the law will likely continue to confound courts and litigants — so parties should be prepared for a range of outcomes, says Andrew Gunem at Strauss Borrelli.
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Jarkesy Ruling May Redefine Jury Role In Patent Fraud
Regardless of whether the U.S. Supreme Court’s Jarkesy ruling implicates the direction of inequitable conduct, which requires showing that the patentee made material statements or omissions to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the decision has created opportunities for defendants to argue more substantively for jury trials than ever before, say attorneys at Cadwalader.
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3 Leadership Practices For A More Supportive Firm Culture
Traditional leadership styles frequently amplify the inherent pressures of legal work, but a few simple, time-neutral strategies can strengthen the skills and confidence of employees and foster a more collaborative culture, while supporting individual growth and contribution to organizational goals, says Benjamin Grimes at BKG Leadership.
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E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Hyperlinked Documents
Recent rulings show that counsel should engage in early discussions with clients regarding the potential of hyperlinked documents in electronically stored information, which will allow for more deliberate negotiation of any agreements regarding the scope of discovery, say attorneys at Sidley.
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Loper Bright Limits Federal Agencies' Ability To Alter Course
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to dismantle Chevron deference also effectively overrules its 2005 decision in National Cable & Telecommunications Association v. Brand X, greatly diminishing agencies' ability to change regulatory course from one administration to the next, says Steven Gordon at Holland & Knight.
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Defamation Suit Tests Lanham Act's Reach With Influencers
Recently filed in the Northern District of Texas, Prime Hydration v. Garcia, alleging defamation and Lanham Act violations based on the defendant's social media statements about the beverage brand, allows Texas courts and the Fifth Circuit to take the lead in interpreting the act as it applies to influencers, says attorney Susan Jorgensen.
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Series
Teaching Scuba Diving Makes Me A Better Lawyer
As a master scuba instructor, I’ve learned how to prepare for the unexpected, overcome fears and practice patience, and each of these skills – among the many others I’ve developed – has profoundly enhanced my work as a lawyer, says Ron Raether at Troutman Pepper.
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Navigating The Murky Waters Of Patent Infringement Damages
Recent cases show that there is no easy way to isolate an infringed patent’s value, and it would serve all sides well for courts to thoroughly examine expert opinions of this nature and provide consistent guidance for future cases, say Manny Caixeiro and Elizabeth Manno at Venable.
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Lawyers Can Take Action To Honor The Voting Rights Act
As the Voting Rights Act reaches its 59th anniversary Tuesday, it must urgently be reinforced against recent efforts to dismantle voter protections, and lawyers can pitch in immediately by volunteering and taking on pro bono work to directly help safeguard the right to vote, says Anna Chu at We The Action.
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3 Healthcare FCA Deals Provide Self-Disclosure Takeaways
Several civil False Claims Act settlements of alleged healthcare fraud violations over the past year demonstrate that healthcare providers may benefit substantially from voluntarily disclosing potential misconduct to both the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, say Brian Albritton and Raquel Ramirez Jefferson at Phelps Dunbar.
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Opinion
Congress Must Increase Small Biz Ch. 11 Debt Cap
Congress must act to reinstate Subchapter V, which recently sunsetted when the debt threshold to qualify reverted from $7.5 million to just over $3 million, meaning thousands of small businesses will no longer be able to use the means of reorganization, says Daniel Gielchinsky at DGIM Law.
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How Loper Bright Weakens NEPA Enviro Justice Strategy
The National Environmental Policy Act is central to the Biden administration's environmental justice agenda — but the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo casts doubt on the government's ability to rely on NEPA for this purpose, and a pending federal case will test the strategy's limits, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.
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Series
After Chevron: ERISA Challenges To Watch
The end of Chevron deference makes the outcome of Employee Retirement Income Security Act regulatory challenges more uncertain as courts become final arbiters of pending lawsuits about ESG investments, the definition of a fiduciary, unallocated pension forfeitures and discrimination in healthcare plans, says Evelyn Haralampu at Burns & Levinson.
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Justices' Intent Witness Ruling May Be Useful For Defense Bar
At first glance, the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Diaz v. U.S. decision, allowing experts to testify to the mental state of criminal defendants in federal court, gives prosecutors a new tool, but creative white collar defense counsel may be able to use the same tool to their own advantage, say Jack Sharman and Rachel Bragg at Lightfoot Franklin.