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May 22, 2024
Cancer Patients Target J&J Talc Unit's Asset Shuffles
Cancer patients who have sued Johnson & Johnson alleging that its talcum powder caused their illness alleged Wednesday that the company has tried to intentionally prevent tort victims from getting their day in court through a scheme of fraudulent corporate transactions.
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May 22, 2024
PTAB Finds Inergy's Chip Patent Challenges 'Compelling'
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has decided to review Force Mos Technology chip patents, saying it won't rely on a 2020 precedent to discretionarily deny challenges by Inergy Technology Inc. in light of a looming district court trial because the petitions raise "compelling evidence of unpatentability."
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May 22, 2024
Justices' CFPB Alliance May Save SEC Courts, Not Chevron
A four-justice concurrence to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision upholding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's unique funding scheme last week carries implications for other cases pending before the court that challenge the so-called administrative state, or the permanent cadre of regulatory agencies and career government enforcers who hold sway over vast swaths of American economic life.
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May 22, 2024
Solar Cell Duties May Inadvertently Crush Domestic Industry
A bevy of new duty rules on solar cell imports from Asia, coupled with a government investigation instigated by domestic producers unconventionally claiming to protect future homegrown manufacturing, could backfire on the Biden administration's efforts to boost the nascent domestic sector.
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May 22, 2024
Energy Contractor Can't Get Quick Appeal In 401(k) Suit
A Texas federal judge refused to allow an energy contractor to immediately appeal a decision declining to dismiss a proposed class action accusing it of stacking its retirement plan with underperforming funds, saying allowing the Fifth Circuit to weigh in now would only slow down the litigation.
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May 22, 2024
Developer Had No Duty To Verify Flood Model, Court Hears
A Houston-area developer indicated before a state appeals court Wednesday that the consequences of entering a judgment in favor of more than 400 homeowners whose properties flooded during Hurricane Harvey would be catastrophic, as their claims boil down to the developer's alleged failure to double-check modeling conducted by an outside consultant.
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May 22, 2024
GOP State Leaders Tell Justices Mexico Can't Sue Gunmakers
Republican attorneys general of 26 states plus the Arizona Legislature have urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a First Circuit decision that revived a lawsuit filed by the Mexican government seeking to hold the firearms industry responsible for drug cartel violence due to weapons trafficked across the border.
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May 22, 2024
Uvalde Families Ink $2M Deal With City Over School Shooting
The families of 19 victims of the deadly May 2022 shooting at Robb Elementary School announced Wednesday that they've reached a presuit settlement with the city of Uvalde, Texas, that includes $2 million in payments to the families and commitments to better train police officers in their shooting responses.
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May 22, 2024
House Dems Launch Price-Fixing Probe Of Oil Giants
U.S. Congressman Frank Pallone Jr., as ranking member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, revealed Wednesday that he has launched an investigation into seven oil and gas companies over growing concerns that they are illegally colluding to artificially inflate gas prices.
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May 22, 2024
Texas Attys Get Green Light To Charge Subscription Fees
An opinion recently issued by the Professional Ethics Committee of the State Bar of Texas gives Lone Star State lawyers the go-ahead to offer subscription-based legal services so long as the arrangement doesn't result in the charging of an "unconscionable fee."
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May 22, 2024
Dallas-Based PE Firm Clinches $285M Fund Above Target
Dallas-based private equity shop Riata Capital Group on Wednesday announced that it clinched its second private equity fund above target with $285 million in tow.
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May 22, 2024
Tommy's Boats Hits Ch. 11 After Alleged M&T Bank Default
Boat and water sports retailer Tommy's Boats has filed for Chapter 11 protection in Texas bankruptcy court, listing up to $500 million in debt after allegedly breaching an agreement with lender M&T Bank.
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May 21, 2024
Texas Panel Says Mallory Ruling Has No Home There
A Texas appellate court has upheld a ruling preventing a Dallas car repair services company from litigating a trade secrets case there against a Michigan rival over allegedly hiring away a former executive, holding that the U.S. Supreme Court's Mallory decision last year doesn't do much in Texas.
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May 21, 2024
Feds Tell 5th Circ. To Ignore Park Skirmish In Razor Wire Row
The federal government urged the Fifth Circuit to ignore a series of events surrounding concertina wire fencing Texas has erected along the U.S.-Mexico border, arguing the fight over a park has no bearing on whether a district court was wrong in refusing to ban border patrol agents from cutting the barrier.
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May 21, 2024
Full 5th Circ. Urged To Rethink Blocking Student Loan Rule
The U.S. Department of Education has asked the full Fifth Circuit to reconsider a recent preliminary injunction a three-judge panel ordered blocking changes to a program providing student loan forgiveness to borrowers defrauded by higher education institutions. It said the panel wrongly held that the department doesn't have the authority to determine whether a borrower has a valid defense to repayment.
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May 21, 2024
Banks Urged To Vote Out Exxon Leaders Who Sued Investors
A group of state and city financial officials sent letters to some of the biggest banks and asset managers Tuesday urging them to vote against Exxon Mobil Corp.'s CEO and lead independent director at an upcoming annual meeting because of the company's lawsuit against a pair of environmentally minded activist investors.
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May 21, 2024
EEOC Guidance Over Gender Identity Can't Stand, Texas Says
The Texas attorney general requested Tuesday that a federal judge do away with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's enforcement guidance over gender identity and Title VII, arguing that the agency must be stopped from requiring employers' compliance with pronoun and bathroom accommodations.
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May 21, 2024
Texas Court Questions Luxottica On 'Playing Favorites' In Sale
A Texas appellate court on Tuesday asked whether an eyewear conglomerate was "playing favorites by not disclosing" alleged fraud by its franchisees in a sale of two stores to other franchisees, questioning Luxottica's assertion it had to keep its hands off the transaction.
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May 21, 2024
NYC Pension Funds Call For 'No' Vote On Musk's Tesla Pay
Five New York City pension funds have joined with seven other Tesla Inc. institutional investors in calls for stockholders to vote down CEO Elon Musk's once-$56 billion compensation plan and vote out two board allies, branding the pay excessive and the two directors too close to Musk.
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May 21, 2024
OSHA Hit With Constitutional Challenge To Walkaround Rule
A dozen business groups led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce sued the Occupational Safety and Health Administration over the so-called walkaround rule in Texas federal court Tuesday, challenging the constitutionality of a two-month-old regulation that expanded workers' right to bring in outside representatives during job safety inspections.
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May 21, 2024
GAO Denies Sysco's Protest Of Up-To $126M Subsistence Deal
The U.S. Government Accountability Office denied a Sysco unit's protest of an up-to $126 million defense subsistence supply deal, saying the company failed to show the Defense Logistics Agency had to consider the awardee's performance on a similar interim deal.
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May 21, 2024
Counties Not 'Persons' In Texas Opioid MDL Appeal
A Texas appeals panel found Tuesday that counties are not considered "persons" under the state's common law and therefore are not subject to the Texas Medical Liability Act's requirement that they serve expert reports to pharmacy defendants in the state's opioid multidistrict litigation.
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May 21, 2024
20 States Challenge Biden Admin's NEPA Rule
A group of 20 states sued the Biden administration's Council on Environmental Quality on Tuesday in North Dakota federal court, challenging a recent environmental permitting rule they claim unlawfully changes the National Environmental Policy Act's review procedures "into a substantive set of requirements to achieve broad and vague policy goals."
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May 21, 2024
22 States Tell 11th Circ. Corp. Transparency Act Goes Too Far
The federal Corporate Transparency Act unconstitutionally displaces state authority and its enforcement would economically harm states and their residents, attorneys general from 22 states told the Eleventh Circuit, urging it to uphold a ruling that struck down the law.
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May 21, 2024
PE Firms Close Separate Funds With Nearly $1.3B Total In Tow
Winston & Strawn LLP-advised private equity shop Paceline Equity Partners LLC and Kirkland & Ellis LLP-advised private equity firm Eir Partners on Tuesday separately announced that they have clinched funds totaling nearly $1.3 billion combined, with the former's fund focusing on corporate debt and real assets and the latter's targeting healthcare technology investments.
Expert Analysis
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Discord Stock Case Toss Means Little For Fraud Defendants
A Texas federal court’s recent dismissal of fraud charges related to a "pump and dump" scheme on Discord is an outlier after the U.S. Supreme Court scrapped the right-to-control theory of fraud last year, and ultimately won't deter the government from pursuing routine securities prosecutions, says William Johnston at Bird Marella.
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How DEI Programs Are Being Challenged In Court And Beyond
In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's affirmative action decision last year declaring the consideration of race in university admissions unconstitutional, employers should keep abreast of recent litigation challenging diversity, equity and inclusion training programs, as well as legislation both supporting and opposing DEI initiatives in the workplace, say attorneys at Skadden.
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Comparing Corporate Law In Delaware, Texas And Nevada
With Elon Musk's recent decision to reincorporate his companies outside of Delaware, and with more businesses increasingly considering Nevada and Texas as corporate homes, attorneys at Baker Botts look at each jurisdiction's foundation of corporate law, and how the differences can make each more or less appealing based on a corporation's needs.
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What Minority Biz Law Ruling Could Mean For Private DEI
A Texas federal court’s recent decision to strike down key provisions of the Minority Business Development Act illustrates the wide-reaching effects of the U.S. Supreme Court's 2023 Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard decision across legal contexts, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.
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Why Fed. Circ. Should Resolve District Split On Patent Statute
A split exists among district courts in their analysis of when marking cannot be done on a patented article due to its character, and the Federal Circuit should consider clarifying the analysis of Section 287(a), a consequential statute with important implications for patent damages, say Nicholas Nowak and Jamie Dohopolski at Sterne Kessler.
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Practicing Law With Parkinson's Disease
This Parkinson’s Awareness Month, Adam Siegler at Greenberg Traurig discusses his experience working as a lawyer with Parkinson’s disease, sharing both lessons on how to cope with a diagnosis and advice for supporting colleagues who live with the disease.
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Texas Hair Bias Ruling Does Not Give Employers A Pass
A Texas state court’s recent decision, holding that a school could discipline a student with locs for refusing to cut his hair, should not be interpreted by employers as a license to implement potentially discriminatory grooming policies, says Dawn Holiday at Jackson Walker.
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Why Incorporating By Reference Is Rarely Good Practice
The Federal Circuit’s recent ruling in Promptu Systems v. Comcast serves as a reminder that while incorporating by reference may seem efficient, it is generally prohibited by courts and can lead to sanctions when used to bypass a word count limit, says Cullen Seltzer at Sands Anderson.
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Series
Playing Hockey Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Nearly a lifetime of playing hockey taught me the importance of avoiding burnout in all aspects of life, and the game ultimately ended up providing me with the balance I needed to maintain success in my legal career, says John Riccione at Taft.
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ESG Challenges In Focus After Sierra Club Opposes SEC Rule
The Sierra Club's recent objection to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's climate-related disclosures for investors presents an unusual — pro-disclosure — legal challenge and an opportunity to take a close look at the varying critiques of ESG regulations, say Colin Pohlman, and Jane Luxton and Paul Kisslinger at Lewis Brisbois.
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For Lawyers, Pessimism Should Be A Job Skill, Not A Life Skill
A pessimistic mindset allows attorneys to be effective advocates for their clients, but it can come with serious costs for their personal well-being, so it’s crucial to exercise strategies that produce flexible optimism and connect lawyers with their core values, says Krista Larson at Stinson.
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5th Circ. Clarifies What Is And Isn't A 'New Use' Of PFAS
The Fifth Circuit's March 21 decision in Inhance Technologies v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, preventing the EPA from regulating existing uses of PFAS under "significant new use" provisions of the Toxic Substances Control Act, provides industry with much-needed clarity, say Joseph Schaeffer and Sloane Wildman at Babst Calland.
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Timing Is Key For Noninfringing Alternatives In Patent Cases
A Texas district court’s recent ruling in Smart Path Connections v. Nokia may affect the timing of expert disclosures and opinion regarding noninfringing alternatives in patent infringement litigation, for both defendants and plaintiffs, says Alexander Clemons at Ocean Tomo.
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Opinion
Requiring Leave To File Amicus Briefs Is A Bad Idea
A proposal to amend the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure that would require parties to get court permission before filing federal amicus briefs would eliminate the long-standing practice of consent filing and thereby make the process less open and democratic, says Lawrence Ebner at the Atlantic Legal Foundation and DRI Center.
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2 Recent Suits Show Resiliency Of Medicare Drug Price Law
Though pharmaceutical companies continue to file lawsuits challenging the Inflation Reduction Act, which enables the federal government to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices, recent decisions suggest that the reduced drug prices are likely here to stay, says Jose Vela Jr. at Clark Hill.