Texas

  • May 16, 2024

    Fracking Services Co. Nitro Hits Ch. 11 After IP Trial Loss

    Oil and gas fracking services provider Nitro Fluids LLC filed for Chapter 11 protection in a Texas bankruptcy court with more than $50 million in debt, months after a jury found it had infringed another company's patents.

  • May 15, 2024

    SolarWinds Says SEC's Cyber Breach Suit Goes Too Far

    SolarWinds Corp. on Wednesday asked a Manhattan federal judge to throw out the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's suit accusing the enterprise software company of deceiving investors about its lax cybersecurity, which left it open to a Russian hacking campaign.

  • May 15, 2024

    Real Estate Seller Can't Show He Was Stiffed On Commission

    A Texas appellate court ruled that a man claiming he was cheated out of a commission for assisting in a real estate sale didn't have enough to back up his claims, agreeing Tuesday that a lower court was correct in granting an early win to the property's seller.

  • May 15, 2024

    Texas Judge Won't Halt County's Electioneering Restrictions

    Newly-crafted electioneering rules in Palo Pinto County, Texas, can stay in place as conservative activists pursue an interlocutory appeal of an order denying their motion to block the rules' implementation, a Texas federal judge has ruled.

  • May 15, 2024

    Noncompete Rule Challenge Gets More Backing

    A slew of business groups have thrown their support behind a challenge of the Federal Trade Commission's sweeping ban on noncompete clauses for employees, saying the rule relies on "cherrypicked" data to back a policy preferred by the FTC's majority.

  • May 15, 2024

    MLB, NHL, NBA Doubt Bally Sports Parent Can Reorganize

    The bankrupt parent of Bally Sports-branded regional sports networks touted the extension of a carriage contract with DirecTV Wednesday in Texas bankruptcy court, at the same time that the parent company's partners in major American sports leagues expressed skepticism about its ability to successfully reorganize.

  • May 15, 2024

    Ollie's Can Make $14.6M Stalking-Horse Bid For 99 Cents Only

    Discount retail chain 99 Cents Only received approval Wednesday from a Delaware bankruptcy judge for a $14.6 million stalking-horse bid for 11 of its properties in Texas from Ollie's Bargain Outlet Inc., another discount retailer.

  • May 15, 2024

    Caltech Makes A Deal With Dell, Ending Another Patent Suit

    The California Institute of Technology has reached a settlement in its patent lawsuit against Dell Technologies Inc., the latest deal the school has cut in suits over its data transmission patents in the years after its $1.1 billion verdict against Apple Inc. crashed at the Federal Circuit.

  • May 15, 2024

    House Dems Launch Task Force To Address High Court 'Crisis'

    A group of House Democrats on Wednesday launched a task force seeking to bring more transparency and accountability to the U.S. Supreme Court.

  • May 15, 2024

    Rio Grande Is A 'Creek,' Texas Tells 5th Circ. In Barrier Rehearing

    The state of Texas told the full Fifth Circuit on Wednesday that the Rio Grande is "little more than a creek with an excellent publicist" as it pushed the court to vacate an order that would require it to remove a floating barrier intended to keep migrants out of the country.

  • May 15, 2024

    Tesla Fires Back At Claims It Bullied Retired Law Professor

    Tesla has pushed back against allegations that it tried to bully a retired law professor out of weighing in on an investor suit over CEO Elon Musk's $56 billion compensation plan, according to new filings in Delaware.

  • May 15, 2024

    Hunton Taps Energy Regulatory Chair As Austin, Dallas Head

    Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP has selected its national energy regulatory practice chair to lead two of its Texas offices, the firm announced Wednesday.

  • May 15, 2024

    Toss Of Bonus Bias Claim Too Short On Details, 5th Circ. Says

    The Fifth Circuit has reinstated a Hispanic salesman's claim that he was denied $160,000 in bonuses by a construction contractor out of racial bias after he was fired, ruling the lower court didn't adequately explain why it nixed that allegation.

  • May 14, 2024

    5th Circ. Nixes Catholic Abuse Claimants' Ch. 11 Appeal

    Sex abuse claimants removed from a Catholic archdiocese's bankruptcy unsecured creditors committee don't have grounds for an appeal because they couldn't show the removal was a sanction on them that cost the claimants anything, the Fifth Circuit said.

  • May 14, 2024

    DOJ Says Boeing Violated 737 Max Deferred Prosecution Deal

    Boeing breached its deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice stemming from the deadly 737 Max 8 crashes, but the government hasn't yet decided whether it will criminally prosecute the American aerospace giant for defrauding regulators, the DOJ said in a Texas federal court filing Tuesday.

  • May 14, 2024

    Apache Investors Get First OK On $65M Deal In Drilling Suit

    A U.S. magistrate judge has given the first green light to a $65 million settlement resolving a lawsuit against oil and gas company Apache Corp. filed by investors alleging they were deceived by promises of a potentially lucrative drilling project that ultimately led to a $3 billion write-down when it went bust.

  • May 14, 2024

    5th Circ. Expresses Doubt On Nasdaq Board Diversity Rules

    Lawyers for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Nasdaq Stock Market LLC faced a barrage of questions from the full Fifth Circuit on Tuesday, with judges wondering whether rules requiring corporations to disclose board diversity information would open the door to investor questions on religious practices, political beliefs or Taylor Swift fandom.

  • May 14, 2024

    5th Circ. Judge Says 'Race Science' Not For Courts To Decide

    A Fifth Circuit judge wondered Tuesday whether Galveston County was asking the courts to engage in "race science" as the en banc court weighs whether multiracial or multiethnic voters facing redistricting are protected under the Voting Rights Act.

  • May 14, 2024

    Texas Justices Leave Cities' Franchise-Fee Suit Tossed

    The Texas Supreme Court has refused to vacate a lower appeals court's order that allowed Hulu, Disney and Netflix to escape a lawsuit from 31 municipalities claiming the streaming platforms are required to pay 5% state franchise fees, holding that the municipalities have other remedies available.

  • May 14, 2024

    Texas Think Tank Tells 5th Circ. It's Owed Climate Pledge Info

    The Texas Public Policy Foundation told the Fifth Circuit that it should be allowed access to the names of federal officials involved in creating the Biden administration's climate pledge, arguing the federal government cannot rely on a disclosure exemption designed to protect personal privacy to withhold such information.

  • May 14, 2024

    Tesla Sued By Enviro Group Over Air Pollution At Calif. Plant

    An environmental justice organization filed a citizen action against Tesla on Monday in California federal court alleging that the electric-car maker's plant in Northern California has spewed dangerous pollutants into the air for years and has failed to take sufficient precautions to prevent the emissions.

  • May 14, 2024

    FTC Cleared To Sue Texas Anesthesia Co., But Not PE Firm

    A Texas federal judge highlighted the limits of the Federal Trade Commission's ability to go after private equity firms accused of anti-competitive "roll-up" strategies, tossing antitrust claims against a private equity firm while preserving monopolization allegations against the anesthesia group the firm created.

  • May 14, 2024

    Tort Report: Mass Tort Settlements Beset By Crooked Claims

    Fraud attempts during the settlement claims process for class actions and mass torts highlighted by a new report and an $82 million verdict in a drunk driving crash suit lead Law360's Tort Report, which compiles recent personal injury and medical malpractice news that may have flown under the radar.

  • May 14, 2024

    Energy Cos. Don't Have To Clarify Financier Takeover Claims

    The founders of several Houston energy companies don't have to clarify a state court complaint in which they accuse an equity shareholder and several companies he manages of a scheme to take over their companies and steal millions in their membership interests, a Texas state judge has ruled.

  • May 14, 2024

    Mother Sues American Airlines Over Son's In-Flight Death

    A mother has hit American Airlines with a wrongful death lawsuit, claiming its flight crew members were ill trained and poorly equipped to deal with a medical emergency her teenage son suffered during a flight, according to the complaint filed in Texas federal court.

Expert Analysis

  • Questions Linger Over Texas Business Court's Jurisdiction

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    If parties to a case in Texas' new business court do not agree on whether the court has supplemental jurisdiction over their claims, then those claims may proceed concurrently in another court — creating significant challenges for litigants, and raising questions that have yet to be answered, says Ryan Sullivan at Reichman Jorgensen.

  • Cross-Market Implications In FTC's Anesthesia Complaint

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    The Federal Trade Commission's recent complaint against a private equity firm's acquisition of anesthesiology practices highlights the controversial issue of cross-market harm in health care provider mergers, and could provide important insights into how a court may view such theories of harm, say Christopher Lau and Dina Older Aguilar at Cornerstone Research.

  • AI Can Help Lawyers Overcome The Programming Barrier

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    Legal professionals without programming expertise can use generative artificial intelligence to harness the power of automation and other technology solutions to streamline their work, without the steep learning curve traditionally associated with coding, says George Zalepa at Greenberg Traurig.

  • 10 Essential Bankruptcy Litigation Tips For In-House Counsel

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    Bankruptcy litigation is a complex and multifaceted area of law that poses unique challenges for in-house counsel, and there are several tools at legal professionals' disposal, like appraisals and understanding jurisdictions, to stay well-informed and protect their companies' interests, says Alison Ashmore at Dykema.

  • Total Stay Of CFPB Small Biz Data Rule Is Boon To Lenders

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    The Southern District of Texas’ nationwide halt of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Small Business Lending Rule would end if the CFPB wins a pending U.S. Supreme Court case, but the interim pause allows valuable extra time for financial institutions to plan their compliance strategies, say attorneys at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Why The Effect Of Vivint Has Been Minimal

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    A survey of recent ex parte reexamination decisions since the Federal Circuit’s 2021 In re: Vivint decision appears to support the court’s conclusion that the ruling was limited in scope and would have limited impact, says Yao Wang at Fish & Richardson.

  • Opinion

    What 5th Circ. Uncrewed Aircraft Systems Ruling Got Wrong

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    The Fifth Circuit’s recent ruling in National Press Photographers Association v. McGraw threatens to dilute the First Amendment rights of photographers using uncrewed aircraft systems and undermine federal control of the airspace, and is indicative of how other courts may misinterpret the Federal Aviation Administration's new fact sheet down the line, say attorneys at Wiley Rein.

  • What Texas Business Court Could Mean For Oil, Gas Cases

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    While the new business court in Texas might seem an ideal venue for the numerous oil and gas disputes litigated in that state, many of these cases may remain outside its reach under the rules governing the court's jurisdiction — at least for now, say Conrad Hester and Emily Fitzgerald at Alston & Bird.

  • Preparing Law Students For A New, AI-Assisted Legal World

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    As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms the legal landscape, law schools must integrate technology and curricula that address AI’s innate challenges — from ethics to data security — to help students stay ahead of the curve, say Daniel Garrie at Law & Forensics, Ryan Abbott at JAMS and Karen Silverman at Cantellus Group.

  • SEC Fines Mean Cos. Should Review Anti-Whistleblower Docs

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    The Securities and Exchange Commission’s expanding focus on violations of whistleblower protection laws — as seen in recent settlements where company contracts forbade workers from reporting securities misconduct — means companies should review their employment and separation agreements for language that may discourage reporting, says Caroline Henry at Maynard Nexsen.

  • SolarWinds Ushers In New Era Of SEC Cyber Enforcement

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent lawsuit against software company SolarWinds Corp. and its chief information security officer is the first time the SEC has ever filed suit over scienter-based fraud involving cybersecurity failures, illustrating that both companies and CISOs need to be extra cautious in how they describe their cybersecurity practices, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

  • General Counsel Need Data Literacy To Keep Up With AI

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    With the rise of accessible and powerful generative artificial intelligence solutions, it is imperative for general counsel to understand the use and application of data for myriad important activities, from evaluating the e-discovery process to monitoring compliance analytics and more, says Colin Levy at Malbek.

  • A Look At Successful Bid Protests In FY 2023

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    Attorneys at Sheppard Mullin look beyond the statistics in the U.S. Government Accountability Office’s recent annual report on bid protests, sharing their insights about nine categories of sustained protests, gained from reading every fiscal year 2023 decision in which the protester had a positive result.

  • Navigating Discovery Of Generative AI Information

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    As generative artificial intelligence tools become increasingly ubiquitous, companies must make sure to preserve generative AI data when there is reasonable expectation of litigation, and to include transcripts in litigation hold notices, as they may be relevant to discovery requests, say Nick Peterson and Corey Hauser at Wiley.

  • FDA's Lab-Developed Test Rule May Bring Historic Challenges

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    If finalized, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's proposed rule for regulating laboratory-developed tests will provoke some of the most interesting legal challenges that the agency has faced in decades, with outcomes that will likely reverberate across the agency's product centers, says Stacy Amin at MoFo.

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