Texas

  • December 16, 2024

    'Plans Do Matter,' Tempur Sealy Says In Final Merger Hearing

    Tempur Sealy made its final push Monday in support of its $4 billion planned Mattress Firm purchase, telling a judge during closing arguments that the Federal Trade Commission hadn't shown that the company planned to deviate from its intent for Mattress Firm to remain autonomous. 

  • December 16, 2024

    Congress Sends Biden Another Bill To Help Federal Courts

    The House voted 390-0 Monday evening in favor of a bipartisan bill to make permanent 10 judgeships across the country, including in Texas, Florida and California, and the bill now goes to the president's desk.

  • December 16, 2024

    House Clears Bills To Promote Broadband, Wireless

    The U.S. House passed three bills Monday aimed at easing broadband deployment and bolstering U.S. leadership in wireless industries.

  • December 16, 2024

    High Court Faces Dueling Views Over EPA Rule Fights

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday was presented with dueling arguments over whether the bulk of judicial challenges to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency air pollution rules should remain in the D.C. Circuit or can be heard in other, regional circuit courts.

  • December 16, 2024

    Cos. Urge Judge To Maintain Injunction On Transparency Law

    A Texas federal judge doesn't need to stay his preliminary injunction on the rollout of new corporate transparency rules while the U.S. government's appeal of his decision is pending at the Fifth Circuit, a business lobbying group and others said Monday.

  • December 16, 2024

    NBA Star's Restaurant Blamed For Drunk-Driving Deaths

    A Houston restaurant owned by NBA star James Harden overserved alcohol to a man who got behind the wheel and killed himself and six other people, including a former NFL player, according to petitions filed in Texas state court.

  • December 16, 2024

    SEC Wants Out Of PE Firm's 'Fishing Expedition' Suit

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has asked a Texas federal judge to toss a suit brought by a real estate-focused private equity fund alleging the SEC subjected it to an unconstitutional "fishing expedition" outside its regulatory purview, arguing that sovereign immunity bars the firm's claims and that the court has no jurisdiction over the case.

  • December 16, 2024

    Jay-Z Flags 'Glaring Inconsistencies' In Buzbee Rape Claims

    Counsel for Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter told a New York federal judge Friday that new media reports reveal "glaring inconsistencies" in an anonymous woman's rape allegations against the rapper and fellow music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs, suggesting that her attorney Tony Buzbee deserves sanctions for failing to vet the claims.

  • December 16, 2024

    Atty Seeks To Escape Hurricane Ad Suit Against Texas Firm

    A Houston-area lawyer is asking a Texas federal court to let him out of a proposed class action involving allegedly deceptive advertising targeting hurricane victims, saying discovery has closed, and the plaintiff has come up empty-handed in finding proof that he "solicited" her in violation of Lone Star State barratry laws.

  • December 16, 2024

    Texas Courts Eye 'Living Wage' Hikes For Support Staff

    Court support and clerk's office personnel in Texas should receive pay at levels that at least amount to a living wage in their counties to fight attrition, the Texas Judicial Council heard, and a novel "time study" is needed to determine each jurisdiction's staffing needs.

  • December 16, 2024

    Justices Preserve Calif. Vehicle Emissions Autonomy

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review whether the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has the authority to allow California to set its own greenhouse gas emissions standards for vehicles, a power red states had challenged as unconstitutional.

  • December 13, 2024

    Real Estate Recap: New Mapping, Terrorism, What We Learned

    Catch up on this past week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including a new state-by-state mapping tool for real estate practitioners, one BigLaw attorney's view of terrorism liability safeguards for commercial real estate, and takeaways from the multifamily and life sciences sectors in 2024.

  • December 13, 2024

    Texas Panel Prods Harrison County About Tank Leakage

    A Texas appeals court judge on Friday questioned whether Harrison County is seizing on a legal ambiguity to avoid required testing of underground storage tanks, saying its loose interpretation of the word "year" in a state law "doesn't sound like a very good idea."

  • December 13, 2024

    5th Circ. Revives Challenge To Dallas Flood Project

    A Texas federal judge jumped the gun dismissing two Dallas property owners' claims that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has failed to fully analyze the potential impacts of a flood control project in the city, a Fifth Circuit panel said Friday.

  • December 13, 2024

    Del. Chancellor Positions Musk Pay Fight For Likely Appeal

    Delaware's chancellor positioned for likely appeals late Friday final pieces of a landmark six-year battle over Tesla Inc.'s attempt to award CEO Elon Musk a more than $55 billion, 10-year pay package, in a trio of orders that also directed the company to pay in cash or post sufficient bond for a $345 million stockholder attorney fee.

  • December 13, 2024

    New Evidence Allows Doctor's Questioning In Zeta DQ Bid

    Transocean's attorneys will now have the chance to question a doctor at the center of a rival law firm's disqualification bid, after a Houston judge told the parties Friday that she received evidence from the crew member plaintiffs that "significantly changes" the issue.

  • December 13, 2024

    DOL Board Says Agency Can Revoke Prior H-2B Registrations

    The Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals has affirmed a U.S. Department of Labor officer's decision to deny a Texas fabrication company's request to temporarily hire dozens of foreign metalworkers and to revoke its previously approved registration number for the H-2B visa program.

  • December 13, 2024

    Texas AG Sues NY Doctor Over Telehealth Abortion Script

    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued a New York doctor who founded the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine in the Lone Star State Friday, accusing the physician of violating Texas state abortion laws by providing abortion-inducing prescription drugs to a Texas resident via telehealth.

  • December 13, 2024

    After 36 Years, Texas Chief Justice Reflects On 'End Of An Era'

    Chief Justice Nathan L. Hecht is unsure what his life will look like in a month, but he knows that hanging up his robe after 36 years on the Texas Supreme Court isn't goodbye.

  • December 13, 2024

    4 Firms Rep On Rent-A-Center Owner's $460M Brigit Deal

    Rent-A-Center owner Upbound Group Inc. has agreed to acquire financial technology company Brigit for up to $460 million, with Sullivan & Cromwell LLP and Mayer Brown LLP guiding Upbound and Cooley LLP and Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP representing Brigit.

  • December 12, 2024

    BakerHostetler Can't Ditch RICO Claims In Bankruptcy Fight

    A Texas bankruptcy judge Wednesday trimmed fraud and legal malpractice claims alleging BakerHostetler aided a $100 million insurance fraud scheme, but he refused to throw out civil racketeering claims, finding that the allegations are "well-pleaded," and he must assume, for now, that they're true.

  • December 12, 2024

    Judge Says Pay Owed After Texas Co. Benched H-1B Worker

    A Department of Labor judge said a Houston engineering company owes a former H-1B worker nearly $57,000 in wages since it "benched" the worker without pay for months after a third-party contract collapsed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • December 12, 2024

    Incora's Opt-Outs Not Like Class Actions, US Trustee Says

    The U.S. Trustee's Office on Thursday objected to the third-party releases in the Chapter 11 plan from aircraft parts supplier Incora, arguing in a Texas bankruptcy court that the opt-out mechanism for the releases is not comparable to class action procedures.

  • December 12, 2024

    Coke Zero Sweetener Co. Asks Justices To Hear Patent Feud

    The company that developed the artificial sweetener used in Coke Zero wants to keep patents that were filed at the patent office after the drinks went on sale, telling the U.S. Supreme Court that Federal Circuit judges who thought otherwise were prioritizing their "own decisions over Congress's judgment."

  • December 12, 2024

    Calif. Judge Kills Software Patent Suit Under Alice

    A California federal judge on Thursday threw out a patent infringement lawsuit by a bankrupt startup against one of Salesforce's brands, saying the claims in the patents didn't pass muster under the test laid out in the U.S. Supreme Court's Alice decision.

Expert Analysis

  • AV Compliance Is Still A State-By-State Slog — For Now

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    While the incoming Trump administration has hinted at new federal regulations governing autonomous vehicles, for now, AV manufacturers must take a state-by-state approach to compliance with safety requirements — paying particular attention to states that require express authorization for AV operation, say attorneys at Frost Brown.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: 1 Type Of Case Complexity Stands Out

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    In contrast to some cases that appear complex due to voluminous evidence or esoteric subject matter, a different kind of complexity involves tangled legal and factual questions, each with a range of possible outcomes, which require a “sliding scale” approach instead of syllogistic reasoning, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • How Litigation, Supply Chains Buffeted Offshore Wind In 2024

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    U.S. offshore wind developers continue to face a range of challenges — including litigation brought by local communities and interest groups, ongoing supply chain issues, and a lack of interconnection and transmission infrastructure — in addition to uncertainty surrounding federal energy policy under the second Trump administration, say attorneys at Liskow & Lewis.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Note 3 Simple Types Of Legal Complexity

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    Cases can appear complex for several reasons — due to the number of issues, the volume of factual and evidentiary sources, and the sophistication of those sources — but the same basic technique can help lawyers tame their arguments into a simple and persuasive message, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • Permitting, Offtake Among Offshore Wind Challenges In 2024

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    Although federal offshore wind development started to pick up this year, many challenges to the industry became apparent as well — including slow federal permitting, the pitfalls of restarting permits after changes in project status, and the difficulties of negotiating economically viable offtake agreements, say attorneys at Liskow & Lewis.

  • Series

    Gardening Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Beyond its practical and therapeutic benefits, gardening has bolstered important attributes that also apply to my litigation practice, including persistence, patience, grit and authenticity, says Christopher Viceconte at Gibbons.

  • How Trump's 2nd Term May Alter The Immigration Landscape

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    Rhetoric from Donald Trump's campaign and his choice of hardline appointees indicate that a more restrictive and punitive approach to immigration is in our immediate future, especially in areas like humanitarian relief, nonimmigrant visa processing, and travel and green card eligibility, says John Quill at Mintz.

  • Equitable Mootness Insights From Greenlit Ch. 11 Plan Appeal

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    A Texas federal court recently allowed a challenge to ConvergeOne's Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan to proceed because it wouldn't disrupt the IT company's confirmed plan or harm creditors, reinforcing the importance of judicial restraint in applying equitable mootness where limited relief is possible, say attorneys at Parkins & Rubio.

  • Litigation Inspiration: Reframing Document Review

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    For attorneys — new ones especially — there is much fulfillment to find in document review by reflecting on how important, interesting and pleasant it can be, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

  • Opinion

    FTC Actions In Oil Cases Go Against Its Own Rulemaking

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    Two recent Federal Trade Commission actions concerning the oil and gas industry appear to defy its own merger guidelines, with allegations that fall far short of the commission's own standard — raising serious questions about the agency's current approach, say attorneys at Clifford Chance.

  • Series

    Flying Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Achieving my childhood dream of flying airplanes made me a better lawyer — and a better person — because it taught me I can conquer difficult goals when I leave my comfort zone, focus on the demands of the moment and commit to honing my skills, says Ivy Cadle at Baker Donelson.

  • Post-Election Implications For The EPA's Methane Rules

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    Amid the U.S. Supreme Court's recent denial of requests to halt implementation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's methane rule in two suits, and given the outcome of the election, a complete reversal of the methane rule is expected, but state-level policymaking and enforcement will continue, says John Watson at Spencer Fane.

  • 'Reverse Redlining' Suit Reveals Language Risks For Lenders

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    The Justice Department's case against consumer finance provider Colony Ridge highlights the government's focus on lending to consumers with limited English proficiency and the risks of generating marketing materials in other languages while conducting actual transactions in English, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • Series

    Circus Arts Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    Performing circus arts has strengthened my ability to be more thoughtful, confident and grounded, all of which has enhanced my legal practice and allowed me to serve clients in a more meaningful way, says Bailey McGowan at Stinson.

  • Crypto Cos. Add New Play In Their Offense Against SEC

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    Consensys and Crypto.com have adopted a novel strategy of preempting U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement actions by moving to crypto-friendly Texas and filing declaratory lawsuits challenging the SEC's jurisdiction to regulate crypto-assets — an aggressive approach that may pay off, say attorneys at Herrick Feinstein.

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