October 27, 2016
After the Texas Supreme Court answered certified questions over whether civil penalties are considered damages, the Fifth Circuit on Thursday officially vacated a $1.4 million award against Wal-Mart from optometrists suing the retailer in a long-running case stemming from a dispute over the stores' hours.
June 09, 2015
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has asked the Texas Supreme Court to rule on a question from the Fifth Circuit that penalties stemming from the Texas Optometry Act are exemplary damages and therefore barred under Texas law, after a jury found the retailer pressured optometrists in its stores to stay open longer.
March 06, 2015
The Texas Supreme Court on Friday accepted a certified question from the Fifth Circuit asking it to determine whether optometrists working in Wal-Mart Stores Inc. locations are entitled to civil penalties after a jury found they were pressured by the retailer to stay open longer, in violation of state law.
February 23, 2015
The Fifth Circuit on Friday asked the Texas Supreme Court to determine whether optometrists working in Wal-Mart Stores Inc. locations are entitled to civil penalties after a jury found they were pressured by the retailer to stay open longer, in violation of state law.
August 15, 2014
The Fifth Circuit on Thursday affirmed a jury's finding that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. violated a Texas statute by pressuring its in-store optometrists to stay open longer for customers, but wiped out a $1.4 million penalty against the retailer because the eye doctors who brought the suit didn't suffer economic damages.