Law Firm Says Insurer Burned Limits On Thin Defense

By Danielle Ferguson

A Texas law firm facing multiple barratry lawsuits fought for its case alleging its insurer improperly cut off defense funding for the underlying suits, telling a federal court the insurer burned through the policy limit on activities that provided "little or no meaningful benefit" to the firm's defense.

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Texas Appeals Court Flips $34M Verdict In Hospital Suit

By Spencer Brewer

A Texas appeals court wiped out a $34 million verdict against a healthcare company Thursday, saying the trial court interpreted the parties' contract incorrectly and the company did not breach its agreement with a private orthopedic practice group.

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XAI Can't Send Grok User's Privacy Suit To Texas, Judge Says

By Gina Kim

Elon Musk's xAI lost its bid to have a Grok user's proposed privacy class action sent to Texas, after a California federal judge ruled Thursday that Grok's platform, including its sign-up and chat screens, doesn't give reasonably conspicuous notice of its terms containing a mandatory forum selection clause. 

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Texas Man Cops To Role In $43M Tax Shelter Scheme

By Zak Kostro

A Texas man pled guilty to conspiring to defraud the IRS by promoting and selling a fraudulent tax shelter in a scheme that resulted in a tax loss to the federal government of approximately $43 million, the U.S. Department of Justice said Thursday.

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United Asks Justices To Void 'Destabilizing' Vax Bias Class

By Linda Chiem

United Airlines has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a "destabilizing" Fifth Circuit ruling preserving class certification for workers who sued the airline for religious discrimination after they opposed United's COVID-19 vaccine mandate and were placed on unpaid leave.

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Full 5th Circ. Moots Challenge Of Trump's Use Of Enemies Act

By Rae Ann Varona

The full Fifth Circuit Thursday tossed three Venezuelan nationals' lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump's use of a 1798 wartime law to try to deport them and other Venezuelans, saying the proposed class case was now moot after the government deported them without invoking the law.

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5th Circ. Restores Parts Of Hotly Contested Texas Voter Law

By Craig Clough

The Fifth Circuit on Wednesday reversed a lower court ruling that blocked several provisions of Texas' 2021 election law on the grounds they make voting harder for those with disabilities, holding the plaintiffs had failed to establish standing for most of their claims and rejecting the remaining claim on the merits.

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Lilly Claims 6 Vendors Illegally Sold Obesity Drug Candidate

By Gianna Ferrarin

Eli Lilly & Co. hit a medical spa business, compounding pharmacy and a group of chemical suppliers with claims they're illegally selling an obesity drug candidate Lilly is researching, telling California and Texas federal courts the alleged "black market" sales threaten public health.

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Cheer Competition Organizers Settle Antitrust Fight

By Ganesh Setty

Cheerleading competition organizers at odds with the U.S. All Star Federation Inc. have told a Texas federal court they've reached a settlement to resolve all pending antitrust claims they asserted against the governing body.

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Via Renewables Buyout Suit Survives Dismissal Bid In Del.

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court has refused to dismiss a stockholder suit challenging Via Renewables Inc. founder William K. Maxwell III's $11-per-share take-private deal, finding it reasonably conceivable that key minority stockholder protections came too late in the negotiations.

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BNY Should Face Stanford Ponzi Suit In NJ, Judge Says

By Sydney Price

A Texas federal judge recommended that a class action alleging the Bank of New York Mellon's involvement in R. Allen Stanford's Ponzi scheme be removed to New Jersey, saying the claims do not belong within the wider multidistrict litigation.

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DOJ Backs X Corp.'s 5th Circ. Advertiser Boycott Appeal

By Bryan Koenig

The U.S. Justice Department backed X Corp. on Wednesday by arguing in a Fifth Circuit amicus brief that a Texas federal judge botched the antitrust injury analysis when tossing a lawsuit accusing Mars, CVS, Nestle, Lego, Tyson Foods and other advertisers of agreeing to boycott the social media platform after Elon Musk's purchase.

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5th Circ. Narrows Tax Break Ruling For Limited Partners

By Kat Lucero

A Fifth Circuit panel revised its ruling in a long-running feud over the self-employment tax exclusion for certain business partners, adjusting its interpretation of "limited partner" and narrowing its finding that a state's limited liability designation triggers the tax break.

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5th Circ. Nixes Fed Approval For Offshore Oil Export Port

By Tom Lotshaw

A Fifth Circuit panel overturned a license approval for a deepwater port off Texas, ruling that the Trump administration failed to properly consider how a pipeline serving the offshore crude oil export facility would intersect a pipeline for another approved port.

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Lurin Judge Voices Doubts About Ch. 11 Plan

By Emily Lever

A Texas bankruptcy judge Thursday declined to make a decision on the disclosure statement of an insolvent affiliate of real estate company Lurin LLC, saying he had doubts as to whether the debtor should proceed with a plan.

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777 Partners Gets New DIP Offer After Contentious Hearing

By Alex Wittenberg

Investment firm 777 Partners told a Texas bankruptcy judge on Thursday that it had received a competing offer to fund its Chapter 11 case, two days after the judge ended a hearing on the company's bankruptcy financing by imploring the debtors to come up with an alternative proposal.

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Skadden Energy Litigator Joins Blank Rome In Houston

By Adrian Cruz

Blank Rome LLP announced that an experienced Houston-based attorney with a focus on the energy industry has joined the firm's business litigation practice from Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP.

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Series

Going To Hardcore Shows Makes Me A Better Lawyer

While government contracts law and the hardcore scene may seem entirely unrelated, in my experience, both are about community, focus, being prepared for the unexpected and managing chaos, says Isaac Natter at Fluet.

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Anti-DEI Group Asks FTC To Probe Law Fellowship Program

By Dorothy Atkins

An advocacy organization against diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives filed an antitrust complaint with the Federal Trade Commission Wednesday, accusing Sponsors for Educational Opportunity of engaging in anticompetitive practices by allegedly colluding on DEI metrics and falsely advertising its program.

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Baker Botts Atty Cleared Of Defamation In Inventor's Suit

By Carolina Bolado

A Florida federal judge on Thursday tossed a defamation claim against a Baker Botts LLP patent attorney after agreeing with a magistrate judge's conclusion that an inventor had not shown that the lawyer's comments to a reporter were defamatory.

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NYC Bar Committee Calls For Nationwide AI Rules Framework

By Andrea Keckley

A New York City Bar Association committee concluded in a policy paper published Wednesday that artificial intelligence tools "may assist legal work but cannot substitute for professional legal judgment," calling for a national framework to be built into the Model Rules of Professional Conduct governing its use.

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Trump Picks Ex-Arkansas SG, Walmart Lawyer For 8th Circ.

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump has announced that he's looking to elevate Judge Lee Rudofsky of the Eastern District of Arkansas to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

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State Farm Attys Admit Filing Motions Full Of AI Hallucinations

By Jonathan Capriel

A law firm representing State Farm has admitted that its pretrial motions contained citations to nonexistent cases and legal quotes, errors that were seemingly "hallucinations" generated by AI software designed for lawyers and caught by the plaintiff's attorneys as they prepared for trial in a California state court case about fire damage coverage.

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Brief

DOJ Fraud Division To Reach 500 Staffers This Month

By Courtney Bublé

By the end of the month, there will be about 500 attorneys and staff in the U.S. Department of Justice's new fraud division, with more to come as time goes on.

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JP Ward Attorney Exodus Delays Pa. Labor Trafficking Suit

By Matthew Santoni

A "staffing disruption" at the Pittsburgh law firm J.P. Ward & Associates led the firm to request a stay of a labor-trafficking case against hotels in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, after the firm was reduced to one attorney and two staff members, according to court filings.

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