Texas

  • January 09, 2025

    Texas Oil Well Operator's Ch. 11 Plan Approved With Releases

    Oil well operator Independence Contract Drilling received approval Thursday from a Texas bankruptcy judge for its Chapter 11 reorganization plan, which includes consensual third-party releases.

  • January 09, 2025

    Guards, ICE Detention Contractor Wage Deal Approved

    A detention officer's suit accusing the operator of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center of unpaid preshift work will come to an end after a Texas federal judge signed off Thursday on a sealed settlement.

  • January 09, 2025

    Meta Gets Partial PTAB Win On 2 Electronic Device Patents

    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has found that Meta Platforms Inc. was able to show that some claims in a pair of Eight kHz LLC patents were not valid, but upheld many other claims as part of a larger intellectual property fight between the parties.

  • January 09, 2025

    AI Startup Anthropic Seeks $60B Valuation, Plus More Rumors

    Artificial-intelligence startup Anthropic is seeking $2 billion in a new funding round that would value the company at $60 billion, while fashion giant Shein is now eyeing a mid-2025 initial public offering in London and Constellation Energy is lining up a $30 billion bid to acquire electricity provider Calpine. Here, Law360 breaks down the notable deal rumors from the past week.

  • January 09, 2025

    High Court Ruling Looms Over FERC Gas Enforcement Deal

    A TotalEnergies unit will pay $5 million to end a decadelong Federal Energy Regulatory Commission gas market manipulation probe, an enforcement case that was weakened by the U.S. Supreme Court's June ruling that limits the authority of in-house agency judges.

  • January 09, 2025

    EisnerAmper Adds Tax Pro As Partner In Dallas

    International business adviser EisnerAmper LLC announced it appointed a certified public accountant from Citrin Cooperman Advisors LLC to serve as a tax partner in the firm's private client services group based in Dallas.

  • January 09, 2025

    Reed Smith Steers Bauer On $625M Clear Channel Buy

    Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings Inc. has agreed to sell its Clear Channel Europe-North business to the U.K.'s Bauer Media Group for $625 million in cash, the companies said Thursday.

  • January 09, 2025

    Texas Appeals Court Frees Google Of Incognito Mode Suit

    A Texas appeals court wiped Texas' deceptive trade practices suit alleging Google misleads consumers about the privacy available through its "Incognito" mode, finding in a Thursday opinion the lower court doesn't have jurisdiction to hear the case.

  • January 09, 2025

    Texas Gov. Names New GC For Office Of The Governor

    Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's deputy general counsel has been tapped to step into the role of general counsel for the governor after his predecessor, James P. Sullivan, was appointed to the Supreme Court of Texas earlier this week.

  • January 09, 2025

    Eversheds Sutherland Adds Hunton Energy Pro In Houston

    Eversheds Sutherland announced Thursday that a former Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP attorney with prior in-house experience at Exxon Mobil Corp. has joined the firm as a partner in Houston, strengthening its global energy offerings and its presence in Texas.

  • January 08, 2025

    Judge Calls For Trial In Long-Running Suit Against Thryv

    A Texas federal judge should hold that YellowPages.com operator Thryv Inc. can't challenge the final claim of Click-to-Call Technologies LP's patent for making anonymous phone calls but stop short of finding infringement, a magistrate judge recommended in the 12-year-old case.

  • January 08, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Grills USAA On Bid To Revive Patent In $218M Case

    The United Services Automobile Association faced a skeptical Federal Circuit panel Wednesday as it argued that an administrative board's invalidation of claims in its check deposit patent, which is part of a $218 million verdict against PNC Bank, conflicted with a prior decision upholding the patent.

  • January 08, 2025

    Edward Jones Fined $17M Over Customer Transition Fees

    Edward Jones has agreed to pay $17 million to end an investigation into alleged supervisory failures that may have led it to overcharge customers who transitioned from its brokerage division to its advisory division, state regulators announced Wednesday.

  • January 08, 2025

    Colo. Judge Certifies National Class Of Senior Care Investors

    A Colorado federal judge on Wednesday certified a nationwide class of stockholders in a securities suit alleging a senior health care company made misleading statements in an initial public offering that later caused stock prices to tank after a government audit exposed the falsehoods.

  • January 08, 2025

    ACLU Launches Media Campaign To Amplify Immigrant Voices

    The American Civil Liberties Union announced Wednesday that it is kicking off a new "Letters to America" multimedia campaign to amplify the voices of immigrants and asylum seekers speaking about their experiences traveling across the U.S.-Mexico border as the nation prepares itself for the second Trump administration's sweeping deportation plans.

  • January 08, 2025

    Musk Appeals $56B Pay Package Rejection To Del. High Court

    Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk and other top Tesla executives officially appealed to the Delaware Supreme Court on Wednesday a series of chancellor rulings that scuttled Musk's $56 billion, 10-year pay package and awarded a shareholder's counsel $345 million in fees in the yearslong derivative dispute.

  • January 08, 2025

    Texas Station Faces $369K Fine For Emergency Alert Failures

    A local Texas television station is under fire from the Federal Communications Commission for failing to run proper nationwide emergency tests in three separate years, according to a new forfeiture notice from the agency.

  • January 08, 2025

    ATF Says Loophole Rule Passes 2nd Amendment Smell Test

    The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has doubled down in its bid to uphold a new rule in a case over the so-called gun-show loophole rule, saying in a Texas federal court that a group of red states hadn't shown how the rule lacks founding-era precedent.

  • January 08, 2025

    Ford Can't Escape Texas Cop's Carbon Monoxide Injury Suit

    Ford Motor Co. can't get out of a suit by a Universal City, Texas, police officer who alleges he suffered carbon monoxide poisoning while idling in a Ford vehicle, because a Texas federal judge says the officer's expert and evidence support his claims that a vehicle defect is responsible for his injuries.

  • January 08, 2025

    Farm Owner Can't Claim $6.5M For Border Wall, 5th Circ. Told

    The federal government argued Wednesday that a Texas woman isn't owed millions of dollars in compensation for a section of the state's border wall built on her land, telling the Fifth Circuit that a principle giving landowners rights to property improvements can't be equitably applied to the federal government.

  • January 08, 2025

    Samsung, Asus Settle Patent Fight Over 4G, 5G Products

    Samsung and Asus Technology Licensing notified a Texas federal judge Wednesday they've settled their dispute over wireless 5G technology in a case where both sides accused each other of patent infringement in their respective commercial products, with Asus targeting an array of Samsung's Galaxy devices and Samsung attacking Asus' Zenbook laptops. 

  • January 08, 2025

    CFPB Hit With Industry Suit Over Medical Debt Reporting Rule

    A top trade group for the credit reporting industry has moved to challenge the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's new rule that would take billions of dollars in medical debt off credit reports, accusing the agency of overreach in a lawsuit filed in Texas federal court.

  • January 08, 2025

    Jay-Z Wants Sanctions Against Buzbee In Diddy Rape Suit

    Rapper Jay-Z asked Wednesday that Texas attorney Tony Buzbee be sanctioned for filing a lawsuit accusing him and embattled rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs of raping a 13-year-old girl, claiming inconsistencies in the girl's story show Buzbee "knowingly filed a false complaint."

  • January 08, 2025

    US Atty In Texas' Southern District To Step Down

    The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas announced Wednesday that he is leaving his post this month, the latest in a wave of resignations ahead of a second Trump administration.

  • January 08, 2025

    Auto Financing Co. Vroom's Equity Swap Ch. 11 Plan Gets OK

    A Texas bankruptcy judge on Wednesday approved automotive financing and analytics company Vroom Inc.'s Chapter 11 plan to convert $290.5 million of debt into equity, overruling an objection to the deal from the U.S. Department of Justice's bankruptcy watchdog and allowing Vroom to continue operating.

Expert Analysis

  • Loper Bright Limits Federal Agencies' Ability To Alter Course

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to dismantle Chevron deference also effectively overrules its 2005 decision in National Cable & Telecommunications Association v. Brand X, greatly diminishing agencies' ability to change regulatory course from one administration to the next, says Steven Gordon at Holland & Knight.

  • Defamation Suit Tests Lanham Act's Reach With Influencers

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    Recently filed in the Northern District of Texas, Prime Hydration v. Garcia, alleging defamation and Lanham Act violations based on the defendant's social media statements about the beverage brand, allows Texas courts and the Fifth Circuit to take the lead in interpreting the act as it applies to influencers, says attorney Susan Jorgensen.

  • Series

    Teaching Scuba Diving Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    As a master scuba instructor, I’ve learned how to prepare for the unexpected, overcome fears and practice patience, and each of these skills – among the many others I’ve developed – has profoundly enhanced my work as a lawyer, says Ron Raether at Troutman Pepper.

  • Navigating The Murky Waters Of Patent Infringement Damages

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    Recent cases show that there is no easy way to isolate an infringed patent’s value, and it would serve all sides well for courts to thoroughly examine expert opinions of this nature and provide consistent guidance for future cases, say Manny Caixeiro and Elizabeth Manno at Venable.

  • Lawyers Can Take Action To Honor The Voting Rights Act

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    As the Voting Rights Act reaches its 59th anniversary Tuesday, it must urgently be reinforced against recent efforts to dismantle voter protections, and lawyers can pitch in immediately by volunteering and taking on pro bono work to directly help safeguard the right to vote, says Anna Chu at We The Action.

  • 3 Healthcare FCA Deals Provide Self-Disclosure Takeaways

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    Several civil False Claims Act settlements of alleged healthcare fraud violations over the past year demonstrate that healthcare providers may benefit substantially from voluntarily disclosing potential misconduct to both the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, say Brian Albritton and Raquel Ramirez Jefferson at Phelps Dunbar.

  • Opinion

    Congress Must Increase Small Biz Ch. 11 Debt Cap

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    Congress must act to reinstate Subchapter V, which recently sunsetted when the debt threshold to qualify reverted from $7.5 million to just over $3 million, meaning thousands of small businesses will no longer be able to use the means of reorganization, says Daniel Gielchinsky at DGIM Law.

  • How Loper Bright Weakens NEPA Enviro Justice Strategy

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    The National Environmental Policy Act is central to the Biden administration's environmental justice agenda — but the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo casts doubt on the government's ability to rely on NEPA for this purpose, and a pending federal case will test the strategy's limits, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.

  • Series

    After Chevron: ERISA Challenges To Watch

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    The end of Chevron deference makes the outcome of Employee Retirement Income Security Act regulatory challenges more uncertain as courts become final arbiters of pending lawsuits about ESG investments, the definition of a fiduciary, unallocated pension forfeitures and discrimination in healthcare plans, says Evelyn Haralampu at Burns & Levinson.

  • Justices' Intent Witness Ruling May Be Useful For Defense Bar

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    At first glance, the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Diaz v. U.S. decision, allowing experts to testify to the mental state of criminal defendants in federal court, gives prosecutors a new tool, but creative white collar defense counsel may be able to use the same tool to their own advantage, say Jack Sharman and Rachel Bragg at Lightfoot Franklin.

  • How To Grow Marketing, Biz Dev Teams In A Tight Market

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    Faced with fierce competition and rising operating costs, firms are feeling the pressure to build a well-oiled marketing and business development team that supports strategic priorities, but they’ll need to be flexible and creative given a tight talent market, says Ben Curle at Ambition.

  • Patent Lessons From 5 Federal Circuit Reversals In June

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    A look at June cases where the Federal Circuit reversed or vacated decisions by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board or a federal district court highlights a potential path for branded drugmakers to sue generic-drug makers for off-label uses, potential downsides of violating a pretrial order offering testimony, and more, say Denise De Mory and Li Guo at Bunsow De Mory.

  • Series

    Rock Climbing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Rock climbing requires problem-solving, focus, risk management and resilience, skills that are also invaluable assets in my role as a finance lawyer, says Mei Zhang at Haynes and Boone.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Dance The Legal Standard Two-Step

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    From rookie brief writers to Chief Justice John Roberts, lawyers should master the legal standard two-step — framing the governing standard at the outset, and clarifying why they meet that standard — which has benefits for both the drafter and reader, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • Alice Step 2 Trends Show Courts' Extrinsic Evidence Reliance

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    A look at recent trends in how district courts are applying Step 2 of the Alice framework shows that courts have increasingly relied on extrinsic evidence to help determine whether a claimed invention is "well-understood, routine, and conventional," says Jonathan Tuminaro at Sterne Kessler.

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