Texas

May 22, 2024
PTAB Finds Inergy's Chip Patent Challenges 'Compelling'

The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has decided to review Force Mos Technology chip patents, saying it won't rely on a 2020 precedent to discretionarily deny challenges by Inergy Technology Inc. in light of a looming district court trial because the petitions raise "compelling evidence of unpatentability."
May 22, 2024
Justices' CFPB Alliance May Save SEC Courts, Not Chevron

A four-justice concurrence to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision upholding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's unique funding scheme last week carries implications for other cases pending before the court that challenge the so-called administrative state, or the permanent cadre of regulatory agencies and career government enforcers who hold sway over vast swaths of American economic life.
May 22, 2024
Solar Cell Duties May Inadvertently Crush Domestic Industry

A bevy of new duty rules on solar cell imports from Asia, coupled with a government investigation instigated by domestic producers unconventionally claiming to protect future homegrown manufacturing, could backfire on the Biden administration's efforts to boost the nascent domestic sector.
May 22, 2024
Energy Contractor Can't Get Quick Appeal In 401(k) Suit

A Texas federal judge refused to allow an energy contractor to immediately appeal a decision declining to dismiss a proposed class action accusing it of stacking its retirement plan with underperforming funds, saying allowing the Fifth Circuit to weigh in now would only slow down the litigation.
May 22, 2024
Developer Had No Duty To Verify Flood Model, Court Hears

A Houston-area developer indicated before a state appeals court Wednesday that the consequences of entering a judgment in favor of more than 400 homeowners whose properties flooded during Hurricane Harvey would be catastrophic, as their claims boil down to the developer's alleged failure to double-check modeling conducted by an outside consultant.
May 22, 2024
GOP State Leaders Tell Justices Mexico Can't Sue Gunmakers

Republican attorneys general of 26 states plus the Arizona Legislature have urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a First Circuit decision that revived a lawsuit filed by the Mexican government seeking to hold the firearms industry responsible for drug cartel violence due to weapons trafficked across the border.
May 22, 2024
Uvalde Families Ink $2M Deal With City Over School Shooting

The families of 19 victims of the deadly May 2022 shooting at Robb Elementary School announced Wednesday that they've reached a presuit settlement with the city of Uvalde, Texas, that includes $2 million in payments to the families and commitments to better train police officers in their shooting responses.
May 22, 2024
House Dems Launch Price-Fixing Probe Of Oil Giants

U.S. Congressman Frank Pallone Jr., as ranking member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, revealed Wednesday that he has launched an investigation into seven oil and gas companies over growing concerns that they are illegally colluding to artificially inflate gas prices.
May 22, 2024
Texas Attys Get Green Light To Charge Subscription Fees

An opinion recently issued by the Professional Ethics Committee of the State Bar of Texas gives Lone Star State lawyers the go-ahead to offer subscription-based legal services so long as the arrangement doesn't result in the charging of an "unconscionable fee."
May 22, 2024
Dallas-Based PE Firm Clinches $285M Fund Above Target

Dallas-based private equity shop Riata Capital Group on Wednesday announced that it clinched its second private equity fund above target with $285 million in tow.
May 22, 2024
Tommy's Boats Hits Ch. 11 After Alleged M&T Bank Default

Boat and water sports retailer Tommy's Boats has filed for Chapter 11 protection in Texas bankruptcy court, listing up to $500 million in debt after allegedly breaching an agreement with lender M&T Bank.
May 21, 2024
Texas Panel Says Mallory Ruling Has No Home There

A Texas appellate court has upheld a ruling preventing a Dallas car repair services company from litigating a trade secrets case there against a Michigan rival over allegedly hiring away a former executive, holding that the U.S. Supreme Court's Mallory decision last year doesn't do much in Texas.
May 21, 2024
Feds Tell 5th Circ. To Ignore Park Skirmish In Razor Wire Row

The federal government urged the Fifth Circuit to ignore a series of events surrounding concertina wire fencing Texas has erected along the U.S.-Mexico border, arguing the fight over a park has no bearing on whether a district court was wrong in refusing to ban border patrol agents from cutting the barrier.
May 21, 2024
Full 5th Circ. Urged To Rethink Blocking Student Loan Rule

The U.S. Department of Education has asked the full Fifth Circuit to reconsider a recent preliminary injunction a three-judge panel ordered blocking changes to a program providing student loan forgiveness to borrowers defrauded by higher education institutions. It said the panel wrongly held that the department doesn't have the authority to determine whether a borrower has a valid defense to repayment.
May 21, 2024
Banks Urged To Vote Out Exxon Leaders Who Sued Investors

A group of state and city financial officials sent letters to some of the biggest banks and asset managers Tuesday urging them to vote against Exxon Mobil Corp.'s CEO and lead independent director at an upcoming annual meeting because of the company's lawsuit against a pair of environmentally minded activist investors.
May 21, 2024
EEOC Guidance Over Gender Identity Can't Stand, Texas Says

The Texas attorney general requested Tuesday that a federal judge do away with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's enforcement guidance over gender identity and Title VII, arguing that the agency must be stopped from requiring employers' compliance with pronoun and bathroom accommodations.
May 21, 2024
Texas Court Questions Luxottica On 'Playing Favorites' In Sale

A Texas appellate court on Tuesday asked whether an eyewear conglomerate was "playing favorites by not disclosing" alleged fraud by its franchisees in a sale of two stores to other franchisees, questioning Luxottica's assertion it had to keep its hands off the transaction.
May 21, 2024
NYC Pension Funds Call For 'No' Vote On Musk's Tesla Pay

Five New York City pension funds have joined with seven other Tesla Inc. institutional investors in calls for stockholders to vote down CEO Elon Musk's once-$56 billion compensation plan and vote out two board allies, branding the pay excessive and the two directors too close to Musk.
May 21, 2024
OSHA Hit With Constitutional Challenge To Walkaround Rule

A dozen business groups led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce sued the Occupational Safety and Health Administration over the so-called walkaround rule in Texas federal court Tuesday, challenging the constitutionality of a two-month-old regulation that expanded workers' right to bring in outside representatives during job safety inspections.
May 21, 2024
GAO Denies Sysco's Protest Of Up-To $126M Subsistence Deal

The U.S. Government Accountability Office denied a Sysco unit's protest of an up-to $126 million defense subsistence supply deal, saying the company failed to show the Defense Logistics Agency had to consider the awardee's performance on a similar interim deal.
May 21, 2024
Counties Not 'Persons' In Texas Opioid MDL Appeal

A Texas appeals panel found Tuesday that counties are not considered "persons" under the state's common law and therefore are not subject to the Texas Medical Liability Act's requirement that they serve expert reports to pharmacy defendants in the state's opioid multidistrict litigation.
May 21, 2024
20 States Challenge Biden Admin's NEPA Rule

A group of 20 states sued the Biden administration's Council on Environmental Quality on Tuesday in North Dakota federal court, challenging a recent environmental permitting rule they claim unlawfully changes the National Environmental Policy Act's review procedures "into a substantive set of requirements to achieve broad and vague policy goals."
May 21, 2024
22 States Tell 11th Circ. Corp. Transparency Act Goes Too Far

The federal Corporate Transparency Act unconstitutionally displaces state authority and its enforcement would economically harm states and their residents, attorneys general from 22 states told the Eleventh Circuit, urging it to uphold a ruling that struck down the law.
May 21, 2024
PE Firms Close Separate Funds With Nearly $1.3B Total In Tow

Winston & Strawn LLP-advised private equity shop Paceline Equity Partners LLC and Kirkland & Ellis LLP-advised private equity firm Eir Partners on Tuesday separately announced that they have clinched funds totaling nearly $1.3 billion combined, with the former's fund focusing on corporate debt and real assets and the latter's targeting healthcare technology investments.
May 21, 2024
Houston Club Asks Court To Halt Storm Damage Demolition

A Houston nightclub damaged in last week's severe storm told a Harris County court Monday that city officials improperly declared that the building should be demolished.

Expert Analysis

5 Privacy And Cybersecurity Resolutions For 2024

In 2023, companies grappled with an unprecedented array of data privacy and cybersecurity challenges that are likely to continue in 2024, meaning businesses will be well-served to incorporate strategies, such as data governance and website configuration, into their compliance programs, say Steven Stransky at Thompson Hine and Violet Sullivan at Crum & Forster.
Fed. Circ. Patent Decisions In 2023: An Empirical Review

The Federal Circuit decided 306 patent cases last year, which is still well down from the pre-pandemic norm of around 440, and on the whole the court's decisions were markedly less patentee-friendly in 2023 than in 2022, says Dan Bagatell at Perkins Coie.
What The Law Firm Of The Future Will Look Like

As the legal landscape shifts, it’s become increasingly clear that the BigLaw business model must adapt in four key ways to remain viable, from fostering workplace flexibility to embracing technology, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.
4 PR Pointers When Your Case Is In The News

Media coverage of new lawsuits exploded last year, demonstrating why defense attorneys should devise a public relations plan that complements their legal strategy, incorporating several objectives to balance ethical obligations and advocacy, say Nathan Burchfiel at Pinkston and Ryan June at Castañeda + Heidelman.
Series

Texas Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q4

Among the most noteworthy developments in the Texas banking sphere in the last quarter of 2023 were the Texas Department of Banking's extension of the state banking commissioner's authority, a recommendation to implement an updated ransomware self-assessment tool, and ongoing litigation in the state involving the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, says Patrick Hanchey at Alston & Bird.
After Headwinds, 2024 May See Offshore Wind Momentum

Despite skyrocketing raw material costs, conflicting state and federal policies, and other setbacks for the offshore wind sector in 2023, the industry appears poised for growth in the coming year, with improving economics, more flexible procurement procedures and increasing legislative support, say Emily Huggins Jones and Ben Cowan at Locke Lord.
Law Firm Strategies For Successfully Navigating 2024 Trends

Though law firms face the dual challenge of external and internal pressures as they enter 2024, firms willing to pivot will be able to stand out by adapting to stakeholder needs and reimagining their infrastructure, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Consultants.
The Most-Read Legal Industry Law360 Guest Articles Of 2023

A range of legal industry topics drew readers' attention in Law360's Expert Analysis section this year, from associate retention strategies to ethical billing practices.
Inside Higher Education's New FCA Liability Challenges

As the educational sector expands its use of government funding, schools are at increased risk under the False Claims Act, but recent settlements offer valuable lessons about new theories of liability they may face and specific procedures to reduce their exposure, say James Zelenay and Jeremy Ochsenbein at Gibson Dunn.
5 Most Notable Class Action Standing Cases Of 2023

Key appellate class action decisions this past year continued the trend of a more demanding approach to the threshold issue of standing during each phase of litigation, say attorneys at MoFo.
Attorneys' Busiest Times Can Be Business Opportunities

Attorneys who resolve to grow their revenue and client base in 2024 should be careful not to abandon their goals when they get too busy with client work, because these periods of zero bandwidth can actually be a catalyst for future growth, says Amy Drysdale at Alchemy Consulting.
In The World Of Legal Ethics, 10 Trends To Note From 2023

Lucian Pera at Adams and Reese and Trisha Rich at Holland & Knight identify the top legal ethics trends from 2023 — including issues related to hot documents, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity — that lawyers should be aware of to put their best foot forward.
Lessons Learned From 2023's Top ADA Decisions

This year saw the courts delving into the complexities of employee accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act in the post-pandemic workplace, going beyond bright-line rules with fact-intensive inquiries that are likely to create uncertainty for employers, says Linda Dwoskin at Dechert.
A Year Of Transition At The Agenda-Setting 5th Circ.

Under the spotlight of hot issues this year, the Fifth Circuit has appeared to be an ideological court generating controversial decisions and attracting certiorari-grants — but in the shadows and liminal spaces of the everyday issues, the court and its members operate in a much more nuanced and less-divisive way, says Tad Bartlett at Fishman Haygood.
The Key Laws Retailers Should Pay Attention To In 2024

2024 promises to be another transformative year for retailers as they navigate the evolving regulatory landscape, particularly surrounding data privacy and sustainability laws, meaning companies should make it a practice to keep track of new legislation and invest in compliance efforts early on, say attorneys at Benesch.