In the News

Louisiana used to be a leader in U.S. energy production, but Governor John Bel Edwards has turned it into a leading lawsuit producer instead. Jobs have declined while taxes and auto insurance rates have risen.

Closing arguments were made Thursday in a historic civil trial in New York Supreme Court in which the state’s attorney general alleges the oil giant Exxon Mobil deceived investors by minimizing the future cost impacts of climate change to paint a rosier fiscal picture. The outcome of the trial could signal a flood of new lawsuits intended to hold oil and gas companies accountable for costs associated with global warming.

If all goes as planned, Martin Phipps, one of the attorneys representing Bexar County in its opioid lawsuit, hopes to stand before a jury next October and ask them to award his client $1 billion in damages. But before that can happen, Phipps may have to answer some questions, as The Record has obtained documents showing that the attorney may have made “straw man” donations through Jason Reichl, a former Phipps employee who is currently facing criminal charges.

Two judges involved in two of the most high-profile series of legal actions in the country were panelists at a Las Vegas conference organized by plaintiff lawyers. The conference took place following two significant events linked to the judges, including a huge jury award in Philadelphia and an appeals court’s reversal of a verdict handed down in St. Louis.

Although MedFinManager attempted to recover more than $210,000 for a surgery and other health care from John Salas’ car wreck settlement, Bexar County’s 407th District Court on Thursday only awarded the company about $69,400.

A star-studded group of litigators will lead the Lone Star State’s latest study to eliminate partisanship from judicial elections. But if the effort tracks history, Texas judges will still have an “R” or “D” next to their name on the ballot.

The scheme recently announced by private plaintiffs’ attorneys, which purports to provide a framework to settle government lawsuits targeting hundreds of energy producers over alleged coastal land loss claims, perfectly illustrates what we’ve known for a long time: these trial lawyer-driven lawsuits are a farce that have nothing to do with saving the coast.

It was a stroke of good luck for Cuyahoga and Summit counties in Ohio that U.S. District Judge Dan Polster selected them for the first bellwether trial out of thousands of other cities and counties that are blaming the opioid industry for the nation’s addiction crisis. Rather than roll the dice on potential multibillion-dollar jury verdicts, nearly all the defendants settled.

Described as the most complex litigation ever, the trial will begin to sort out the welter of accusations over the crisis. While six drug companies are defendants in the case, jurors also may hear blame cast widely on doctors, government agencies and perhaps even drug users themselves. The jury’s response will help decide who should bear the cost of one of this century’s worst public health crises.

Despite receiving a slap on the wrist last year, local storm attorney Eric Dick continues to file lawsuits seeking to compel appraisal against insurance companies in Harris County.