In the News

In New York there’s been an explosion of lawsuits filed against restaurants, malls, wineries, and colleges saying they discriminate against people with disabilities. Most of them end with secret settlements so we never know how much the defendants pay to make the case go away. Until now. News10NBC obtained a settlement document the lawyers don’t want you to see.

“The proposed negotiating class, and perhaps this very litigation, threatens the sovereignty of the States like nothing else in recent history,” Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost wrote. “It seeks to represent not a single political subdivision asserting parens patriae standing, but all of them. In other words, this motion seeks to permit the class to stand in the shoes of the States — nothing short of usurpation.”

Is it right for politically connected private attorneys to handle major lawsuits on behalf of a state? That’s the question some in Louisiana are asking after reviewing the list of 17 law firms hired to help the state’s case against opioid manufacturers.

In 1987, 60 Minutes aired a story entitled “Texas Justice for Sale,” and viewers experienced utter disbelief that the civil justice system in this state was controlled by an aggressive group of trial lawyers. Since then, there has been a 25-year effort in Texas to restore our courts and add responsible justices to the bench. Many have celebrated tort reform in Texas and declared it “done.” But is it?

The opioid crisis is ravaging our nation, hurting families and creating a public health epidemic. Lawsuits have been filed by a number of local governments in Texas, including Bexar County, to pursue reimbursement from drugmakers for opioid-related costs they have incurred. As a recent editorial in your paper notes, the city of San Antonio is considering legal action as well.

Plaintiffs lawyers suing over the breast cancer drug Taxotere filed motions this week to ensure that the first bellwether trial against Sanofi-Aventis U.S. LLC is not about them.

In Texas, one of just a few states that maintains a system of partisan judicial selection all the way up through its high courts, judges are at the mercy of the political winds. They are required to run as partisans but expected to rule impartially. They are forced to raise money from the same lawyers who will appear before them in court. And in their down-ballot, low-information races, their fates tend to track with the candidates at the top of the ticket.

A Texas appeals court overturned a decision by a Harris County civil judge who cut off testimony mid-way through trial and then abruptly issued a ruling after complaining he wanted the parties involved to “hurry up.”

“The bribery of a judge may be the worst break of the public’s trust in government,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan Patrick of the Southern District of Texas, in a statement. “Rudy Delgado used his position to enrich himself. He didn’t just tip the scales of justice, he knocked it over with a wad of cash and didn’t look back. Delgado’s actions unfairly tarnish all his former colleagues.”

Activist groups lobbying municipalities nationwide to file lawsuits against utilities as part of a two-decade climate litigation campaign have changed tactics and are now targeting energy manufacturers, a shift that poses significant repercussions for business, industry and consumers.